The Indian government has decided to issue an executive order to help religious minorities from Pakistan and Bangladesh who live in India to get residential permits, the NDTV reports.
The decision will grant relief and a semblance of dignity to thousands of Hindu and Sikh immigrants who are residing across the country but do not have any papers to support their residential status.
For those willing to avail themselves of the offer, the cut-off date is December 31 this year, sources told the TV channel.
The initiative is at the instance of the office of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the run-up to the Lok Sabha election campaign, Modi had spoken of granting citizenship to persecuted religious minorities from the two countries.
One of the most affected states will be Assam, where assembly elections will be held next year.
According to the Assam Accord of 1985 – signed between the Union government and the leaders of the Assam movement -- refugees who crossed over from Bangladesh after 1971 are to be deported.
But that has yet to be implemented fully, insist the regional parties, and animosity towards Bangladeshi immigrants is a political issue in the state.