Lok Sabha Elections 2024: In A First, Sri Lankan Tamil Born In Refugee Camp Casts Her Vote
Nalini Kirubakaran, a naturalised Indian citizen, who was born in a refugee camp in Tamil Nadu has become the first Sri Lankan Tamil to vote in the Lok Sabha elections. 38-year-old Nalini who was born in 1986 at a refugee centre in Rameswaram Mandapam camp in Tamil Nadu cast her vote for the first time on Friday.
Nalini Kirubakaran, a naturalised Indian citizen, who was born in a refugee camp in Tamil Nadu has become the first Sri Lankan Tamil to vote in the Lok Sabha elections. 38-year-old Nalini who was born in 1986 at a refugee centre in Rameswaram Mandapam camp in Tamil Nadu cast her vote for the first time on Friday.
AFP
How she became voter in India
Nalini who is currently living in the rehabilitation camp at Kottapattu for Sri Lankan Tamils cast her vote at MM Middle School in in Trichy.
But it was not an easy journey for Nalini who had to fight a legal battle to get an Indian passport and later a voter ID issued in her name.
In 2021, Nalini had moved the Madras High Court when her application for an Indian passport was rejected by a regional passport office.
Eligible for citizenship by birth
The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court in August 2022 directed officials to issue the Indian passport to Nalini, pointing out that the birth certificate is from Mandapam and states that the person born in India between January 26, 1950 and July 1, 1987 is a "citizen by birth," according to the Section 3 of the Citizenship Act, 1995.
BCCL
Dream come true
After Nalini received her passport she applied for a Voter ID card and received it in January 2024.
"For the first time, I have voted... I am very much happy. At the age of 38, my dream has been fulfilled. I am the first person in Tamil Nadu to vote from Sri Lankan Refugee Camp," Nalini said on Friday.
Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in India
There are over 58,000 Sri Lankan Tamils living in refugee camps across Tamil Nadu.
BCCL
A report by the Tamil Nadu government in November 2023 had found that more than 45 per cent of these refugees were born in India.
In March, the Madras High Court had dismissed a PIL seeking a general direction to issue Indian citizenship to Sri Lankan refugees born in India.
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