'Where will I go?' Odisha woman faces deportation to Pak after 35 years

Amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan, families with cross-border roots fear separation

Sarada Bai, 55, has called India home for more than three decades. She raised a family here, built a life in Odisha’s Bolangir district, and never thought she would one day be asked to leave. But now, as tensions between India and Pakistan rise in the aftermath of Pahalgam terror attack, Sarada faces deportation to a country she barely remembers.

 

According to a report in The Indian Express, Sarada was born in Pakistan’s Sindh province. She came to India in 1987 on a 60-day visa with her father and six siblings. The family settled in Odisha’s Koraput district, and a few years later, Sarada married a local businessman. For the past 35 years, she has lived in Bolangir, raising two children and now caring for two grandchildren. 

 

 

“My family is here. India is my home,” she told the newspaper.

 

But a letter from the district police has changed everything. On Saturday, Sarada received an official notice directing her to leave India. The letter, signed by the Superintendent of Police, said she neither holds a valid long-term visa nor qualifies under the exempted categories. “You are directed to quit India at the earliest,” the letter warned, adding that legal action would follow if she failed to comply.

 

“I have no one in Pakistan,” Sarada said. “I haven’t even spoken to anyone there in years, not even over the phone. My life is here, my children are Indian citizens. Why should I be forced to leave?”

 

Tensions spill over after Pahalgam terror attack

 

Sarada’s situation is not unique. She is one of 12 Pakistani nationals living in Odisha who have been issued exit notices in recent days. The sudden move comes after the Indian government revoked all valid visas issued to Pakistani citizens, following a deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22.

 

The attack, which left 26 people dead, has reignited tensions between the two nuclear-powered neighbours. India has blamed Pakistan-based terror groups for the violence, prompting a series of diplomatic measures from New Delhi. 

 

On April 26, the Ministry of External Affairs announced that all existing visas for Pakistani nationals would be cancelled with effect from April 27. Medical visas would be valid until April 29. 

 

For people like Sarada, the announcement came without warning—and without clarity on what comes next.

 

Sarada says she had applied for Indian citizenship years ago but never received a response. Now, she fears she will be forced to leave behind everything she knows. “I just want to stay with my children. This is my home. Where will I go?”