Citizenship under CAA for 2 in Assam

A 40-year-old woman from Assam's Sribhumi district, who entered India from Bangladesh in 2007, has been granted Indian citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

- Biswa Kalyan Purkayastha

Along with her, a 61-year-old man from Cachar district has also received citizenship, their lawyer confirmed on Friday.

Senior advocate Dharmananda Deb, a former Foreigners Tribunal (FT) member in Silchar, said the Ministry of Home Affairs issued the certificates on Friday, and the citizenship is deemed effective from the day both individuals entered India. Deb declined to disclose their names, citing possible harassment.

He said the woman, who uses the surname Banerjee, arrived in Silchar in 2007 to accompany a family member for treatment at Silchar Medical College and Hospital. There, she met a man from Sribhumi, married him, and stayed back. The couple later had a son. Her family in Bangladesh's Chittagong still lives there, but she wished to become an Indian national. After CAA rules were notified last year, she applied.

Her first application, submitted in July last year, was rejected due to confusion caused by the delimitation exercise before the Lok Sabha elections. Badarpur area, where she now lives, was partially moved from Sribhumi to Cachar, creating uncertainty over her district. The lawyer reapplied, and her case was finally approved.