Separated families unite at NRC centres in Assam

:Hasan of Azara locality on the outskirts of Guwahati officially established he is Meer Hasan of Assam and not an illegal immigrant in the state last Sunday. Standing outside the National Register of Citizens (NRC) verification centre at the circuit house in Guwahati, overlooking the Brahmaputra, Hasan and his family members breathed a collective sigh of relief. Moments ago, the process to update citizenship records to weed out illegal immigrants in Assam had accepted his credentials as an Indian.

The family expects a smooth sailing from here on to the NRC list.

At some point, when NRC officials came on a home visit to gather data on their family tree, someone gave his name as only Hasan and not Meer Hasan. Inevitably, a mismatch occurred with the NRC’s legacy data documents. The legacy documents include the 1951 NRC and electoral rolls up to midnight of March 24, 1971, the cut-off date according to the Assam Accord.

According to the accord, all foreigners who came to Assam on or after March 25, 1971, illegally shall be detected and deported from the state.

This mismatch necessitated Hasan to be present at the NRC centre with his two brothers, three sisters, cousins and other relatives. All of them had to be there to prove they knew each other. The sisters, all married, had to travel to Guwahati from different parts of the state.

“Our family will no longer have to run around proving we are Indian citizens,” said Hasan’s cousin Nabiullah.

While one family can breathe easy, the NRC office has its job cut out. It has to verify 4.8 million similar cases of family tree mismatches across the state by May 31, 2018 — the deadline set by the Supreme Court. As many as 8,350 officials are investigating these mismatches manually in 4,131 venues across the state.