3,117 non secular minorities granted Indian citizenship from 2018 to 2021

The Narendra Modi authorities has granted citizenship to a complete of 3117 non secular minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan within the final 4 years. The minister of State of Home Affairs Nityanand Rai knowledgeable the identical in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday (December 22) throughout the winter session of the Parliament.

Minister Rai mentioned that the Home Affairs had obtained 8,244 functions from non secular minorities of those international locations for Indian citizenship.

Rai was responding to a query raised by Dr. Ok Keshava Rao of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) who sought the main points of whole citizenship functions obtained from Hindu, Sikh, Jain, and Christian minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan throughout the years 2018 and 2021.

The reply in Rajya Sabha

Besides, Rao additionally sought to know the variety of minorities who had been granted Indian citizenship throughout the aforesaid interval. Rao additionally requested the full variety of requests obtained by the ministry the place minorities of those international locations sought refuge within the Indian territory within the final 4 years.

Since India doesn’t have a refugee coverage, the minister knowledgeable that each one overseas nationals together with refuge seekers are ruled by the provisions contained in The Foreigners Act 1946, The Registration of Foreigners Act 1939, The Passport (Entry into India) Act 1920, and The Citizenship Act, 1955.

Another MP Abdul Wahab raised the query concerning the full variety of foreigners granted Indian citizenship. Rai knowledgeable the House that between 2016 and 2020, as many as 4,177 folks had been granted Indian citizenship.

Numbe rof citizenship granted from 2016 to 2020

Rai mentioned that as of December 14 this yr, 10,635 functions for Indian citizenship had been pending with the federal government out of which 70 % (7,306) claims had been from Pakistan. As many as 1,152 folks from Afghanistan, Bangladesh (161), Srilanka and USA (223), Nepal (189) and 10 Chinese nationals requested for Indian citizenship. Minister knowledgeable that 428 stateless folks had been additionally amongst candidates.