Assam citizen draft today, govt prepares for unrest
GUWAHATI: There is anxiety and anticipation in Assam as the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), which establishes citizenship, is set to be released on July 30 after a mammoth and controversial drive to weed out ‘illegal immigrants’.
The first part of the draft, released on December 31, 2017, had included names of 19 million of the state’s 33 million applicants.
Amid fears that those not included in the list might be declared foreigners and sent to detention centres, senior ministers and officials have been assuring residents not to panic and fall prey to rumours.
On Wednesday, Union home minister Rajnath Singh asked people in Assam “not to worry” and directed the state government not to initiate any action against those whose names don’t appear in the list.
“People need to know that it is the final draft, not the complete list. Those whose names are missing will get a chance to register claims and clarifications between August 1 and September 28 to get their names enlisted,” Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal said.
In a statement issued on Sun- day, Sonowal termed the NRC list as a “security shield” for the future of Assam’s residents.
The complete list will be released only after all claims are settled. Officials are tight-lipped about names of how many applicants might be missing from Monday’s list.
The NRC is being updated in Assam for the first time after 1951 to identify those who may have entered the state from Bangladesh after March 25, 1971, a date agreed in the Assam Accord signed between the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and the Centre in 1985.
Persons who can prove links with family members whose names appeared in the 1951 NRC or subsequent electoral rolls till March 25, 1971 will be included in the updated NRC.
Elaborate security arrangements have been put in place across the state in anticipation of violence, with 22,000 central paramilitary forces rushed to Assam by the Centre. Intelligence gathering has been increased and a tab kept on social media platforms, police said.
“We are expecting no trouble since there are no misgivings in the minds of the people. But if anybody tries to break law, they will be dealt severely,” Assam Police DGP Kuladhar Saikia told HT.
Fearing an influx from Assam of those left out of Monday’s list, neighbouring states Meghalaya, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland too have beefed up security on the border.
Entry of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh to Assam, which has been going on allegedly for decades, is a contentious issue in the region. Some people fear such unabated influx is a threat to the state’s indigenous population.
AASU led a mass agitation for six years against illegal immigrants, which claimed 855 lives and culminated in signing of the 1985 accord.
In 2005, as part of an agreement among central and state governments with the AASU, it was decided to update the 1951 NRC to prepare a comprehensive list of bona fide Indian citizens in the state.
The updating process started in 2015. But it got a big push after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in Assam for the first time in 2016 with ouster of illegal immigrants as its main poll issue.
Opposition All India United Democratic Front chief Badruddin Ajmal said they are hoping the NRC list being released on Monday is error free. “Those Indians who are left out need not worry as they can take legal recourse. Our party will help them get enlisted.”
State Congress president Ripun Bora also assured help from the party to those who are left out of the list and want to get their names included.
Author and social scientist Hiren Gohain said there were some “wild sensational claims” on the number of people who would be left out or a certain community would be targeted.
“It must be put on record that NRC makes no distinction on the basis of religion, language or ethnicity. I appeal to people not to fall for such claims.”