Nalini Kirubakaran, a naturalised Indian citizen, who was born in a refugee camp in Tamil Nadu has become the first Sri Lankan Tamil to vote in the Lok Sabha elections. 38-year-old Nalini who was born in 1986 at a refugee centre in Rameswaram Mandapam camp in Tamil Nadu cast her vote for the first time on Friday.
Nalini who is currently living in the rehabilitation camp at Kottapattu for Sri Lankan Tamils cast her vote at MM Middle School in in Trichy. But it was not an easy journey for Nalini who had to fight a legal battle to get an Indian passport and later a voter ID issued in her name.
In 2021, Nalini had moved the Madras High Court when her application for an Indian passport was rejected by a regional passport office.
The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court in August 2022 directed officials to issue the Indian passport to Nalini, pointing out that the birth certificate is from Mandapam and states that the person born in India between January 26, 1950 and July 1, 1987 is a “citizen by birth,” according to the Section 3 of the Citizenship Act, 1995.
After Nalini received her passport she applied for a Voter ID card and received it in January 2024.
“For the first time, I have voted… I am very much happy. At the age of 38, my dream has been fulfilled. I am the first person in Tamil Nadu to vote from Sri Lankan Refugee Camp,” Nalini said on Friday.
