After spending nearly two decades in the United States and giving up her Indian citizenship, a 94-year-old woman from Andhra Pradesh now has just one final wish, to once again be recognised as an Indian citizen before the end of her life. Her emotional appeal to local authorities has touched many hearts after a video of the meeting surfaced online.
Kondragunta Mahalakshmamma, a resident of Chinthagumpala village in Chinaganjam mandal of Andhra Pradesh’s Bapatla district, recently met district officials seeking the early processing of her application to regain Indian citizenship.
Accompanied by her son, Buchaiah Choudhary, an oncologist, Mahalakshmamma appeared before Bapatla District Collector J. Venkata Murali on Wednesday. She explained that she moved to Petersburg, Virginia, after the death of her husband, Nagabhushanam, to live with her son in the United States.
As per the TOI report, she became a US citizen in July 2000 and lived there for nearly 18 years. In 2018, she returned to India after her son began working at NRI Hospital in Mangalagiri. Since then, she has been living in her native village.
Mahalakshmamma told officials that she has already renounced her US citizenship and applied online to regain Indian citizenship. She said her only wish is to spend the remainder of her life in her homeland and have her last rites performed in her native village.
She told the collector that she was nearing 95 years of age and that her only wish was to spend her final days in her motherland as an Indian citizen. She said she wanted her last rites to be performed in her native village and requested that her Indian citizenship be restored as soon as possible, adding that she had already renounced her US citizenship, the TOI report mentioned.
She also assured the authorities that she would respect the Constitution of India and abide by all its laws if her citizenship is restored, adding that she simply wants the legal right to live out her remaining years in the country where she was born.
District Collector J. Venkata Murali said her application would be processed in accordance with the prescribed procedure. Once the inquiry is completed, a report will be sent to the state government, which will then forward its recommendation to the Centre for consideration of her citizenship request.