They came in 2008, still wait for nationality

Some people who left their prosperous lives in Pakistan and crossed over to India in 2008 for a safe life have no choice but to sell vegetables and wait for Indian nationality. Aseem Bassi reports

Updated on: Aug 11, 2012, 23:24:00 IST

Hindustan Times | By Aseem Bassi, Amritsar

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Some people who left their prosperous lives in Pakistan and crossed over to India in 2008 for a safe life have no choice but to sell vegetables and wait for Indian nationality.

In Amritsar's Khandwala area, there are a few vendors who moved from Pakistan to India to save their religion.

Channi Ram, a vegetable vendor, said, "I came to India with my brothers and parents in 2008 from the North West Frontier area. We just came because we were in a minority there and wanted to save ourselves from the pressures there."

"I had a business of medicines and earned about Rs. 1,500 daily but here I earn Rs. 150-Rs. 200 a day. We have no identity and feel that only Indian nationality can give us that," he added.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Aseem Bassi
A principal correspondent, Aseem Bassi is the bureau chief at Amritsar. He covers politics, Indo-Pak border, gurdwara politics, crime, border trade and civic issues.

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