Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai  |  Photo Credit: ANI
New Delhi: Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai on Wednesday said that a total of 3,117 people from minority communities in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh were granted citizenship in the last four years. The Ministry of Home Affairs also added that around 70% of the pending applications for Indian citizenship were from Pakistani nationals.
Responding to MP Abdul Wahab’s question on current applicants and those who had been granted Indian citizenship over the last five years, Rai said that out of the 10,635 applicants who applied for Indian citizenship till December 14, 2021, as many as 7,306 were from Pakistan. There were 1,152 applications pending from Afghanistan, followed by 428 from Stateless, 223 from Sri Lanka and USA, 189 from Nepal and 161 from Bangladesh. 10 people from China had also applied for Indian citizenship.
Responding to another question from MP Dr. K Keshava Rao, Rai said that 8,244 people belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Christian minorities groups from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan had applied for Indian citizenship from 2018 to 2021. The MoS said that the number of Indian citizenship granted to people belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Christian minorities groups from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan during the years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 stood 3,117.
According to the documents uploaded on the Rajya Sabha’s official website, 4,177 people were granted Indian citizenship during last four years.
The Home Ministry scrutinises and verifies applications before granting Indian citizenship. As Rai noted, all foreign nationals including refuge seekers are governed 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.