K. Nalini, 40, and R. Gokuleswaran, 39, both recognized as Indian citizens by virtue of being born in the country, regardless of the legal status of their parents (as stated in Section 3(1)(a) of the Citizenship Act), were seen with their voter’s cards on Thursday at the Sri Lankan Rehabilitation Camp in Kottapattu, Tiru. | Photo credit: M. MOORTHY
R. Gokuleswaran, 39, a resident of the Sri Lankan Tamil Rehabilitation Camp in Kottapattu, Tiruchi, will vote for the first time as an Indian citizen in the upcoming State Legislative Assembly elections with hopes of a better future for his family.
“I was born on February 9, 1986 in Tiruchi and also studied here. I applied for my voter ID card because I wanted to assert my identity as an Indian citizen. Citizenship will improve my children’s future and also inspire others like me who may not know about the citizenship process,” Mr. Gokuleswaran told The Hindu.
However, the camp resident’s victory was bittersweet as his application for an Indian passport was shelved.
“I applied for a passport as I was already a declared citizen of India as I was born in the country before the cut-off date of July 1, 1987. But the authorities refused to issue it citing a ‘criminal offence’ in my record. I submitted a written application in 2024,” he said.
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, which ruled that Gokuleswaran was an Indian citizen under the Citizenship Act 1955, ordered the passport to be issued within eight weeks in October 2025. “I still haven’t received my passport,” said Mr Gokuleswaran, who works at a supermarket.
Name removed
In contrast, his sister-in-law K. Nalini, 40, who made headlines in 2024 as the first naturalized Indian woman from the Kottapattu camp to exercise her right to vote, appears less confident about her chances of voting as her name has been removed from the electoral rolls. “I was advised to reapply; I did,” she said.
Mrs. Nalini is a mother of two and a housewife. “I’m psychologically disturbed by my name being left out,” she said.
According to 40-year-old Madhini, a resident of the camp who coordinates the efforts of citizenship seekers in Kottapattu, there are 25 families of refugees who came here before 1990. “We are asked to provide an identity document that was lost or destroyed while seeking refuge in India. Some of us have spent more than 40 years in this camp and many of them have died while waiting for Indian citizenship.”
Published – 27 March 2026 0:19 AM IST
