A 94-year-old woman from Andhra Pradesh has expressed one final wish: to spend her remaining years and die as an Indian citizen.
K Mahalakshmamma is a native of Chintagumpala village in Bapatla district. She surrendered her American citizenship after living in the United States for nearly two decades. She has now formally sought the restoration of her Indian nationality.
Mahalakshmamma took the oath of allegiance to the Constitution of India. She did so under the Citizenship Act before Bapatla District Collector V Vinod Kumar.
Speaking in Telugu, she told the Collector, “Collector Garu, I am nearing 95 years of age. I want to die as an Indian.”
As Mahalakshmamma suffers from severe hearing impairment and cannot understand English, officials translated the oath into Telugu. Her son, Kondrugunta K Pichchaiah, read the translated version aloud, and she repeated it before the District Collector, thereby fulfilling the legal requirement under the Citizenship Act.
Mahalakshmamma submitted her online application for restoration of Indian citizenship on June 1 and also approached the State Secretariat.
The district administration initiated an inquiry on Tuesday.
After completing the required formalities, the Collector forwarded her file to the State Secretariat, which will send it to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs for a final decision.
After her husband Nagabhushanam passed away, Mahalakshmamma moved to the United States to live with her son, an oncologist. She became a US citizen on July 27, 2000, returned to India with her family in 2018, and now resides in her native village, where her son serves as Director of NRI Medical College in Guntur.
Mahalakshmamma wishes to spend her final days in her village and have her last rites performed there.
Reacting to X, TDP Rajya Sabha MP Sana Sathish Babu described her decision as ‘deeply moving’.
“Collector Garu, I am nearing 95 years of age. I WANT TO DIE AS AN INDIAN” 🇮🇳🇮🇳
94 year old women Kondragunta Mahalakshmamma, from our Andhra pradesh in baptla district, gives up her US CITIZENSHIP to die as Indian, is deeply moving
Her choice is a powerful reminder that no… https://t.co/h0QccnfJeK
— Sana Sathish Babu (@sanasathishbabu) June 26, 2026
State Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav also praised her decision, stating, “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.”
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