Pak Hindu refugees get temporary breather, many apply for long term visas
Jaisalmer
: With India revoking visa services to all but diplomatic, official and long-term visa holders, Hindu Pakistani citizens on short-term visas in India made a beeline to apply for long-term visas before the deadline ended on Sunday.
Over Saturday and Sunday, over 800 Hindu Pakistani citizens in Jaisalmer prepared and submitted their long-term visa applications at the Foreigners Registration Office.
Dalip Singh Sodha of the Seemant Lok Sangathan said, "We received assurances of relief from the govt. There is a possibility of relief for Hindu refugees from Pakistan, and we have high hopes from this decision." Under this relief,
displaced Hindu refugees
from Pakistan who came to India on short-term visas were asked to apply for LTV (Long Term Visa). If they apply for LTV within the deadline, they may be allowed to stay in India permanently, Sodha said.
He said it is likely govt may issue specific orders for Hindu refugees from Pakistan, providing them relief for a certain period. "This could be a historic step, proving to be a lifeline for thousands of Hindu refugees displaced from Pakistan to India," Sodha added.
By Sunday, over 800
Pakistani Hindu refugees
had applied for long-term visas. However, Sodha said if the LTV applications are not completed within the specified time frame, concerned persons may have to return to Pakistan.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
22 minutes ago
- The Hindu
From street name to gobbledygook
The street sign says it all – Yahali 3rd Street. There are three of them, all connecting Anna Salai with GN Chetty Road, at Teynampet, very close to Semmozhi Poonga. Only Yahali is not the correct name. Google maps has compounded matters further. You need to search under Yaya Hali Street if you need to find it. The correct name is Yahya Ali Streets – 1, 2 and 3, and they take their names from Justice Yahya Ali of the High Court of Madras. The learned judge is not in public memory. When I spoke to a friend on this, he said that the Internet has no reference to such a judge, and I guess that would mean such a person did not exist. But he did. And when he died as a sitting judge in 1949, the High Court convened to condole his passing. The brilliant barrister and then Public Prosecutor V.L. Ethiraj led the mourners. He dwelt on the 'keen intellect, great learning, profound human understanding and exquisite courtesy we found in that frail figure.' But to get full biographical details we need to turn to the speech of an illustrious contemporary, V.C. Gopalaratnam who spoke on behalf of the Madras Advocates Association. Yahya Ali was born in August 1893 in Nellore, his father serving as Assistant Secretary in the Finance Department of the Nizams of Hyderabad. He graduated in History and Economics from the Presidency College in 1916 and then qualified in Law. He set up practice in Nellore and became Government Pleader and Public Prosecutor. He was a member of the Madras Legislative Council as well. In between he became Chairman of Nellore Municipality, his election being testimony to the regard he enjoyed from all residents of the town. It was a place notorious for communal tension and being a Hindu majority, it was considered impossible for a Muslim to win the ballot. In 1926, Yahya Ali became District Judge, being posted in that capacity to various parts of Madras Presidency. His specialisation in matters concerning finance led to his being appointed by the then Imperial Government in 1942 as the Chairman of the Appellate Income Tax Tribunal where he equipped himself 'with a thorough and exhaustive knowledge of Income Tax Law and Procedure.' In 1945 he became a judge of the High Court of Madras. It is interesting to note that he sat in judgement till the last day of his life, taking ill on April 21, 1949, and passing away the next day. While these details are from Gopalaratnam's speech during the condolence meet, we learn some more from what the then Chief Justice had to say. Yahya Ali he noted, was a connoisseur of Telugu poetry and 'he was a deeply cultured person- culture with the best ingredients of what I may call Moghul culture – urbanity, catholicity and instinctive love of all that was beautiful.' What was his link to Teynampet? He was at the time of his death Mutawalli (trustee or guardian) of the Teynampet Mosque in which his family had taken a deep interest. It was also in the precincts of this mosque that Yahya Ali was buried. And eventually a locality was named after him. And from there, the name has morphed phonetically as it were, to what it is now with street names changing accordingly. I wish the Corporation would be more careful with street signs. We have suffered enough mutilation with truncation of many names to initials, morphing of others, and of course, name changes at the drop of a hat.
Time of India
6 hours ago
- Time of India
Backwardness only criteria for OBC classification, says Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday told the assembly that OBC classification hasn't been done on religion, the only benchmark for it being the backwardness of a community. "A high court division bench order led to the exclusion of several groups from the OBC category. The West Bengal government took the matter to the Supreme Court," Banerjee said. In compliance with the HC order, a public notification was issued, she said. All action was taken, abiding by the law, and it has been submitted to court, she said. There were a total of 140 recognised groups among OBCs. Banerjee said out of 140, around 61 are from the majority Hindu community and 79 from the minority community.
Time of India
6 hours ago
- Time of India
CM Himanta alleges beef ‘weaponisation' in Assam
1 2 Guwahati: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday alleged that beef is being "weaponised" in the state, citing instances where pieces of meat were purportedly thrown in public places after Eid celebrations last week. Addressing a press conference at the BJP state headquarters, Sarma said, "Earlier, if a couple of Muslim families lived in a Hindu neighbourhood, they would be careful not to create any problem for the Hindus. If they wanted to eat beef, they would go to their people living in Muslim-majority areas." He added, "Someone can eat it at Eid, but it cannot be weaponised against other people." Meanwhile, prohibitory orders were imposed by the district administration in lower Assam's Dhubri district on Monday after communal tensions erupted over an incident where pieces of meat were allegedly thrown near a place of worship. The situation in Dhubri town deteriorated as protests broke out, prompting authorities to deploy tear gas to disperse the crowd and impose restrictions on public movement. However, with no new incident reported, the district administration lifted the prohibitory orders in the town on Tuesday, allowing shops to reopen. On Monday, miscreants reportedly attacked vegetable vendors and e-rickshaw drivers near Dhubri Magistrate Colony and New Market. Police rushed to the scene and used tear gas to disperse the mob and regain control. To prevent further unrest, authorities imposed restrictions under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, ordering all shops and markets to remain closed while prohibiting gatherings of five or more people for demonstrations, meetings, or processions.
