The Economic Times (ET) on May 21 reported that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government has in the past one year “granted” Indian citizenship to more than 4,200 Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan and Afghanistan, nearly four times the number of the preceding five years.

The report does not attribute the figure to any source but quotes a “government official” stating that “the number of Hindus from neighbouring Islamic countries getting Indian nationality could see a sharp spike in the months ahead”. The report also quotes a source from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

A Right to Information (RTI) reply from the MHA, dated March 9, 2015, however, shows that the figures mentioned in the ET report may be grossly exaggerated. The RTI reply shows that the Indian government has granted citizenship to not more than 600 people from Pakistan and Afghanistan during the last one year (2014- March 2015).

The query was filed by Onlinerti.com, a Bangalore-based start-up that helps citizens in filing RTI applications.

The ET report further stated that the increase in the number of citizenship offered is in line with BJP’s “declared aim” of positioning India as a natural home for persecuted Hindus from anywhere in the world. The BJP in its manifesto had pegged India as “a natural home for persecuted Hindus”.

The party’s stand drew criticism from different quarters for going against the principle of secularism, according to a Hindustan Times report published in April 2014. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had replied to the charge stating that: “We have a responsibility towards Hindus who are harassed and suffer in other countries. India is the only place for them… we will have to accommodate them here,” according to the HT report.

In this direction, the government had set up a task force in September, 2014, headed by Joint Secretary (Foreigners) to monitor and expedite the pending applications of citizenship. Further, the government in November last year asked the state government authorities to grant relaxation to applicants who had entered India before December 2009 and to those whose passports have either expired or been lost.

Without quoting the source of information, the ET report asserts that because of the BJP government’s effort, in line with its manifesto, at the end of April 2015, the “approved” citizenship for Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan and Afghanistan stood at 4,230, compared to 1,023 citizenships granted by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance-II.

The report claims that the spike is almost four times the number of the preceding five years.

The RTI data clearly shows that the government’s effort is yet to bear fruits since there is no spike in the numbers of citizenships offered after the BJP took over.

Between 2012 and 2014, India offered not more than 515 citizenships a year to people from Pakistan and Afghanistan. The figure of 2015 till March stood at 55. The data is not specific to citizenships granted to Hindus and includes people from other religions as well. So, the figure for citizenships granted to Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan and Afghanistan will be way below than what the ET reported.

In 2013, during Congress’ rule, 434 people from Pakistan and Afghanistan were offered citizenship and the figure stands at 515 in 2014, the year BJP came to power. According to the RTI reply, during last three years the number of citizenship offered to Afghanistan has gone up, and decreased in case of Pakistan.

Additionally, on March 4, 2015 Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on the floor of Parliament said from 2011 to February 2015, a total of 1,240 Pakistanis and 1,047 Afghanistanis have applied for Indian Citizenship. Of these, citizenship certificates were issued to 1,238 Pakistan nationals 468 Afghanistan nationals, which itself is much less than the figure reported by ET.