Hindu Refugee Family In Delhi, Hoping For Citizenship, Names Baby "Nagrikta"

For seven years, a Hindu refugee family from Pakistan has waited to get Indian citizenship. After Home Minister Amit Shah introduced the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in parliament, the family's long wait seemed to be over. Optimistic that they will soon be getting citizenship, the family from Delhi named their newborn daughter "Nagrikta" which translates to "citizenship".

Born before the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha, but named the morning after, baby Nagrikta's family came to India in 2012. The family lives in a resettlement colony in north Delhi's Majnu ka Tila.

"We kept running after citizenship for seven years and still did not get. After she (baby Nagrikta) was born, I was sure we will get it," the newborn's mother Aarti told NDTV.

Nagrikta's grandmother Meera Das told news agency PTI that the family decided to name the girl "Nagrikta" anticipating the bill would clear the Rajya Sabha hurdle. She also observed a fast praying for the passage of the bill in the Lok Sabha.

"Everyone has been talking about citizenship ever since the girl was born, so we have named her Nagrikta. We hope we get citizenship. I want to thank the government; we have faced a lot of troubles here," Nagrikta's grandmother told news agency ANI.

The makeshift tents and unplastered walls with metal roofs Majnu ka Tila area are home to about 750 Pakistani Hindus who fled the neighbouring country to seek refuge. Many others live in resettlement colonies in Rohini Sector 9 and 11, Adarsh Nagar and near the Signature Bridge.

This is one of the many instances when babies have been named after something that has come for their help.

Namami Gange, Gangaputra Bhishm and NDRF Singh were some unique names that babies got during the Bihar flood tragedy of 2016.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was cleared by parliament amid violent protests in several parts of the Northeast. The controversial legislation was passed by the Lok Sabha two days earlier and the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. Tabled in both the houses by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the Bill has been slammed by rights groups as well as opposition parties on the grounds that it "discriminates" against Muslim migrants and violates Article 14 of the Constitution.