GUWAHATI: After a long-drawn-out legal battle that lasted over three years, Seje Bala Ghosh, daughter of a freedom fighter from Assam’s Bongaigaon district, has finally managed to prove her Indian citizenship.
The Foreigners Tribunal (FT) issued the order earlier this week, putting an end to a tumultuous period for the 73-year-old woman.
“Questioning my citizenship is a big insult to my father’s sacrifices for this country, and I am still feeling humiliated. But after seven decades of independence, his daughter was declared an illegal migrant, which is really shameful,” Ghosh told a national news agency on Sunday.
The legal ordeal began in March 2020 when police personnel served her notice from the Foreigner’s Tribunal, alleging that she was an illegal immigrant from Bangladesh.
Facing the challenge alone after the demise of her son and abandonment by the rest of her family, Ghosh found support from the Assam-based NGO, Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP).
Dewan Abdur Rahim, an advocate representing her, outlined the historical records proving her family’s presence in Assam before 1951, including her father’s immigration in 1947 due to religious persecution.
“We produced at least thirteen legitimate documents proving Ghosh’s family had lived in Assam before 1951. Every document was deemed legitimate in FT’s verification,” Rahim told the press.
On November 4, the FT finally declared her not an illegal immigrant, acknowledging the validity of the documents that showcased her family’s history in Assam.
Ghosh’s name had appeared in voters’ lists from 1989 to 2020 in Bongaigaon, and she possessed an OBC certificate, a ration card, and other essential documents. Despite the victory, she, stated the “ordeal wasn’t worth it”.
Nanda Ghosh, the state coordinator for the CJP, informed that Seje Bala has refused to accept any apology and believed that divine justice would prevail.
