Ahmedabad: A congregation in Ahmedabad saw the conferral of Indian citizenship upon eighteen Hindu refugees from Pakistan, attended by Gujarat Minister of State for Home, Harsh Sanghavi.
During the gathering held at the administrative headquarters on Saturday, Sanghavi officially bestowed Indian citizenship upon the aforementioned individuals, urging them to unite in the pursuit of a reinvigorated India.
“It is anticipated that each of you will exhibit unwavering dedication to contributing to the nation’s progress,” he remarked, underscoring the commitment of both the central and state administrations to integrating all recipients of Indian citizenship into the societal mainstream.
Per an official statement, the issuance of Gazette notifications in 2016 and 2018 vested the district collectors of Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, and Kutch in Gujarat with the authority to confer Indian citizenship upon members of minority communities hailing from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.
As per the release, this action brings the total number of Hindu refugees from Pakistan residing in the Ahmedabad district who have been granted Indian citizenship to 1,167. Sanghavi highlighted the concerted efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to expedite the acquisition of Indian citizenship for persecuted minorities from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
On March 11, the central government initiated the enforcement of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, facilitating the grant of citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.
This move aims to initiate the process of naturalization for marginalized non-Muslim migrants—comprising Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians—from the aforementioned countries.