No Indian will be harassed by asking to submit old documents to prove citizenship: MHA

Home Ministry yesterday clarified that no Indian citizen will be unduly harassed and put to inconvenience by asking to prove citizenship by showing documents like birth certificates of parents or grandparents dating back to a period before 1971.

In a series of tweets, a Ministry's spokesperson said illiterate citizens not having any documents will be allowed to produce witnesses or local proofs supported by members of the community.

The spokesperson said,



Citizenship of India may be proved by giving any document relating to the date of birth or place of birth or both.

The list is likely to include a lot of common documents.

A well laid-out procedure in this regard will be issued by the Home Ministry.

The clarification came a week after the Citizenship Amendment Act was passed by the Parliament and assented by the President.