Stateless persons of Indian origin
300,000 new citizens
By Chandani Kirinde
A Bill that will enable nearly 300,000 stateless persons of Indian origin to become Sri Lankan citizens is to be taken up for debate this week. The Grant of Citizenship to Persons of Indian Origin Bill which was presented to parliament by Interior Minister John Amaratunga last month seeks to enable any person of Indian origin who has been a permanent resident of Sri Lanka since October 30, 1964 or a descendent of such a person or a person who has been a permanent resident of Sri Lanka since that date.

Those persons coming under these two categories will be citizens effective from the day the bill becomes law. However, the grant of Sri Lankan citizenship for a permanent resident, who on the date of coming into operation of this Act, holds an Indian passport or other similar document shall be granted his citizenship only after he makes a declaration to the Commissioner for the Registration of Persons of Indian Origin stating his intention to voluntarily acquire citizenship of Sri Lanka and upon such a declaration being acknowledged in writing by the Commissioner.

There have been two exchanges of letters between the governments of Sri Lanka and India relating to the status of the persons of Indian origin in Sri Lanka. The first such exchange was effected in New Delhi on October 1964 and the second one in January 1974.

Although both countries had agreed to solve the problem of statelessness within 15 years of the Exchange of Letters, they were not fulfilled due to various circumstances.

Nearly 200,000 stateless persons were granted Sri Lanka citizenship in 1986 and 1988 with two Acts titled the Grant of Citizenship to Stateless Persons Act and a special provisions act of the same title.

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