New Delhi, June 23, 2016: Hindus and Sikhs of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan who had their citizenship applications getting approved slowly will rejoice now as the government of India is speeding up the approval process.
The Hindus and the Sikhs are one of the largest vulnerable groups in these nations and have often found themselves in a quandary as their applications have been biting the dust for years.
But all is soon to change with government sources saying that the process has been set into motion and the pending cases are the first ones to be looked into.
At present, the Home Ministry is working on a bill to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955.
The present day Indian government has made many moves on this front and even granted citizenship to Adnan Sami, an erstwhile Pakistani singer, showing that it is not prejudiced against any religious group but also would exercise discretion while granting the citizenship award.
Salma Agha, a Pakistani actress working in India, is another beneficiary of this approach.
Many Hindus and Sikhs have come to India citing religious persecution and discriminatory practices in their home nations as the reason for migration.
With Narendra Modi government having completed 2-years already, this poll promise will finally see something tangible come out of it.
The target seems to be the Independence Day celebrations which may see many citizenship approvals from the government.