RAICHUR: The Union government’s Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) has given a ray of hope to Bangladeshi refugees living in rehabilitation camps at Sindhanur taluk in Raichur district for the past five decades.
Bangladeshi and Myanmarese refugees are living in RH No. 1 to 4 camps and the Burmese refugees in RH No. 5 camp.
During the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had allowed Bangladeshi and Myanmarese refugees, who had migrated to India, to live in Sindhanur taluk. Each family was given 5 acres of land for cultivation. Initially, some were granted Indian citizenship.
Now, among the 25,000 residents living in these camps, more than 13,000 do not have Indian citizenship.
The residents here have been seeking citizenship for the past three decades. Documents of the residents have been submitted by the taluk and district administration, but citizenship has not yet been granted.
They have been struggling to get jobs and education. Their struggle for citizenship and caste certificates continues. But now the CAA has doled out hope among these residents. So far, 146 applications have been filed for citizenship.
Some, including Ramakrishnan Abhikari, Sukumar Mondal, Bipradasa Goldar, Jayanth Mondal, and Advith, were recently granted Indian citizenship by the Directorate of Census Operations, Union Ministry of Home Affairs. This has given hope to others too.