“My Eyes Opened in India… Don't Call Me Pakistani”: Woman Living in Bareilly for 64 Years Faces Legal Action
In a case that blends identity, legality, and belonging, a 64-year-old woman from Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, has become the center of a controversy under ‘Operation Khoj’—a government-led initiative to identify and deport illegal foreign nationals. Though born in Pakistan, the woman, Farhat Sultana alias Farida, insists she has spent her entire life in India and considers herself Indian in every sense.
During the operation in the Sufi Tola area of Bareilly’s Baradari, police discovered that Sultana was in possession of Indian identity documents including an Aadhaar card, voter ID, and ration card. However, she lacked legal Indian citizenship, prompting police to register a case against her.
Officials revealed that she was born in Pakistan in 1961 but entered India as an infant, allegedly at just eight months old. “Don’t call me Pakistani,” she told investigators. “I have never seen Pakistan. I was raised in India. My eyes opened here, this is my country.”
Superintendent of Police Manush Pareek confirmed that the action was part of a wider investigation to trace illegal Bangladeshi, Rohingya, and Pakistani nationals residing in India without proper documentation. The campaign is part of the government’s ongoing effort to address illegal immigration across multiple states.
Although Sultana claims to have lived in India for over six decades and built her life here, police stress that possessing Indian identity documents without legal citizenship is a punishable offense under Indian law. Authorities are now investigating how she acquired these documents and are working to verify the full extent of her background.
Farhat Sultana’s case raises complex questions: Can someone who has spent their entire life in India still be treated as a foreigner because of the place they were born? And how does the law reconcile with lived reality in such situations?
As legal proceedings continue, the case is not only a matter of citizenship—but a deeply human story of identity, roots, and belonging in a country she calls home.