Following the successful implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 18 Hindu refugees from Pakistan, residing in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, were granted Indian citizenship. The official documents were handed over to them during an event at a refugee camp organized at the district collector’s office, which was attended by Gujarat Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi.
During the event, Sanghavi expressed his expectation that the newly granted citizens would actively participate in the country’s development journey. He reiterated the commitment of both the central and state governments to integrate all citizens into mainstream society.
According to an official release, district collectors in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, and Kutch were empowered by Gazette notifications from 2016 and 2018 to grant Indian citizenship to minority communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.
This recent grant brings the total number of Hindu refugees from Pakistan, residing in the Ahmedabad district, who have been granted Indian citizenship to 1,167.
The implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 by the central government on March 11 aims to provide citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. This move is intended to offer Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants, including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians, from these countries.
Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar addressed concerns raised by the US and other countries regarding the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, stating that it should be viewed in the context of the Partition. He said that many countries have fast-tracked citizenship in various instances.
The US expressed its concern about the notification of the CAA in India and stated that it is closely monitoring its implementation.
