A Hindu woman named Sumitra Prasad, originally from Bangladesh has been granted Indian citizenship in the Bhojpur district of Bihar. The Hindu woman was trying to get Indian citizenship for the last 40 years. Sumitra, who was living on a visa till now, got to apply for Indian citizenship through the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and on Friday (3rd January) she became an Indian citizen. This is the first case of granting Indian citizenship to a foreigner under CAA in Bihar. Sumitra admitted that Hindus are tortured by Islamic extremists in Bangladesh.
Reports say that at age 5, Sumitra Prasad alias Rani Shaha went to her aunt’s house in Bangladesh due to her father’s poor financial condition. Her father, Madan Gopal, was not able to bear the expenses of his wife, 2 daughters, and 2 sons. Sumitra’s aunt lived in the Rajshahi district of Bangladesh. Pakistan was divided in 1971, and chaos ensued. Meanwhile, Sumitra stayed there and passed high school from her aunt’s house.
Sumitra said that Hindus are not looked upon favourably in Bangladesh. Sumitra returned to India in 1985 due to the daily harassment by Islamic extremists. After this Sumitra never returned to Bangladesh. Sumitra was 20 years old when she came to India. After returning to India she went to Katihar to her father. In 1985 Sumitra got married to Parameshwar of Ara (Bhojpur) district. Sumitra’s husband runs a home appliance shop. The couple has 3 daughters.
In 2010, Sumitra’s husband died of illness. Since arriving in India, Sumitra had been trying to get Indian citizenship. She used to visit visa offices every year. Sumitra says that many people in her neighbourhood in Bihar often advised her to go back to Bangladesh. Due to the delay in visa, the police also gave her the same advice in 2023. Some people also scared Sumitra by talking about getting into court cases and going to jail etc.
Eventually, her daughter Aishwarya came to know about CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act). Aishwarya applied for her mother under this law. Within just 3 months of application, Sumitra got Indian citizenship. Now Sumitra’s family is very happy after becoming Indian citizens. Aishwarya says that till now her mother’s Indian identity card could not be made, due to which her family was deprived of basic facilities like gas connection.
