New Delhi [India], December 30 : At 18, Radha is preparing to cast her first vote in the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections, marking a significant milestone in her life. Having fled Pakistan at the age of four with her family, Radha is now an Indian citizen and sees voting not just as a civic duty, but as a symbol of finally having a voice in the country she now proudly calls home.
Radha is one of 300 Pakistani Hindus who recently applied for voter IDs in anticipation of the Delhi elections. These individuals were granted citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019, in May 2024.
“It’s exciting. I got my citizenship certificate earlier this year and we’ve applied for voter IDs. This will be my first time voting like a true Indian,” Radha shared with a hopeful smile, flanked by her mother and aunts. “I hope whichever government comes to power will support us and let us stay here.”
For Radha, the local issues that matter most are unemployment and housing. “There are a lot of unemployed people here. There should be more job opportunities for us,” she said, echoing the concerns of her community.
The families, many of whom have lived in Delhi for over a decade, are only now beginning to feel settled after acquiring Indian citizenship. Yet, despite this step forward, unemployment, poor housing, and lack of land remain key challenges for many in the camp.
Most of the men work as daily wagers or run small businesses, such as phone accessory kiosks, while many of the women are housewives. Among the elders, there is hope that citizenship will unlock better job prospects and the possibility of owning land for farming.
Puran, a 50-year-old who arrived in Delhi via train in 2013, expressed a common desire among the community. “We were farmers in Pakistan. We came here to escape persecution, but now we lack land for farming. If the government could give us land on lease, we could grow our own crops and provide for our families,” he said. With 21 children, Puran has married off 20 of them and hopes to secure a piece of land where they can farm.
The camp’s pradhan, Dharamvir Solanki, shared that the settlement consists of 217 families, roughly 1,000 people in total. “Around 300 people have applied for voter IDs. We also have Aadhaar cards and hope to receive ration cards soon,” he said. Solanki, who arrived in Delhi with several Hindu families from Sindh, Pakistan in 2013, sees these steps as vital to securing a better future.
For community members like Nanaki, who recently lost her mother-in-law, the focus is clear: “I don’t want a house or freebies. I just want land to farm. If we can earn, we can build homes ourselves.”
As the upcoming elections approach, these families hold onto the hope that the new government will offer the stability and opportunities they need to rebuild their lives with dignity in the country they now call their own.