Excitement across refugee camp as 5 of family get Indian citizenship

New Delhi, May 16

Residents at the refugee camp in North West Delhi’s Adarsh Nagar had never looked so happy before. But today was different.

A day after five members of a family of 12, residing here for five years, received their Indian citizenship certificates, a wave of excitement filled the air, and smiles on everyone’s faces told their own story.

Residents of the camp said gone are the days when women would need to bear a cross mark under their left eye to be identified as Hindus.

“In Pakistan’s Sindh where we lived, all Hindu women had to compulsorily bear a cross mark under the left eye as an identification for women belonging to the minority faith,” says Laxmi, one of the 14 persons in the first batch that received Indian citizenship on Wednesday.

Laxmi and her four family members — all Hindu migrants from Pakistan’s Sindh — fled to India in 2014 to escape religious persecution.

They all became Indian citizens following the notification of the Citizenship Amendment Act (2019) rules on March 11.

Speaking to The Tribune at their brick house, Madho, Radha, their son Harji and daughter-in-law Laxmi expressed relief at the welcome turn of events.

“Now that we have received our citizenship, we can educate our children, avail jobs and facilities and finally feel equal to all others,” said Laxmi.

The family members narrated their struggles, saying they hawk all kinds of wares to make a living.

Harji, along with three brothers, sells earphones. Madho, his father, fondly called ‘Pradhan’ (chief) in the area, is confined to home.

Theirs is the only family among a handful of Pakistani Hindu refugees in the area to have received citizenship but it has ignited hope among others.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, another Hindu migrant from Pakistan expressed hope of receiving citizenship for her family soon, although she was unsure why their forms were delayed.

Madho and his family arrived in India on a tourist visa and lived in Gujarat’s Radhanpur (Patan district) for five years before moving to Delhi in search of better facilities. They belong to a town named Tando Allahyar, where they cultivated farmlands, the primary vocation for Hindus in the area. The migrants speak a mix of Gujarati and Marathi.

Revealing a chilling incident, Laxmi said Harji’s younger sister, Seeta, was subjected to abuse and stone pelting in Sindh once when her burqa slipped off her face.

“This incident and a general atmosphere of fear and coercion to change religion prompted the family to flee Pakistan and seek refuge in India,” she says.

Bhawna, Harji’s sister, mentioned that they were not allowed to study in Gujarat until they applied for citizenship. However, she now studies at a local government school with her younger sister Amrita, who recently passed Class X.

The slums in the area lacked electricity for eight years, with the supply only arriving two years after their settlement. Gomi Thakur, a resident, described the various challenges they faced, including dirty water supply and lack of proper shelter. Portable toilets provided by a right-wing organisation are used by the residents.