'Dream Come True': CAA Applicants Express Joy As They Become Indian Citizens

14 members of minority religious communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan received Indian citizenship under the CAA on May 15, nearly two months after rules under the law were notified.

14 people from non-Muslim migrant communities have received the citizenship certificates. ( Image Source :ANI )

The first set of citizenship certificates under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act has brought a wave of happiness to the 14 applicants who received them on Wednesday. The citizenship certificates were handed over by Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla in New Delhi, nearly two months after the notification of rules under the CAA.

The CAA seeks to ease the path to Indian citizenship for members of six minorities (Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi and Christian) who faced persecution in Muslim-majority Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, and had come to India by December 31, 2014. 
 
Sharing her excitement with news agency ANI over receiving the citizenship certificate, Bhavna, one of the applicants from Pakistan, said, “I was very happy when CAA was passed... this time the happiness is much more than that.”

She also talked about the problems she faced as a woman in Pakistan. “There were lots of problems in Pakistan... girls couldn't study... couldn't step outside their homes... and when we had to go outside, we used to wear a burqa,” she said. “In India, we get to study, I am currently in 11th standard and I go for tuitions on my own as well..."

#WATCH | Bhavna, one of the applicants who received citizenship certificate says, " I have got the citizenship today and I am feeling very happy, I can study further...I came here in 2014, and I was very happy when this (CAA) was passed...in Pakistan, we girls couldn't study and… https://t.co/HUmw3HqPzG pic.twitter.com/1tZrc8BoFF

— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2024

For Harish Kumar, It is a “dream-come-true” moment. "I have been living in Delhi for the last 12-13 years. This is a dream-come-true feeling, I am very happy,” he said. 

Thanking the Centre, he added, “This is a new life to me… I am very thankful to the central government."

Speaking to ANI, he added, "We will get some rights as citizens which will help us to progress in education or securing jobs. It is a very good feeling." 

#WATCH | Harish Kumar, one of the applicants who received citizenship certificate says, " I have been living in Delhi for the last 13-14 years. This is a dream come true feeling, I am very happy, this is a new life to me...I am very thankful to the central govt" https://t.co/HUmw3HqPzG pic.twitter.com/yNN3UveFCP

— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2024