Bhopal: Today, at a special event organized by the state ministry, the three first applicants for the new type of Indian passport under the recently enacted CAA received their documents from the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Dr Mohan Yadav. This is one of the most significant occasions for the operationalization of the CAA in the state as the MP government extends a warm welcome to the new citizens.
The first beneficiaries, Sameer Selwani and Sanjana Selwani have parents who are from Pakistan, and the father is still living there. The Selwanis have been residing in India since 2012 and have submitted applications for citizenship under CAA in May. The third recipient mentioned is Rakhi Das from Bangladesh. All three were officially issued with their Indian certificates of citizenship today.
In the function, Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav also highlighted the relevance of the Citizenship Amendment Act. He also appreciated the attempts made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sort out citizenship-related problems and said that this chaos has refreshed a bond reminiscent of India before it was divided. In his speech, Dr Yadav pointed out that prior to 1947, the government guaranteed the safeguarding of all minority people in the country. Going by this assurance, several Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Christians, and Parsis continued to stay in what are now Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
In the course of time, nevertheless, these people were stigmatized and not allowed to return to this country, regarded as foreigners although their roots are in India. Thus, these people, according to Dr Yadav, were not strangers in those countries: they were part of the greater Indian society, being a part of undivided India and had opted to remain in those countries on assurance from the government. Sadly, the governments of countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan have failed to provide them with safety and security.
Dr. Yadav said that through the CAA,, these people can be with families in India. He pointed out that in regard to people who chose to come back, they are doing it to retain their flavor of religious faith.
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