Another election will pass without being able to vote for members of several hundred families living in the rehabilitation camp set up for refugees from Bangladesh near Sindhanur in Raichur district. If the delay in notification of rules for Citizen Amendment Act (CAA) denied many possible first-time voters a chance to cast their vote during the 2023 assembly elections, the same continues in this Lok Sabha elections as online registration process for citizenship has just begun.
Registration process
With the registration for citizenship under the CAA commencing, many are hoping to get voting rights by the next elections. Sindhanur comes under the Koppal Lok Sabha constituency. The CAA was passed in the Parliament in 2019, but rules were notified only in March 2024. The total population in the four Bangla camp that were set up in the 1970s to accommodate Hindu refugees from Bangladesh during and after 1971 Indo-Pak war is estimated to be over around 20,000.
“Several hundreds of people - in some cases parents - are yet to secure citizenship. Once they secure citizenship, their children will also become citizens and get the benefits, including voting rights,” said Pranab Bala, an advocate and resident of the Bangla camp.
While the 932 families that were among the first to be rehabilitated by the Indian government received citizenship rights, about 300 families that came after them or those who were married into the families in Sindhanur, have been facing citizenship issues.
“Changes to citizenship laws post 2004 mandates citizenship of both parents to enable citizenship to the child, and many families have one of the parents who do not have Indian citizenship,” Mr. Bala explained. Before the 2004 rule, a child could get citizenship if one of the parents was an Indian citizen, he explained.
According to Mr. Bala, the number of applications made since the online process started a few weeks has been low. “Contradictory statements have been made by political parties across the country creating confusion. Some are scared to apply providing the place of origin in Bangladesh, address and date of entering the country among other details needed. The process also requires affidavits and proof of religion, all of which are time consuming documents to build. Awareness level is also low,” he said.
Mr. Bala was among those who have been trained in Delhi to facilitate the application process. “We are hoping that the number of people applying online will increase. We are trying to create awareness and encourage people to apply.” After the online application, the Deputy Commissioner’s office will call the applicants for verification to complete the process.
