Sushma Swaraj steps into save a Pakistani refugee

A 19-year-old Pakistani Hindu wants to become a doctor, but the cross-border tension between India and Pakistan and immigration regulations have become a major obstacle in fulfilling her dreams.

Mashal and her family migrated from Pakistan Sindh province to Jaipur in 2014 after facing enough religious persecutions from the nation.  She always wanted to be a doctor like her parents, and when she scored 91% in her CBSE exams, she decided not to look back from there on. However, she experienced a major setback after she realised that she cannot sit for All India Pre Medical Test (AIPMT), as she still does not have an Indian citizenship. “There are only two nationality options in the (application) form: Indian, and Overseas Citizen of India/Non-Resident Indian. I am not in either category,” Mashal told the Indian Express.

When BJP came to power in 2014, Modi had promised to accommodate Hindu migrants from Pakistan followed by which Mashal’s parents who are doctors, decided to quit and come to India. “Though we were well-off there, we were concerned about our security,” her parents said. 

But it has been two years, and most of the migrants complain that the government has done nothing to settle them in. And now Mashal is one among these displaced Pakistani Hindus who is facing the brunt of the cross-border tension between the nations. Moreover, Mashal's family cannot afford to send her to a private medical college as they have already spent enough on her coaching classes.

But then came a ray of hope for the 19-year-old; the  External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj decided to intervene after her family approached the Ministry of External Affairs and HRD Ministry. She tweeted saying 

Around  15,000 Pakistani Hindus are living in harsh conditions in Rajasthan often deprived of basic facilities because they don't have Indian documents, states According to The Hindu Singh Sodha of the Seemant Lok Sangathan.