Uttar Pradesh becomes first state to send refugees list to Centre
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA has come into force from January 10 and Uttar Pradesh has become the first state to begin the procedure for implementation of the Act. According to various media reports, the Uttar Pradesh government has sent a list of largely Hindu refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh to the Home Ministry. All refugees mentioned on the list reside across 19 districts of the state. The report - "Uttar Pradesh Mein Aaye Pakistan, Afghanistan Aevam Bangladesh ke Sharnarthiyon ki Aapbeeti Kahani", also holds personal stories of all refugees.
The department had earlier directed all district magistrates to identify refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who had been living in their respective areas and submit a list to the government.
Later, the data revealed nearly 40,000 non-Muslim illegal immigrants were residing in Uttar Pradesh, specifically across 19 districts of Agra, Rae Bareli, Saharanpur, Gorakhpur, Aligarh, Rampur, Muzaffarnagar, Hapur, Mathura, Kanpur, Pratapgarh, Varanasi, Amethi, Jhansi, Bahraich, Lakhimpur Kheri, Lucknow, Meerut and Pilibhit.
Out of these, Pilibhit has a chunk of around 30,000 to 35,000 immigrants.
Government sources said the report containing the refugees' details and testimonies from a few from each district had been submitted to the home ministry and to the chief minister's office.
The testimonies of various families in the report reveal the circumstances in which the families had to move to India, largely from Pakistan and Bangladesh.
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