Left Pak to stay Hindus, got citizenship under CAA

Members of a Hindu clan from Pakistan came to India by Samjhauta Express on tourist visas in 2004. They settled in Kahnaur village of Rohtak district and kept on getting their visas extended as they wanted to stay in India.  Eventually, by virtue of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019, they got Indian citizenship.

The CAA provides a fast-track pathway to Indian citizenship for certain religious minorities (Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians) from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who entered India before December 31, 2014.

"We were harassed and humiliated in Pakistan as we were firm on keeping our religious identity (of Hinduism) intact. We had to hide in cotton fields with our families for several days after the Babri mosque was demolished in India," recalls Soba, who used to live in Layyah district of Pakistan's Punjab province.

Regarding the government's move to send the Pakistani nationals back to their country in the wake of the Pahalgam massacre, Soba and his family members urged the authorities concerned that the members of religious minorities should not be made to return to Pakistan as they would be mistreated there.

"We are grateful to our parents who took the initiative to get settled in India as we were treated badly in Pakistan," says Soba's son Krishan (32), who runs a tyre repair shop in Kahnaur. Soba's wife Tajo, brother Madan Lal and nephew Prakash express gratitude towards the local residents for their constant help and support.

"We owned agricultural land in Pakistan and now work as farm labourers or daily wagers here. Still, we are happy as we have good living conditions and helpful locals," says Madan Lal. The village residents maintain that the people from Pakistan have been living peacefully in the village for several years.

"They have been living with us for more than two decades. We always stand by them as they are honest and hard working," says Lata, a former member of the village panchayat.