Elderly Andhra woman wants Indian citizenship restored

Hyderabad: 94-year-old Kondragunta Mahalakshmamma has appealed to district authorities in Andhra Pradesh’s Bapatla district, seeking to regain her Indian citizenship before she dies.

A native of Chinthagumpala village in Chinaganjam mandal, Mahalakshmamma moved to Petersburg, Virginia, after her husband Nagabhushanam’s death, to live with her son, oncologist Buchaiah Choudhary. She acquired US citizenship in July 2000 and lived there for nearly 18 years before returning to India in 2018, settling in her native village after her son took up a position at NRI Hospital in Mangalagiri.

She has since relinquished her US citizenship and applied for Indian citizenship online. On Wednesday, accompanied by her son, she met Bapatla District Collector J Venkata Murali, urging him to expedite her application so she could spend her final days and have her last rites performed as an Indian citizen in her homeland.

The collector said the application would be processed as per procedure, with a report to follow for state and central government review.