Waiting for
citizenship:
Living in denial
With their
normal lives
held-up by
paperwork,
thousands of
immigrants
are
living without
jobs, food
entitlements and
even legal
marriages in
India’s desert
state of
Rajasthan, which
shares its
western border
with Pakistan.
Dozens of men
and women
narrated
heart-wrenching
stories of the
impact of
bureaucratic
delays at public
hearings in
Jodhpur and
Bikaner
organised by Pak
Visthapit Sangh
(PVS) and
Seemanth Lok
Sangathan (SLS),
coalition of
people displaced
from Pakistan
and a long-term
partner of
ActionAid.
The presence of
top officials
from the state
administration
offered hopes
for positive
policy changes.
Legal limbo
Born in India,
Shehnaz married
a man across the
border in the
Sindh province
of Pakistan, 15
years ago and
became a
Pakistani
national. But
after a divorce
she came back to
be her parents
in Barmer, a
border district
of Rajasthan.
As she began a
fresh start with
a new found love
in Barmer,
Rajasthan, she
hit an
administrative
deadlock. The
Indian Home
Ministry has a
restriction on
Pakistan
nationals
visiting Barmer
and other border
districts.
Shehnaz was
declined a visa
under this
provision
preventing her
from marriage.
“My sister
passed away
earlier this
year in Barmer,
but I could not
even get there
to pay my last
respects,” said
Devidan, an
elderly resident
of Kharoro
village near
Sindh, at the
hearing in
Jodhpur.
Seven of Malku
Ram family
members were
killed by
security forces
while attempting
to cross the
border from the
Pakistani side
into Rajasthan.
“My family
risked their
lives to
illegally cross
the in despair
after being
denied visas
five years in a
row,” recounted
Ram from the
Bheel tribal
community
recounted at the
hearing.
Harassment and
Corruption
Lack of clear
citizenship
status and legal
wrangles in
terms of
facilities that
they can access
leaves the
immigrants
vulnerable to
harassment and
graft.
For instance,
Suma Ram Meghwal
from Pugal area
near Bikaner
claimed at the
hearing that a
local bank is
listing loans
against
immigrants
though they
never took any.
“Bank officials
show up
regularly to
recover
repayments.
There must be an
independent
inquiry into
this,” he urged
officials.
Exorbitant
citizenship
fee
A 2005 hike
in
citizenship
fee now
places it
between Rs.
50,000 to Rs.
150,000 per
family –
several
times higher
than the
annual
income for
most
families
applying.
This
prohibitively
high fee is one
of the biggest
hurdles for
families seeking
citizenship.
Lowering it is
one of the key
campaign points
for PVS.
Undeterred
The coalition of
immigrants has
been
facilitating
mass hearings
with top
officials to
allow direct
exchange to
redress their
grievances.
Other demands
include
re-instating
power to
district
magistrates to
grant
citizenship
rights, a
function that
was withdrawn
last year.
Pak
Visthapit
Sangh (PVS)
is a
community-based
organisation
working
particularly
among
post-1965
and 1971
immigrants
from Sindh,
Pakistan,
living in
Rajasthan
and Gujarat.
Photo credit:
ActionAid
June 08
