Want to live the rest of my life in India only: Rizwanaben Mansuri living in Vadodara after leaving Pakistan in 1991

Amidst the massive protests fanning out across the country to oppose the recently passed Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, here is one such immigrant telling her tale of the life she’s lived in India since 1991.

Our Vadodara recently got in touch with Rizwanaben Ferozbhai Mansuri who moved to Vadodara from Karachi, Pakistan in 1991. A resident of Nani Chhipwad, the 50-year-old Rizwanaben got married to Ferozbhai Mansuri at the age of 20 and has been living here with her family from the last 29 years. The couple has two daughter of which one is married.

Post her marriage to Ferozbhai Mansuri, Rizwanaben applied for Indian citizenship in 1991. In 2005, they received two letters by post, however, due to not being well-read, the Rizwanaben and her husband could not understand what was written in the letters. She said that her kids were too young at the time.

“The new act passed by the government is beneficial for people like me because we faced a lot of issues before. I had to travel to all the way to Delhi to renew my passport every year, but now that I want to live here, all I want is to get my Indian citizenship,” said Rizwanaben.

In the year 2005, the post mail received by Rizwanaben stated that the government had approved her application for Indian citizenship, but she came to know about it only after a few years. “I may be living here without a citizenship since the last 29 years, but not once have I faced any issues. Now, I will re-apply for citizenship online and hope to get my Indian citizenship soon enough,” she added.