Summary:
Last month, the authorisation was extended beyond December 22, in a huge relief for many migrants awaiting grant of citizenship. Eligible Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian migrants were granted citizenship earlier too, but in a bid to speed up the process, the Centre in 2016 authorised collectors to grant citizenship to eligible migrants. The Home Ministry had earlier authorised 16 collectors in seven states, including Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, and Kutch, to grant citizenship to minority migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, till December 22, 2018. "There are 3,000 migrants from Pakistan living in Ahmedabad, and 3,000 more in other places in Gujarat. There is good news for thousands of Hindu migrants, the majority of whom are from Pakistan, who are living in Gujarat as the central government has extended select district collectors' authority to grant Indian citizenship to them..