Born in Pakistan ‘Indian at heart’ woman makes desperate plea for citizenship

HYDERABAD: A Pakistani by birth but an Indian at heart, a 23-year-old woman living in Hyderabad, Telangana since she was a child is seeking Indian citizenship. While all her previous attempts having not been fruitful, she has now appealed to union home minister Rajnath Singh as a last resort.
Her application has been pending with the home ministry for the last seven years. Syeda was successful in drawing external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj’s attention to her plight recently. However, the reply that she got was that her issue falls under the union home ministry.
In her letter addressed to Rajnath Singh on Tuesday, she mentioned that her father was an Indian national and her mother was granted Indian citizenship in 2010. Syeda, has been living in India on an extended Pakistan visa as she holds a Pakistan passport. She was born there but came to India with her parents as a child.
Now, Syeda is at the crossroads of her life. “I am in a limbo,” she told home minister Rajnath Singh in a letter.
The Pakistani national had first applied for Indian citizenship on August 26, 2003. “I was given oath of allegiance and asked to apply after coming of age,” she said in the letter to the home minister.
Though she applied, she was asked to once again put in her application under different sections. Her latest application dated March 26, 2010 has been pending with the authorities. She also gave her third oath of allegiance in August 2014.
Syed is going through a critical phase as she her completed her studies and wants to chart out her future course. “I have done my entire schooling here. I have been a merit student all my life but ever since I graduated, I have been waiting for my Indian citizenship,” she said.
“I cannot work. I cannot study further because that would require me to change my visa. I can’t travel anywhere inside the country. I could not write many entrance examinations because of travel restrictions. I have to renew my Pakistan passport again,” she said. “I have lived here all my life. I do not want to move to another country away from my family and parents,” she said in her plea to the home minister.
“My entire career and future will be decided by this. Please help me get my citizenship at the earliest,” she said.