India to grant citizenship to about 2 lakh refugee Hindus by Independence Day

The Union home ministry is working on a bill to amend the Citizenship Act of 1955 so as to grant citizenship to about two lakh Hindu refugees from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan by Independence Day on 15 August.

"We have made several changes in the proposed bill to ensure the persecuted refugees get Indian citizenship without any difficulty," said a home ministry source. "The bill is likely to be tabled in the monsoon session as the government wants to complete the process before Independence Day."

He added: "The government wants to gift them freedom from harassment and persecution. That's why the deadline is fixed before 15 August."

Ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the BJP had promised to make persecuted Hindus from 'any country' citizens of India, says The Telegraph.

Sources in the ministry said that the proposed bill would make acquiring citizenship of India easy for refugee Hindus. A renunciation certificate from the home country, which was earlier mandatory for Indian citizenship, will no longer be required.

The definition of "illegal migrants" will also be changed, and district magistrates and police superintendents will examine the applications directly, without recourse to the home ministry.

"This aims to make the process faster and convenient for the applicants," said the official.

After citizenship is granted, the government will help the refugee Hindus acquire documentation such as a PAN card and Aadhaar number.