BAPATLA: A 94-year-old woman from Andhra Pradesh who became a US citizen more than two decades ago has appealed to authorities to restore her Indian citizenship, saying her final wish is to spend the rest of her life in her homeland and be cremated in her native village.
Kondragunta Mahalakshmamma, a native of Chinthagumpala village in Chinaganjam mandal of Bapatla district, met District Collector J. Venkata Murali on Wednesday, accompanied by her son, requesting that her citizenship application be processed at the earliest.
Mahalakshmamma said she moved to Petersburg, Virginia, after the death of her husband, Nagabhushanam, to live with her son, Buchaiah Choudhary, an oncologist. She acquired US citizenship in July 2000 and lived in the United States for nearly 18 years.
She returned to India in 2018 after her son began working at NRI Hospital in Mangalagiri, and has since been living in her native village.
According to Mahalakshmamma, she has already relinquished her US citizenship and submitted an online application seeking Indian citizenship.
Addressing the district collector, she said, “Collector garu, I am nearing 95 years of age. My only wish is to spend my final days in my motherland as an Indian citizen. I want my last rites to be performed in my native village. I have already given up my US citizenship. Please help me obtain Indian citizenship at the earliest.”
She also assured the authorities that she would respect the Constitution of India and abide by all the country’s laws if her citizenship was restored.
Mahalakshmamma said she wanted the legal recognition to live the remainder of her life in the country where she was born.
District Collector J. Venkata Murali told her that the application would be processed in accordance with the prescribed procedure. He said that after the required inquiry is completed, a report will be submitted to the state government, which will then forward its recommendation to the Central government for consideration of her citizenship request.
A video of the elderly woman appealing to officials has since gone viral on social media, drawing widespread attention to her emotional request to regain Indian citizenship in the final years of her life.
