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Migrant Pak Hindus launch fight to ascertain identity
- Jalandhar:
- Nearly 200 Pakistani Hindus, who had migrated to India over a decade ago and are now left with expired passports, launched a fight on Tuesday to ascertain their identity.
- The families said despite spending 10 to 15 years in India, the government had not provided them citizenship.
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Billa said there were nearly 2,000 to 5,000 Hindu families who have migrated from Pakistan and are presently living in Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Delhi.
Simak Ram, who had migrated from Peshwar in 2000, said of the 100 Hindu families in Peshawar, over 50 migrated to India in the last five to seven years. “Hindu girls are picked up by Muslims, which is a major factor for the migration,” he said.
“We are very much Indians but the Indian government is harassing us. And in the absence of any identity, we cannot get any respectable work and our children are not getting admission in schools and colleges,” he added.
“We have been living here for over a decade now. How can we renew our passports from Pakistan?” asked Ashok Kumar, another migrant.
Billa said the Gujarat and Rajasthan governments had made arrangements to help such migrants, but in Punjab no such effort had been made.
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