Republic Day

Pakistani

Ahmedabad

Jitesh Maheshwari

Neelam Jagroo

Suman Khattar

Rawalpindi

Mahesh Khattar (L) and Suman Khattar (R) were driven out of Pak

Mahesh Khattar

We are the only district in the country that leads in handing over citizenship rights. These people will finally become a part of our country, enjoy all fundamental rights Vikrant Pandey, A’bad dist collector

Forced to flee Pakistan in fear, they breathed freedom in India. And tomorrow, on, 29 Hindus will proudly be able to call themselves Indians. Thenationals who had migrated toyears ago will receive their certificate of Indian citizenship from Ahmedabad District Collector Vikrant Pandey.The collector said, “We are the only district in the country that leads in handing over citizenship rights. These people will finally become a part of our country, enjoy all fundamental rights, be part of electoral rolls and be eligible for various benefits.” Every day since he moved to India,gives thanks for the peace that he and his family enjoys.The 40-year-old with his family moved to Isanpur in Ahmedabad from Tharparkar district of Sindh province in 2006. “My father ran a grocery shop in Pakistan. Unknown men would pelt stones at our shop. One day, a man stormed into my house with a rifle and threatened to kill me if we didn’t leave Pakistan. Today, we have our own business in India. Peace through spirituality is a basic and unique quality of India,” he said.from Sindh province of Pakistan came to India in 2009. She along with her husband Rajesh and son will get citizenship after living here a decade. “I finished my MBBS in Pakistan and got married. But we never felt secure there. We longed to come to India where there was religious freedom. In Pakistan, we used to pray fearfully in temples. We would avoid the gaze of our neighbours while praying. In India, everyone is respectful about each other’s religion. I am happy that I will soon be an Indian,” said the 37-year- old Vastrapur resident who works in a city hospital. Her husband is a mechanical engineer by profession.came fromto India with her parents in 2000. A gynaecologist by profession, she is married to an Indian citizen. “I belong to a Hindu family and we faced a hard time living in Pakistan. When the Soviet- Afghan war broke out, there was strife in Pakistan, too. Two of our Hindu neighbours were shot dead. We were forced to hide our identities several times to save ourselves. In India we have fundamental rights.Citizens are treated equally irrespective of caste, creed and gender which was not the case in Pakistan. We are happy that we will finally receive our citizenship after 20 years,” said the 35-year-old who lives in Sindhu Bhavan area.used to live in Hyderabad city of Sindh province with his parents, wife and children. Fed up of the lack of opportunities and lawlessness there, he moved with his wife and kids to Ahmedabad in 2009.The 37-year-old, a mechanical engineer at an MNC, said, “My parents stayed back as they have lived their entire lives there. I could not live there any more. We were often humiliated for being Hindus and were asked to leave the country. I was working here on an extended visa. The opportunities I got to further my career here is remarkable here.”