Sri Lankan refugee in India seeks mercy killing over exclusion from Citizenship Act
December 18, 2019 02:29 am
Expressing concern over the non-inclusion of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), a 28-year-old man, born to Sri Lankan refugee parents in 1991 in a camp in Pavalathanur in Salem district, has petitioned the Collector seeking his mercy killing.
T. Yanadhan, a resident of the refugee camp, said he has lost confidence in getting Indian citizenship even though he was born in the country and lived here ever since.
In the petition, Yanadhan claimed that he was born in the refugee camp a year after his parents along with his elder brothers fled Sri Lanka in 1990 due to the civil war.
“They stayed in the refugee camp in Pavalathanur. In 1991, I was born in the camp. For the past 28 years, I am residing in the camp. We abide by Indian law and culture. Even though I am a refugee by birth, I am living as an Indian due to my love for the country,” he said.
Stating that he along with fellow refugees believed he would get Indian citizenship someday, Yanadhan said the Citizenship Amendment Act has shattered their dreams as the law has no mention of citizenship for refugees from Sri Lanka.
“I cannot live with mental agony”, he said, seeking his mercy killing.
A copy of the petition has also been sent to the President of India Ram Nath Kovind and Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit, he added.
Source: New Indian Express
