Frontier Gandhi’s granddaughter urges Centre to grant citizenship to Pathans

The granddaughter of Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, also known as Frontier Gandhi, appealed to the Indian government to grant citizenship to Pathans, and unveiled plans for a university in her grandfather’s name in West Bengal. “There are around 32 lakh Pashtuns (Pathans) in India, who have lived and worked here for generations. Yet, they are still to get citizenship. Pandit Nehru had told my grandfather that those who wanted to stay here after North West Frontier Province went to Pakistan will be Indian citizens. I urge the Indian government to help the Pashtuns here,” said Yasmin Negar Khan, 47, speaking to the media here. Yasmin is the president of All India Pakhtoon Jirga-e-Hind (established in 1949). ‘We will shortly meet Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and appeal to set up a university in the name of my grandfather in Bengal.’