New Delhi: The Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card of New York-based author and journalist Aatish Ali Taseer has been revoked by the Ministry of Home Affairs for not “complying with basic requirement and hiding information about his father’s Pakistani origin” required for its renewal.
ThePrint Thursday reported that Taseer, who was attacked by several BJP leaders for his article in Time magazine calling PM Modi ‘Divider-in-Chief’, criticising his first term as Prime Minister, was sent a notice by the ministry and that it was considering revoking his OCI card.
OCI card-holders are entitled to a multi-purpose, multiple-entry, life-long visa that allows them to visit India at any time, for any length of time and for any purpose. They are exempt from police reporting for any length of stay in the country. They also have all the rights that Non-Resident Indians have in the economic, financial and education fields, as well as the right to acquire agricultural or plantation properties.
‘Taseer was given opportunity to reply’
According to MHA spokesperson Vasudha Gupta, Taseer while submitting his application, concealed the fact that his father was of Pakistani origin.
She also stated that Taseer was given the opportunity to submit his reply or objections regarding his PIO/OCI cards, but he failed to dispute the notice.
“Thus, Aatish Ali Taseer becomes ineligible to hold an OCI card as per the Citizenship Act, 1955. He has clearly not complied with very basic requirements and hidden information,” Vasudha Gupta said in a Tweet.
Responding to Gupta’s comments, Taseer tweeted saying that it was untrue and that he was not given 21 days but only 24 hours to reply to the objections.
He also attached with his tweet, an email, that he had written to the Consul General, responding to the queries and objections raised by the Ministry of Home Affairs along with the Consul General’s acknowledgement of his reply.
Taseer further stated that he had not heard from the ministry after sending the clarifications.
“This is untrue. Here is the Consul General’s acknowledgment of my reply. I was given not the full 21 days, but rather 24 hours to reply. I’ve heard nothing from the ministry since,” he tweeted.
This is untrue. Here is the Consul General’s acknowledgment of my reply. I was given not the full 21 days, but rather 24 hours to reply. I’ve heard nothing from the ministry since. https://t.co/z7OtTaLLeO pic.twitter.com/t3LBWUtkdi
— Aatish Taseer (@AatishTaseer) November 7, 2019
Aatish Taseer’s father, Salman Taseer, was born in Shimla before Partition and was the governor of Pakistan’s Punjab province when he was gunned down in Islamabad in 2011 by his own security guard for his vocal opposition to Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.
He was regarded as a stalwart in the Pakistan People’s Party and considered to be close to former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.
Salman Taseer had a British passport too as Pakistan allows its citizens to have dual citizenship.
Who is Aatish Ali Taseer?
Aatish Taseer is an acclaimed writer and author and his books include Stranger to History: A Son’s Journey Through Islamic Lands (2007), The Temple-goers (2010) and The Twice-Born: Life and Death on the Ganges (2018).
He was born in London and raised in India and has lived mostly in Britain and India.
Taseer’s mother and senior journalist Tavleen Singh is Indian.
Also read: What message does it send when international media calls PM Modi “divider in chief”?