Dehradun, Feb. 24 -- In a significant development under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 153 refugees residing in Uttarakhand have been granted Indian citizenship. The decision has brought much relief to families who had been awaiting legal recognition for several years. Sources added that the beneficiaries belong to the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities and had migrated to India from Pakistan and Afghanistan owing to religious persecution. Sources also claimed that Home Minister Amit Shah, himself, is likely to hand over citizenship certificates to the beneficiaries in Haridwar on 7 March.
According to the official sources, 147 of the approved applicants are from Pakistan while six are from Afghanistan. Sour...