At least 4,300 refugees from Afghanistan and Pakistan were granted citizenship by the authorities in India during the past one year.
The citizenship to Hindus and Sikhs from Afghanistan and Pakistan were granted as part of a program by the National Democratic (NDA) government to grant Indian nationality to nearly 200,000 refugees from neighbouring countries.
The refugees were granted citizenship at the initiative of Home Minister Rajnath Singh following BJP’s declared policy that India is a “natural home for persecuted Hindus” who will be welcome to seek refuge.
This comes as India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi had, during the Lok Sabha election campaign, said that Pakistani and Bangladeshi Hindu refugees will be treated like any other Indian citizen.
According to the local newspaper – Times of India, there are around two lakh Hindu and Sikh refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan currently living in India.
At least 19,000 refugees were also given long-term visas since the Modi government assumed charge in May 2014.
Citing official sources, the newspaper repored around 11,000 long-term visas were given in Rajasthan and 4,000 long-term visas were given in Gujarat.
India’s home ministry also olled out an online system for submission of Long Term Visa application and for its processing by various agencies in the month of April.
The decision by the government of India to grant citizenship to refugees from neighboring countries, was taken with an aim to address the difficulty being faced by Hindu and Sikh minorities of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who come to India with the intention to settle permanently.
What we have been saying right from the day one that India is a Hindu state not a secular one now it is being proved.
Its good not to allow evil to seep into the country in the name of secularism. After all, who persecuted the hindus or sikhs in the first place.
What do you expect then? Leave them to die?
Every act of this govt. is seen with coloured lenses….
That should stop!
I throw the question back to you…
Whom do you want to be ruling the nation?
Congress – a party of over-educated, corrupt, diplomatic, inactive, unwilling snobs
or
Modi – a man who has been at his A game all this while. Yes, he might have had a few blemishes. but if you still have Gujarat riots on mind – you can’t look beyond it.
Perfect move. All Hindus and Sikhs from anywhere in the world belong directly or indirectly to India and are welcome here. Says much about the state of ‘Pakistan’ where every damned Hindu and Sikh is basically seeking asylum in India.
این پروسه فقط برای اهل هنود و سیک های مستقر در افغانستان و پاکستان است نه برای تمام اتباع کشور های یاد شده