Dozens of Sri Lankan Tamils who were born in India and stayed in rehabilitation camps for over three decades have applied for citizenship. After verification of documents, their applications would be sent to the Union government for consideration, sources in the Commissionerate of Rehabilitation and Welfare of Non-Resident Tamils said.

A preliminary scrutiny of the applications revealed that about 300 Sri Lankan Tamils were entitled to citizenship under the provisions of the Citizenship Act. The applications started pouring in after the Commissionerate conducted a demographic assessment covering 57,500 residents of the rehabilitation camps and assured them of assistance in obtaining citizenship.

A majority of the applicants were individuals born in India on or after July 1, 1987, but before December 3, 2004 and born in India on or after December 3, 2004, with at least one of the parents being an Indian citizen and neither an illegal migrant. There were also some applicants who were Tamils of Indian origin having Indo-Sri Lanka passport issued by Indian missions in Sri Lanka for repatriates under the 1964 and 1974 agreements, the sources said.

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“The Sri Lankan nationals have lived in the camps for over 30 years now. The Tamil Nadu government is extending support to integrate them locally and make them self reliant. While explaining the benefits of acquiring citizenship, we are also assuring them of assistance in case they wanted to return to their home country. Nine people have got Indian citizenship in the last two years,” an official involved in the demographic assessment said.

Registration of marriages

The Commissionerate has also taken an initiative to register the marriages of Sri Lankan Tamils across the State and issue certificates. It has identified 898 couples, mostly in Ramanathapuram, Vellore, Tirunelveli and Salem regions, who were awaiting registration of their marriage. To implement this programme, the Department of Registration had organised a two-day special camp on July 25 and 26 for registering the marriages of Sri Lankan Tamils residing in rehabilitation camps across Tamil Nadu.

Inspector-General of Registration Dinesh Oliver Ponraj said Revenue Department officials would be involved to verify the claims of the applicants. Sub-Registrars were told to register and issue marriage certificates on the same day. The certificates would help individuals in the process of getting passports for themselves, spouses and children, he said.

M. Vallalar, Commissioner, Commissionerate of Rehabilitation and Welfare of Non-Resident Tamils, said the marriage certificates would play an important role in establishing the status of applicants while seeking passport or citizenship. It would also reinforce the confidence of Sri Lankan Tamils that the State government was doing everything possible to make their lives better.