Patna: In a significant development, Sumitra Saha Prasad alias Rani Saha has become the first person from Bihar to receive the Indian citizenship certificate granted under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019.
Sunitra (60), a resident of Bhojpur district of the state was granted citizenship of India on Friday, January 3, ending her forty-year long wait.
The certificate related to Sumitra’s citizenship was granted to her following a state-level empowered committee meeting held at the Director of Citizens Registration at the state secretariat.
Sumitra’s daughter Aishwarya had submitted an application on her behalf under relevant sections of the Citizenship Amendment Act in October last year. Her application marked the first such request made by a person residing in Bihar.
The authorities after due scrutiny of Sumitra’s application, generated and shared the citizenship certificate to her via email on Friday.
Bihar’s Arrah grants first citizenship under #CAA; #Bangladeshi woman Sumitra Prasad, who lived on a visa for 40 years, becomes Bhartiya citizen. pic.twitter.com/MS56f9hAOq
— Organiser Weekly (@eOrganiser) January 6, 2025
Expressing her delight over the approval, Sumitra said “our long wait has come to an end now. With Indian citizenship granted, now I don’t need to visit Kolkata for renewal of my visa.”
According to the reports, it was in the year 1970 that Saha was shifted from her ancestral home in Katihar to Rajshahi town of Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) at her aunt place at the age of five. The decision was made due to poor economic condition of her family.
“A year later, the Indo-Pak war led to the creation of Bangladesh, but life for Hindus in the region remained precarious,” remarked Sumitra while speaking to reporter of a prominent news portal, adding that although she studied there (Bangladesh) until class 10th, the atmosphere remained hostile for Hindus.
Sumitra only returned to Katihar in the year 1985 and subsequently married a businessman from Bhojpur district. The couple settled in Ara town of Bhojpur but that doesn’t ended Sumitra’s struggle as she frequently had to visit Kolkata for the renewal of her visa.
It was in the year 2024 that Sumitra learnt about the CAA when she visited Kolkata for the renewal of her visa. Her daughter Aishwarya applied for her citizenship in October which got approved within three months, marking state’s first implementation of the provisions under the CAA 2019.
Sharing the news, the Bihar unit of Bharatiya Janata Party in a tweet on Monday said “CAA gave the right to citizenship; the politics of those who spread confusion was exposed.”
CAA ने दिया नागरिकता का अधिकार, भ्रम फैलाने वालों की राजनीति हुई बेनकाब!
बिहार में बांग्लादेश की सुमित्रा देवी को 40 साल बाद CAA के तहत मिली नागरिकता।#ModiSarkar3 pic.twitter.com/agGtZDf6YI
— BJP Bihar (@BJP4Bihar) January 6, 2025
Enacted amid stiff opposition, the act enables prosecuted minorities Including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan for apply for the Indian citizenship given they entered India on or before December 2014.
The amendments made in the act provided the much needed relief to the prosecuted minorities of the aforementioned countries who have already been residing in India to apply for the Indian citizenship and avail benefits of the government schemes.
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