The journey of two Hindu sisters from Pakistan Sangita and Anita, to get Indian citizenship, has been a tough one. Sangita and Anita were minors when the family fled to India 33-years back due to religious persecution as their Muslim neighbours wanted to convert them to Islam and marry them. While their father Sewakram (now deceased) and mother Sakhi Bai got Indian citizenship eight years after they came to India, but the ordeal of sisters for citizenship continues, reported Bhaskar.
Sangita and Anita, married to Indian citizens, are aged around 45 years and 41 years respectively, but they are not Indian citizens. They are still referred to as Pakistan nationals in the government records and have to undergo a tedious process to extend their visa every two years to stay in India. Their citizenship application is pending as the inquiry in Pakistan has not concluded and India has not received a report from Pakistan to confirm their original citizenship.
Family settled at Bilaspur after migrating from Pakistan
They are Sindhi Hindus who lived in Larkana district of Punjab. Leaving properties behind, they fled to Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh. They settled at Hemu Nagar locality of Bilaspur after one of their relatives sheltered them. Sisters were married in Bilaspur. Sangita’s husband works at a medical complex whereas Anita runs the garment shop of her deceased husband in Ahmadabad.
An unending wait for Indian citizenship for Sangita and Anita
There is no clarity on the technical issues that prevent Indian authorities from granting citizenship. From Delhi to Bilaspur, they knocked on all possible doors visited offices to get citizenship. They said that their parents got citizenship based on a receipt they had received from the Pakistan High Commission which mentions their names as minors. They said that Pakistan High Commission now denies authenticity/validity of the said document.
33 years down, who will recognise and remember them in Pakistan to confirm their Pakistani nationality, said Sangita.
They are neither eligible to enjoy constitutional rights meant for Indian citizens nor any government scheme. It pains them that their children are Indian nationals but they are still Pakistanis.
Any cheer for people like Sangita and Anita out of CAA
The Narendra Modi government brought the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 to grant Indian nationality to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians, who come to India because of religious persecution in Islamic countries of Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Even if they do not possess proper documents their case will be considered and they not be treated as illegal immigrants.
