HYDERABAD: A
23-year-old woman
, who was born in Pakistan, wrote to Union home minister
Rajnath Singh seeking
Indian citizenship
.
Syeda's father is an Indian national and her mother was granted Indian citizenship in 2010.
Syeda, who has been living in Hyderabad on an extended visa for most of her life, first applied for citizenship in 2003.Her case was earlier noticed by external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, who told her that the issue falls under the home ministry. On Tuesday, Syeda wrote to Singh. “I am in a limbo. I was born in Pakistan but moved to India with my parents as a child. I cannot work. I cannot study further because that would require me to change my visa,“ she wrote. In her plea to the home minister, Syeda, who holds a
Pakistani passport
, said that she missed out on multiple entrance examinations because of travel restrictions. “I have finished my schooling and college education here. I have been a merit student all my life but since I graduated, I have been waiting fruitlessly for my Indian citizenship. My entire career and future will be decided by this. Please help me get my citizenship at the earliest,“ she wrote.
Syeda's first application was rejected as she was a minor. “I was administered the oath of allegiance in 2003 and asked to apply after attaining majority ,“ she told the minister. Subsequently , she was asked to re-apply under different sections.
Her latest application dated March 26, 2010 has been pending since. She gave her third oath of allegiance in August 2014.
Sushil Rao is Editor-Special Reports, at The Times of India, Hyde...
Read MoreSushil Rao is Editor-Special Reports, at The Times of India, Hyderabad. He began his journalism career at the age of 20 in 1988. He is a gold medalist in journalism from the Department of Communication and Journalism, Arts College, Osmania University, Hyderabad from where he did his post-graduation from. He has been with The Times of India’s Hyderabad edition since its launch in 2000. He has also done an introductory course in film studies from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, and also from the Central University of Kerala equipping himself with the knowledge of filmmaking for film criticism. He has authored four books. In his career spanning 34 years, he has worked for five newspapers and has also done television reporting. He was also a web journalist during internet’s infancy in the mid 1990s in India. He covers defence, politics, diaspora, innovation, administration, the film industry, Hyderabad city and Telangana state, and human interest stories. He is also a podcaster, blogger, does video reporting and makes documentaries.
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