Hindus who came from B’desh till 2024 allowed to stay in India : MHA Order Brings Relief Amid Citizenship Concerns
In a landmark move that could impact thousands of refugees, the Union Home Ministry has announced that members of persecuted minority communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan who entered India up to December 31, 2024, will be allowed to stay in the country even without valid passports or travel documents.
The order, issued under provisions of the recently implemented Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, marks a significant shift in India’s handling of displaced populations seeking refuge due to religious persecution. It explicitly applies to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians — groups that have historically faced systemic discrimination and targeted violence in the three neighbouring Islamic republics.
According to the Ministry’s notification, any person belonging to the specified minority groups from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, or Pakistan who was “compelled to seek shelter in India due to religious persecution or fear thereof and entered the country on or before December 31, 2024” will not be penalised for lacking valid documentation.
According to the Ministry’s notification, any person belonging to the specified minority groups from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, or Pakistan who was “compelled to seek shelter in India due to religious persecution or fear thereof and entered the country on or before December 31, 2024” will not be penalised for lacking valid documentation.
This exemption covers those who:
-
Crossed the border without a passport or visa, or
-
Entered with valid travel documents that later expired.
The provision effectively grants them legal protection from deportation or detention under the Foreigners Act, which traditionally treats entry without valid documents as an offence.
The new order comes against the backdrop of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019, which was brought into force in 2024 after years of political debate and nationwide protests. Under the CAA, members of the same six minority communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan who had entered India on or before December 31, 2014 became eligible for fast-tracked Indian citizenship.
The new Home Ministry order is expected to bring immediate relief to thousands who were technically “illegal migrants” until now. Many such families were surviving in makeshift settlements, working as daily wagers, and lacking access to welfare benefits due to their uncertain legal status.
A provision said a person who is identified as a foreigner or considered to be a foreigner while in India shall allow his biometric information to be taken.
The MHA also said, “a foreigner may be refused entry into or stay in India on the following grounds, namely — if he is convicted on charges of anti-national activities, espionage, rape and murder, crime against humanity, terrorist and subversive activity, including arranging financial support or moneylaundering or hawala for such activities, trafficking in narcotics and psychotropic substances, human trafficking including child trafficking, racketeering in fake travel documents and currency (including cryptocurrency), cyber crime, child abuse or found involved in such offences.”
The new provisions barred foreigners with a valid visa for taking up employment in power or water or in the petroleum sector without the permission of the civil authority.
“A foreigner shall produce, or attempt to produce, or cause to be produced, feature film, documentary film, reality television and web shows or series, commercial television serials or shows and web shows or series or any other mode or medium as may be specified by the central government from time to time, intended for public exhibition, only with the permission in writing, and subject to specific conditions,” the MHA said. .
However, this cut-off date left out a substantial number of refugees — especially Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan and Afghanistan — who continued to flee to India after 2014 due to persistent attacks on their religious freedoms, forced conversions, and targeted violence. Many of them settled in states like Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi, and Madhya Pradesh, but lived in constant fear of deportation.
By extending protection to those who arrived till the end of 2024, the government has now sought to address a humanitarian gap, although the order does not by itself guarantee citizenship. Instead, it ensures that such individuals can legally reside in India without being treated as “illegal immigrants.”
The plight of persecuted minorities from India’s neighbourhood has been a sensitive political and humanitarian issue for decades. In Pakistan, Hindus and Christians have faced abductions, blasphemy charges, and forced marriages of minor girls. In Afghanistan, the tiny Sikh and Hindu communities have dwindled sharply in recent years under Taliban rule, with many families fleeing after repeated attacks on gurdwaras. In Bangladesh, sporadic incidents of communal violence and land grabbing targeting Hindus have continued despite constitutional protections.
Refugee groups and rights activists have repeatedly urged the Indian government to offer legal security to these populations, arguing that they have deep cultural, linguistic, and familial ties with communities in India.
The new Home Ministry order is expected to bring immediate relief to thousands who were technically “illegal migrants” until now. Many such families were surviving in makeshift settlements, working as daily wagers, and lacking access to welfare benefits due to their uncertain legal status.
While the exemption from passport and visa requirements secures their stay, questions remain about the long-term future of these refugees. Unless the government moves to extend the CAA cut-off date or introduces a fresh naturalisation pathway, those arriving after 2014 will still not be entitled to citizenship.
Officials suggest that the 2025 order is primarily meant as a stopgap humanitarian measure, ensuring that vulnerable communities are not harassed by law enforcement or forced to return to countries where they face persecution.
Experts also point out that the order reinforces India’s role as a traditional refuge for oppressed minorities in South Asia, though it may also trigger political debate. Opposition parties have previously criticised the CAA for being exclusionary by not extending similar protections to Muslim sects facing persecution, such as Ahmadis or Hazaras.
By recognising the unique vulnerabilities of Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians from neighbouring countries, the Union Home Ministry’s latest order extends a protective shield to refugees who entered India up to the end of 2024. While it stops short of granting them citizenship, it provides much-needed legal breathing space to communities that have lived in limbo for years.
For thousands of families who crossed the border in desperation, this move means at least one assurance: they will not be uprooted again.
|Also Read : Nepal, Bhutan Citizens Can Enter India Without Passport or Visa |
|From the Past : 10 Bangladeshi Hindus Detained in Tripura For Illegally Entering India |
Representative pic taken from internet
