An Indian laborer who went abroad 8 years ago is now forced to languish in a Dubai jail due to the lack of a passport and other documents; his Dalit family has appealed for help.
Dubai/Hyderabad: A man who went abroad with dreams of a bright future is now struggling behind bars to prove his citizenship. The case concerns a Dalit laborer from Telangana who has been stranded in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for nearly two decades. He has been jailed for illegally staying, but ironically, he has no documents left to prove his Indian identity. Now, his family is running around government offices to bring him back.
What is the whole matter?
59-year-old Mandula Rajanna, a resident of Madhapur village in the Son Mandal of Nirmal district in Telangana, went to the UAE in 2007 in search of livelihood. There, he started working in a construction company. But circumstances led him to flee the company after just a year and has been living there as an illegal resident ever since.
Rajanna belongs to the Scheduled Caste (SC) and hails from a remote village in the erstwhile Adilabad district. Being illiterate, he has no educational records. Today, 18 years later, when he wants to return home, proving his citizenship has become a herculean task. Neither Rajanna nor his family has a copy of his passport. His name is also not on the voter list. When he left India 18 years ago, Aadhaar was not mandatory, which is why he didn’t have an Aadhaar card.
Lack of Documents and the System’s Fault
According to Rajanna, when he arrived in Sharjah in 2007, biometric registration wasn’t in place. Employer companies often kept workers’ passports, and this is exactly what happened to Rajanna. The company he worked for later closed down, and no trace of his passport (either original or photocopy) was found.
Debt Burden and the ‘Gold Loan’ Trap
A major reason for Rajanna’s illegal stay was debt. Rajanna, a father of two, had taken a loan under the ‘Gulf Gold Loan System,’ prevalent in Telangana. Under this system, people borrow gold in tolas (tolas) and are required to repay the excess weight as interest. Rajanna had borrowed 4 tolas (tolas) of gold and was required to return 6 tolas (tolas). Unable to repay the loan on time due to employment problems, he did not take advantage of the amnesty schemes announced by the UAE government from time to time and continued working there secretly.
Through hard work and odd jobs in the desert, he repaid his debt. Meanwhile, his children, Nitish and Nikhita, grew up, but Rajanna himself found himself in trouble with the law.
Only a passbook is his support.
Rajanna is currently in jail on charges of illegal residence. Indian Embassy officials visited him at the detention center, but they demanded a copy of his passport or other proof of citizenship for his release, which Rajanna was unable to provide.
Now, his wife, Lakshmi, has appealed for help. She has contacted the Chief Minister’s Grievance Cell in Hyderabad and the Nirmal District Collector to help prove her husband’s Indian citizenship. Ironically, the family has only a bank passbook (with a photo) in Rajanna’s name as proof. Now, it remains to be seen how the administration will help this poor laborer return to his homeland.
Rajan Chaudhary
Courtesy: Hindi News