A total of 3,117 minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan were granted Indian citizenship in the last four years, Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
Member of Parliament Dr K. Keshava Rao had asked a question regarding the total citizenship applications received from Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Christian minorities groups from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan during the years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 and how many of them were granted Indian citizenship. In his reply, Rao mentioned that the number of citizenship applications received from Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Christian minorities groups from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan during the year 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 was 8,244. The government granted Indian citizenship to 3,117 applicants during the period.
Around 70% of applications pending for Indian citizenship are from Pakistanis, according to data provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai mentioned that out of the total of 10,635 applicants who applied for Indian citizenship till December 14, 2021, as many as 7,306 were from Pakistan. There were 1,152 applications pending from Afghanistan, followed by 428 from Stateless, 223 from Sri Lanka and the US, 189 from Nepal and 161 from Bangladesh, the minister said; 10 applicants from China applied for Indian citizenship.
The power to grant Indian citizenship vests with the MHA which approves the application after detailed verification and scrutiny.