The National Register of Citizen (NRC) is till date the biggest drive to
verify citizenship in India. It is aimed at identifying illegal
immigrants who entered and settled in Assam, primarily from Bangladesh,
after March 25, 1971 and deport them to their native country.The NRC is a list of people who can prove that they came to Assam before
24 March 1971, a day before India's neighbouring country Bangladesh
declared independence from Pakistan. The first NRC was prepared in 1951
on the basis of year's census in Assam. It is the country's only state
to create such a document. NRC was created to control unabated migration
from Bangladesh. The state is said to have faced longstanding foreigner
problem, to remove illegal migrants and arrest further inflow.
Almost 2 million (19 lakh) people in Assam have been excluded from the final
version of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam that was
released by the government today at 10 am. A total of 33 million (3.29 crore) people
had applied for the NRC, of which 31million (3.11 crore) made it to the final list.
So the questions here today are what will happen to those 2 million (19 lakh ) people who are excluded from NRC ? Will India Deport them ?or they will find a way to Stay here ?
Back Ground of NRC (National Register of Citizen )
On December 6, 2013, the government issued
the first notification setting a deadline of three years for completion
of the entire NRC process. Since then, five extensions have been given
by the government. The draft NRC was published on July 30 and included
the names of 29 million people (2.9 crore) of the total 33 million ( 3.29 crore ) applicants. Here is the complete Timeline of NRC.
1950: Immigrants
(Expulsion from Assam) Act comes into force following influx of refugees
from then East Pakistan to Assam after partition.
1951: First Census of Independent India conducted. Based on Census, first NRC compiled.
1957: Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act repealed.
1964-1965: Influx of refugees from East Pakistan due to disturbances in that country.
1971: Fresh influx due to riot and war in East Pakistan. Independence Bangladesh comes into existence.
1979-1985:
Six-year-long Assam agitation, spearheaded by the All Assam Students'
Union (AASU) and All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad (AAGSP) for detection,
disenfranchisement and deportation of foreigners.
1983:
Massacre at Nellie in Central Assam which claimed the lives of over
3,000 people. Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act passed.
1985:
Assam Accord signed by the Centre, the state, AASU and AAGSP in the
presence of then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. It stated, among other
clauses, that foreigners who came to Assam on or after March 25, 1971
shall be expelled.
1997: Election Commission decides to add 'D' (doubtful) against names of voters whose claim to Indian citizenship is doubtful.
2005:
Supreme Court strikes down IMDT Act as unconstitutional. Tripartite
meeting among Centre, state government and AASU decides to update 1951
NRC. But no major development takes place.
2009:
Assam Public Works (APW), an NGO, files case in Supreme Court praying
for deletion of foreigners's name in electoral rolls and updation of
NRC.
2010: Pilot project starts in Chaygaon,
Barpeta to update NRC. Project successful in Chaygaon. Four killed in
violence in Barpeta. Project shelved.
2013:
Supreme Court takes up APW petition, directs Centre, state to begin the
process for updating NRC. NRC State Coordinator's office set up.
2015: Updation of NRC process begins.
2017: On December 31 midnight, Draft NRC published with names of 1.9 crore of total 3.29 crore applicants.
July 30, 2018: Another Draft NRC published, 40 lakh of 2.9 crore people excluded.
June 26, 2019: Publication of Additional Draft Exclusion List of 1,02,462 released.
August 31, 2019: Final NRC released.
So why is it necessary to update NRC in Assam ? and What is the Controversy all about ?
The National Register of Citizens was first prepared in Assam in
1951. The 1951 NRC is said to have covered each and every person
enumerated during the Census of 1951 in Assam.
The final list of
NRC in Assam comes 14 years after the then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh
chaired a meeting between the central government, the Assam government
and the All Assam Students Union (AASU) where a consensus was developed
that the National Register of Citizens should be updated to honour the
promises made in the Assam Accord of 1985.
Last year, when the
second draft of the NRC was released on June 30, a huge controversy
erupted as nearly 4 million people (40 lakh ) people in Assam were excluded from the NRC.
