Many Pakistani Hindu refugees, who were granted Indian citizenship, cast their vote for the first time in Delhi assembly polls on Wednesday.
At a polling booth in Delhi's Majnu Ka Tilla, Reshma pressed the button on an electronic voting machine on Wednesday with a sense of pride as a smile spread across her face.
For the first time in her life, the 50-year-old woman cast her vote - not just to choose a candidate, but for her family's future.
Reshma is one of 186 Pakistani Hindu refugees who, after years of uncertainty, exercised their voting right for the first time in the Delhi Assembly polls, marking a powerful moment in their journey from statelessness to citizenship. They all got Indian citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
Dharamveer Solanki, president of the Pakistani Hindu refugee community, expressed hope that their struggles would lessen.
"Now, we won't have to constantly change our location. We will finally get permanent homes and a stable means of livelihood," he said.
Solanki said people from our community were so excited that they queued up outside the polling booth in Majnu Ka Tilla -- a resettlement colony for the refugees.
"I have lived here for 17 years but today, for the first time, I truly feel like I am part of Hindustan," Chandrama said as she became emotional. "After a long struggle, now I have hope that my children will get a better life," she added.
For decades, thousands of Pakistani Hindus have sought refuge in India, fleeing religious persecution. Many settled in Delhi's Majnu Ka Tila, living in makeshift shelters, and taking up daily wage work.
Twenty seven-year-old Yashoda was the first to receive Indian citizenship in her group and even had the chance to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Today, standing in a queue at the polling booth, she could hardly contain her excitement.
"We have spent years working as daily wage labourers, struggling to survive. Now that we have Indian citizenship, we hope for proper jobs, homes, and a dignified life," she said.
On March 11 last year,, the Central government announced the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, paving the way for undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who arrived in India before December 31, 2014, to obtain Indian citizenship.
For Maina, 23, who travelled from Faridabad to cast her vote in Majnu Ka Tilla, the experience was entirely new. "When I entered the polling booth, I had no idea how to vote or which party represented whom. But once I pressed the button, I felt the shift - I finally had a voice," she said.
Despite their newfound rights, many still face basic struggles. Maina also said that electricity is getting cheaper for others, but we still pay more.
"We don't have access to clean water. Our homes are broken, and we live in harsh conditions. We hope the new government will finally address our problems," she added.
Among the voters was Ranju, in her 70s, who has spent more than half her life in India, but never had the right to vote until now.
“I have seen hardship my entire life - struggles for water, employment, identity. Many people here still don't have Aadhaar cards. Prices are rising, and we are just trying to survive," she said.
But despite it all, today, Ranju stood proud. "I have faith. If I can vote today, maybe tomorrow I will get all the other rights I have waited for." For these newly naturalised citizens, casting a vote was not just a civic duty - it was a declaration that they finally belong.
