94-year-old AP woman wishes to die as Indian citizen

At the age of 94, K. Mahalakshmamma has only one wish -- to die as an Indian citizen.

Hailing from a village in Bapatla district of Andhra Pradesh, she renounced her American citizenship to breathe her last as an Indian.

The nonagenarian, who had lived in the United States for nearly two decades, returned to her native place after giving up her US citizenship a few years ago and has now expressed the desire to die as an Indian citizen.

Mahalakshmamma took an oath of allegiance to the Constitution of India, under the Citizenship Act before Bapatla District Collector V. Vinod Kumar.

"Collector Garu, I am nearing 95 years of age. I want to die as an Indian," she told the Collector in Telugu.

The video of the emotional moment of her taking oath with the help of her son, pledging to respect the Constitution of India and abide by its laws, has been widely shared on the social media.

As Mahalakshmamma had severe hearing impairment and did not understand English, the oath was translated into Telugu.

According to the Collector, her son read the Telugu version aloud to her, and she repeated it before the District Collector, who also served as the District Magistrate.

With this she fulfilled the legal requirement under the Citizenship Act.

According to the Collector, Mahalakshmamma submitted an online application on June 1 seeking restoration of her Indian citizenship. She also approached the State Secretariat with the request to grant Indian citizenship. Her application was taken up for inquiry by the district administration on Tuesday.

A native of Chintagumpala village, Mahalakshmamma moved to the United States after the death of her husband, Nagabhushanam, to live with her son Kondrugunta K. Pichchaiah, an oncologist.

She acquired US citizenship on July 27, 2000, lived there for nearly two decades and returned to India with her family in 2018.

Her son is now the director of NRI Medical College in Guntur, and the family has since been residing in their native village.

According to officials, Mahalakshmamma wants restoration of Indian citizenship so that she can spend her final days in her native village. She wished that her last rites be performed in the village.

After she took the oath, the Collector completed other formalities and forwarded the file to the State Secretariat, from where it will be sent to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, which will take a final decision on granting citizenship.

Meanwhile, reacting to Mahalakshmamma's wish, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP Sana Sathish Babu termed it as "deeply moving".

"Her choice is a powerful reminder that no passport, no Dollars can replace the bond with one's roots, no nation can replace one's motherland. Stories like hers inspire us to cherish our heritage, remain connected to our roots, and take pride in our nation," the Rajya Sabha member said in a post on social media platform X.

"Her decision fills me with pride. It is a fitting reminder to those who belittle Bharat that nothing compares to the love for one's motherland," said state Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav.