UP govt identifies 37,000 refugees under CAA in Pilibhit, sends list to MHA

The refugees from Pakistan and Bangladesh settled in Uttar Pradesh's Pilibhit have expressed happiness over implementation of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as the district administration on Tuesday said that it has sent a list of 37,000 refugees to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Pilibhit, a district at India's border with Nepal, has 37,000 refugees, who are eligible citizenship of India under the new law.

According to the district government officials, these refugees came here from Pakistan and Bangladesh (earlier East Pakistan) and they have been identified as part of an initial survey.

The survey was conducted under the team led by District Magistrate Vaibhav Srivastava.

"We have identified 37,000 refugees who came to India due to religious persecution. The list was prepared after we conducted a primary survey. The list has been sent to the state government and the Ministry of Home Affairs," Srivastava told ANI.

"We were living in fear in Pakistan. We were being pressurised to convert our religion. Our daughters, sisters and wives were not safe there. We came here but we were not treated as citizens of this country. We are thankful to Prime Minister Modi for bringing in the CAA to give us dignified and respectful life," a refugee said.

"Congress never fulfilled its promises. Our demand was taken into consideration by BJP government," another refugee said.

The Uttar Pradesh Home Department had asked all district magistrates to identify refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and submit a list to the government.

The CAA grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians who have faced religious persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh and who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.