Court directs Union Ministry of Home Affairs to act on the plea of a refugee seeking Indian citizenship
MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has instructed the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to consider and decide on the citizenship application of M Mathine, a 49-year-old woman living at the Kottapattu rehabilitation camp for Sri Lankan Tamils in Tiruchy, within three months, reported newindianexpress.com.
Mathine, an Indian-origin Tamil born in Sri Lanka in 1975, submitted her petition to the court, highlighting her plight as a stateless individual. Her family, identified as Indian-origin Tamils in Sri Lanka, endured life in refugee camps before moving to India during the ethnic war in 1984.
Indian-origin Tamil woman in Tiruchy camp fights for citizenship after decades of statelessness
In her petition, Mathine shared the struggle of being labeled a Sri Lankan refugee despite her Indian roots. “We are Indian-origin Tamils who have no citizenship in either India or Sri Lanka. We have lived as stateless people for over 40 years,” she said.
Mathine revealed that she and her family had been issued identity certificates in Sri Lanka, affirming their Indian heritage. However, their hope of gaining Indian citizenship has remained unfulfilled. Despite submitting a citizenship application on October 6, 2022, no action had been taken, prompting her to seek legal intervention.
Justice GK Ilanthiraiyan, presiding over the case, directed the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to assess and decide on Mathine’s citizenship application within three months, offering a glimmer of hope for her and her family to finally gain official recognition as Indian citizens.
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