India has reduced registration fee for Hindus and other minorities from Pakistan and two other countries, making it easier and financially affordable to become citizens, reported the Times of India.Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani revealed in the National Assembly that around 5,000 Hindus are migrating from Pakistan to India every year.
The registration fee was Rs15,000, but has now been reduced to Rs100.
The new rules will be applicable to minority communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, said a notification by India's home ministry.
The change in rules would also make it possible for minority members from neighbouring countries to take an oath of allegiance as an Indian citizen in the presence of Indian government officials.
The fee for minority community members from other countries will be Rs10,000 of registered in India and Rs15,000 if registered elsewhere.
The changes were made by amending various provisions in Citizenship Rules 2009, added ToI.
A member of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani had earlier revealed in the National Assembly that around 5,000 Hindus migrate from Pakistan to India every year.
New Delhi had last year announced that Bangladeshis and Pakistanis belonging to minority communities there, who had entered India legally before December 31, 2014, could stay in the country, even if their documents had lapsed.He said that influential people were forcefully converting religion of Hindu girls in interior Sindh, urging the government to take steps to counter such attempts from Muslim majority in the country.
As a first step to granting Indian nationality to some 200,000 refugees from neighbouring countries, the BJP-led government has given citizenship to around 4,300 Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan and Afghanistan in one year, according to sources.
During the entire tenure of the previous government, the figure stood at 1,023. The refugees have been given citizenship on the initiative of Home Minister Rajnath Singh following BJP’s declared policy that India is a “natural home for persecuted Hindus” who will be welcome to seek refuge.
During his election campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that Pakistani and Bangladeshi Hindu refugees would be treated like any other Indian citizen.
There are around 200,000 Hindu and Sikh refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan currently living in India.
Since the Modi government assumed charge in May 2014, nearly 19,000 refugees have been given long-term visas in Madhya Pradesh. Around 11,000 long-term visas were given in Rajasthan and another 4,000 in Gujarat, official sources said.
In April, the home ministry had unveiled an online system for submission of applications for long-term visas.
The decision has been taken to address the hardship being faced by the refugees who come to India with the intention to settle permanently.
There are about 400 settlements for refugees from Pakistan in cities like Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner and Jaipur. Hindu refugees from Bangladesh mostly live in West Bengal and northeastern states. Sikh refugees mostly live in Punjab, Delhi and Chandigarh.
