Names of 312 Sikhs removed from the ‘blacklist’

The central government has removed names of 312 Sikh foreign nationals from the 'blacklist' and brought down to just two in the 35-year-old list. The government said it had “reviewed” its “adverse list” of foreign nationals and removed the names of 312 persons belonging to Sikh community, but refused to reveal the names claiming “legal impediment”. “The persons, whose names have been removed from the list, would also be eligible to apply for registration as Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholder after fulfilling the required conditions,” the officials in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said. In the 1980s, many Sikh Indian nationals and foreign nationals belonging to the Sikh community were involved in anti-India propaganda. Some Sikh Indian nationals fled India to escape authorities, became foreign nationals and took asylum outside India. The officials said the review was a continuous and dynamic process and part of a regular exercise. Such a review would give opportunity to such Sikh foreign nationals to visit India, meet their families and reconnect to their roots, they added.