NEW DELHI: Yesteryear singer-actress Salma Agha, who became a household name in India in 1982 with her super-hit film Nikaah, has applied for an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card.
According to sources, the home ministry is examining the British singer’s request and may grant her an OCI card if she fulfils the eligibility criteria. The dilemma within the ministry is related to her Pakistani origin as OCI rules make Pakistanis ineligible but Salma has argued she has Indian links too that make her eligible. The ministry had recently given citizenship to Pakistani singer Adnan Sami.
The OCI card allows multiple entry, multi-purpose life-long visa to visit India and exemption from reporting to police authorities for any length of stay in the country. Salma plans to open a music school in Lucknow. Her daughter Sasha Agha made her debut in the Bollywood film Aurangzeb in 2013 and later acted in Desi Kattey (2014).
In her request letter, Salma Agha is understood to have referred to her Indian roots in her maternal grandfather Jugal Kishore Mehra. Jugal Kishore Mehra was a noted actor and his wife and Salma’s grandmother, Anwari Begum, was a star singer in the 1930s and ‘40s. Salma’s mother Nasreen Aagha was cast opposite KL Saigal in Shahjehan (1946). Salma, in her request, has also claimed that though she was born in Pakistan, she is a British citizen and hence, her request should be looked into.
As per rules, a foreign national who is a child, grandchild, or great grandchild of an Indian citizen is eligible for registration as an OCI card holder. Besides, the spouse of foreign origin of a citizen of India, or spouse of foreign origin of an Overseas Citizen of India cardholder and whose marriage has been registered and subsisted for a continuous period of not less than two years immediately preceding the presentation of the application is also eligible for registration as OCI cardholder.
However, no person whose parents, grandparents, or great grandparents is or had been a citizen of Pakistan and Bangladesh will be eligible.