Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of the merger of Person of Indian Origin (PIO) and Overseas Citizen of Indian (OCI) cards to relax visa rules may have brought cheer to Indian Americans, but it has been a disappointment to thousands of migrants from Pakistan living here.
A large number of such migrants have been coming to India in large numbers, particularly since 1991, and they have been demanding citizenship, which, at present, is difficult to get. Most are on long-term visas, which do not entitle them to basic government facilities such as bank, health and education facilities. A substantial number come on pilgrimage visa.
“The Bharatiya Janata Party, at the time of the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, promised to look into our issue, but there has been no movement forward so far,” says Hindu Singh Sodha, president of the Seemant Lok Sangathan, an organisation working for the cause of the migrants.
It was none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi who promised to look into their issues during an election rally here. “We have been waiting since then. Except for the setting up of a task force by the Home Affairs Ministry, we have heard nothing else,” Mr. Sodha told The Hindu here.
There are seven migrant camps in Jodhpur which receive an ever-ending flow of migrants almost every week by Thar Link Express, the weekly train between India and Pakistan. Most of those who come never return as minorities have been facing difficult living conditions in Pakistan since the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1991. The situation worsened with the strengthening of the Taliban.
However, life is tough for the migrants here. They primarily belong to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes and live in camps on the outskirts of the city, which lack even basic facilities for water supply, education, health and even shelter. The camp at Alkausar Nagar does not even have a toilet, one of the focus areas of the Prime Minister; neither does it have regular water supply. “We have to get water from the nearby Madrasa, our children do not get admission in government schools and we cannot afford private schools,” says a fresh migrant who came to Rajasthan with his family just last month but did not wish to be identified for fear of persecution of his family back in Karachi.
Those who get long-term visas have to wait for seven years before they are entitled to apply for Indian citizenship, which is not an easy task. “Many people also return because the living conditions are so bad here, but the inflow of people still continues. Government agencies often cite security reasons for grant of citizenship, though most of us were citizens of undivided India; they can at least give us refugee status,” says Mr. Sodha, who was a migrant but is now an Indian citizen. The migrants are settled in Barmer, Jaisalmer, Bikaner and now Jodhpur because the Thar Express arrives here.
