Ara woman becomes first in Bihar to get citizenship under CAA

Bihar issued its first citizenship certificate under the CAA to Sumitra Rani Saha, marking a historic step in implementing the Act.

/ Ara In a historic event, Bihar issued its first citizenship certificate under the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA) on Friday. The certificate was granted during a state-level empowered committee meeting chaired by M Ramachandran, Director of Census and Citizen Registration, held at the office of the Director of Citizen Registration at Bihar Secretariat.

Ara woman becomes first in Bihar to get citizenship under CAA

The committee reviewed an application submitted by one Sumitra Rani Saha (60) from Bhojpur district under Section 5(1)(c) of the Citizenship Act, as amended by the CAA, 2019. She is the first person in Bihar who had filed first CAA application under the CAA in October 2024. Her application had been evaluated and forwarded by the district-level committee. Following due scrutiny and approval through the CAA portal, the certificate was generated and electronically shared with the applicant via email and SMS notifications.

This certificate marks Bihar’s first implementation of the provisions under the CAA, 2019. It signifies the beginning of the state-level operationalization of the Act, aimed at granting citizenship to eligible applicants based on the outlined criteria. The state government highlighted the event as a significant administrative step, reinforcing Bihar’s commitment to implementing the Act as per the stipulated legal framework.

According to reports, Sumitra Saha currently stays at DT Road in the Ara Town with her daughter Aishwarya Prasad , who run a home appliances shop.

While talking to HT, Saha said that her mother’s house is situated in Katihar district. “At the age of five, I was shifted to Rajshahi Town of Bangladesh for study where my aunt (bua) and uncle stayed due to economic condition of my family. My uncle was in the job. On January 19, 1985, I returned to Katihar where my family lived. After about two months (on March 10) I tied knot with Parmeshwar Prasad, a businessman of the Ara Town,” said Saha, adding that time to time she has travelled to Kolkata for renewal of her visa. “In 2024, when I applied visa renewal in Kolkata, the authority informed to CAA and renewed my visa for three years,” she said.

Notably, Parmeshwar’s elder brother Rameshwar Prasad was the President of Shahabad Chamber of Commerce and Industries.

Sumitra’s daughter Aishwarya said that they are three sisters two of them married. Her father died in 2020 from cancer. After that she took care of her mother and managed to run home appliances shop. “Since October 2024, I continued to make effort to CAA for her mother so she get Indian citizenship besides can avail government schemes,” said Aishwaraya.

CAA eligibility and conditions

The CAA enables non-Muslim migrants — Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians — from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan to apply for Indian citizenship, provided they entered India on or before December 31, 2014. Applicants can obtain citizenship even without valid documents, including passports.

To qualify:

Applicants must have lived in India for at least six years prior to 2014. They must demonstrate knowledge of one of the languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. Required documents include a valid or expired passport, identity cards, and land tenancy records