Shivani Dube is a well-recognized name in wrestling for her contribution to the country. She has won seven gold medals at the national level wrestling and silver medals at international competitions.
However, the state has denied her a citizenship certificate. Her father is an Indian national and mother is a Nepali.
The Dadeldhura District Administration Office has reportedly denied her a citizenship reasoning that ‘the provision for issuing a citizenship card in the name of the mother has yet to be implemented’.
Raju Dube, father of Shivani, has been living in Nepal since he married Radhika Rokka of Dadeldhura in 1999.
At present, the Dube family is living at Khaireni ward 3 of Bhimdatta Municipality in Kanchanpur district. They depend on daily wages for a living.
The District Administration Office reportedly returned Shivani empty-handed when she reached out for a citizenship card to flying to Norway for a wrestling championship.
“Sport players are ornaments of a country. They help raise the image of a country. It is sad that my daughter is fighting for a citizenship certificate despite her immense contributions to the country,” lamented Raju, a former national wrestling player.
Shivani, the eldest of three children of the Dube couple, is of the view that she should get a citizenship card in the name of her mother.
She joined wrestling at the age of 15 and won a silver medal in the 53 kilograms group in the 13th South Asian Games in 2019. “I haven’t returned empty-handed from any tournament so far. I am dreaming of playing in the Olympics,” he shared.
The National Sports Council has taken initiatives to help Shivani get the document, said Raju.
“The Dadeldhura district administration office denied my daughter (Shivani) a citizenship card, reasoning that the provision of granting the document in the name of the mother was yet to be implemented.
“However, there’s some ray of hope as the Wrestling Association and the NSC have taken initiatives,” he said.
“I have heard that a national cricket player has got citizenship certificate in a similar case. So I believe Shivani should get the document in similar fashion,” he said.
Wrestling Coach Rajendra Bahadur Chand demanded that Shivani be granted a citizenship certificate after going through the legal process.
(Rastriya Samachar Samiti)
