Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant today (August 28) handed over the Indian citizenship certificate to a 78-year-old Pakistani Christian under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, making him the first such person from the coastal state.
A Christian senior citizen from Pakistan, residing in Goa, was given an Indian citizenship certificate by CM Sawant through the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Joseph Francis A Pereira who currently resides in Cansaulim, South Goa, is the first in the state to get Indian citizenship under CAA.
Joseph Francis Pereira went from Goa to Pakistan for studies before liberation and subsequently took up a job there. He attained Pakistani citizenship and lived in Karachi before returning to India in 2013.
Joseph Pereira thanks PM Modi, Amit Shah
While speaking to media, Joseph thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for bringing the CAA.
"CAA was applied and within one month, the approval has come. I am very grateful to the CAA that was brought by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah," he said.
Joseph Pereira was the only one who had applied for citizenship as his wife was already a citizen of India. He further said, "I went in 1960 to Pakistan and I did my education there. I got an opportunity to work in Bahrain for 37 years. After my retirement in 2013, I came to Goa and from that time, I have been staying with my family. There are lots of Goan people in Pakistan but I have not visited there. My last visit there was in 1979. I had a hard time there while I was doing schooling as job opportunities were not there."
Joseph Pereira's spouse on CAA certificate
His wife, Martha Pereira told media that they were trying to get citizenship from the time they got married, but nothing was helping them. "From the time we got married, have been applying but nothing was coming out of it. We applied through CAA in June this year. Without CAA, there would have been a lot of hurdles," she said. "I am thankful for whatever is happening in our case," she added.
The chief minister said that though Pereira was married to a Goan woman, he faced hurdles in getting Indian citizenship till the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi amended the Citizenship Act, 1955. He gave the certificate to Pereira in the presence of state tourism minister Rohan Khaunte.
The CAA was enacted in December 2019 to grant Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who came to India on or before December 31, 2014. These include Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians.
The 1946-born Pereira is married to Maria from the coastal state and entered India on September 11, 2013, after retirement, according to government records. Originally from Paroda village in South Goa, Pereira now resides in Cansualim, in the same district, with his family. CM Sawant told media that Pereira is the first Goan to get this certificate but many people across India have taken advantage of the amendment in CAA to get Indian nationality.
He said there are many Goans who can be given citizenship in a similar way under the CAA. As per the certificate, Pereira has been registered as a Citizen of India under the Provisions of Section 6 B and fulfilling the conditions under section 5 (1)(c) of the Citizenship Act, 1955 with effect from the date of entering India.
Sawant said that the Goa Home Department has begun surveying such people.
“If anyone is eligible for the certificate, they can contact the government,” he added. Speaking on the occasion, Goa CM Pramod Sawant said that it is a matter of pride for them."I thank the Prime Minister and the Home Minister. Those who were in Pakistan or elsewhere were asking for citizenship for almost 60 years. So today after the law is passed, we are giving citizenship and it is a matter of pride for us," he said.
(With inputs from agencies)
