India reduces citizenship fee for Hindus, other minorities from Pakistan

Fees for minority members from other countries has been kept intact

India has considerably reduced the registration fee for Hindus and other minority members hailing from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, Times of India reported on Saturday.

The fees for the aforementioned countries was drastically decreased from Rs15,000 to a mere Rs100.

In a notification, the Indian home ministry said the rules will apply to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who intend to reside in India on a long-term visa.



 

However, for minority community people from countries other than the three, the fees will be Rs10,000 for registration in India and Rs15,000 if registered elsewhere.

The changes, which were enabled after after amendments in different provisions of Citizenship Rules 2009, would allow the minority members take oath of allegiance to India.



On Friday, Indian police arrested Kashmiri freedom movement leader Yasin Malik in Srinagar as he attempted to lead a protest against the Modi government’s move to issue nativity certificates to Hindu refugees. According to the opposition parties in the held valley, the move will hamper the demography in the state.

On September 8, 2015, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government announced its decision to allow minority refugees from Bangladesh and Pakistan to stay in India after their visas expire.