Over
the past decades, there were demands that the National Register of
Citizens should be updated in Assam. These demands stemmed in the wake
of cross-border illegal migration into Assam, primarily from Bangladesh,
which has been repeatedly resented by the locals. Opposition to this
unchecked illegal inflow of people has resulted in bouts of violence and
state-wide protests in the past.
Identification, detention and
deportation of such immigrants was a major demand over which the All
Assam Students Union (AASU) launched a 6-year movement which ended with
the signing of the Assam Accord in 1985.
To prove their
citizenship, people in Assam have to show documentary evidence that they
or their ancestors were born in Assam before March 25, 1971, which has
been set as the cut-off date.
The government says, "The NRC, when
updated, shall become an important legal document to fall back upon for a
citizen with reference to his/her status of Indian Citizenship."
While the intent of the NRC updating exercise is to identify and
possibly deport the so-called illegal migrants, the process and its
fallout have become controversial in the recent past.
Besides
cases of ordinary people, there have been cases where military
veterans, government officials, and even family members of a former
President of India and former chief minister of Assam were excluded from
the draft NRC list and were forced to prove that they were not
"illegal" migrants before the Foreigners' Tribunals.
In other
cases, this process has thrown up bizarre situations where a brother
finds his name in the NRC list while his sibling gets excluded; or a
father makes it to the list but his son doesn't, etc.
Proving
one's citizenship is only a part of the NRC process because the
government's real intent behind the exercise is to identify "illegal"
immigrants and deport them to their native countries. Before being
finally deported, those left out in the final NRC will have a chance to
present their case before the Foreigners' Tribunals set-up in Assam for
the sole purpose of identifying illegal immigrants. If they are
identified as "illegal" migrants, they will be locked-up in detention
camps, until their deportation. Media reports have been stating that
these detention camps are infamous for their inhumane living conditions.
So what will happen to 2million (NRC) people who are excluded from NRC ?
People
who have been excluded from the final list of NRC will have to appeal
against it at Foreigners' Tribunals (FT)- a quasi-judicial court and
subsequently in the high court or Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, the
BJP-led Assam government has already ruled out the detention of people
who do not figure in the list 'in any circumstances' till the time an FT
doesn't declare them foreigners. The government has given 120 days time
to those excluded from the NRC to appeal in the court.On the other
hand, as per media reports, the courts in India will be burdened and get
exhaustive as the appeal period is short and cases are far too many
which may further clog the process. At present, there are 100 FTs in
Assam and 200 more will be functional soon.
Suppose,
someone who loses his or her case in a Foreigners' Tribunal as well as
in higher courts, he or she will face a possible arrest and the prospect
of being sent to a detention centre.
How those excluded from NRC can back up their claims for inclusion?
Those
excluded from NRC will have to prove that they or their ancestors were
living in Assam on or before March 24, 1971. Also, anyone who
participated in the electoral rolls up to March 24, 1971, or who are
descendants of any such citizens, are eligible for inclusion in the
updated NRC. Besides, the original documents such as birth certificates
and land records - as long as these were issued before the cutoff date,
would also be admissible as a proof of citizenship.
Wouldn't those rejected have already submitted the documents to establish their linkage to March 24, 1971?
People
who had submitted documents in order to establish their linkage to
March 24, 1971 or earlier but still excluded from the NRC list may face
an additional problem as their papers were not enough to establish this
linkage. Such people face the task of finding documents other than those
that were rejected.
Will India Deport them ?
What will happen If even legal recourse fails for the NRC excluded people, would they be deported?
Assam
has six detention camps and the government is planning to build more
for illegal migrants within existing jails. The state government has
proposed to build a seventh detention camp with a capacity for 3,000
people. However, the list of illegal migrants is in millions which these
detention centers won't be able to accommodate.
Even If
not deported or detained in a camp, such people would officially be
entitled as non-citizens. Although, India has no fixed policy for
"stateless" persons. The only aspect that is more or less clear here is
that a "stateless" person will not have voting rights. As of now,
nothing is clear about their rights to work, housing and government
healthcare and education. In India, being "stateless" is not the same as
being a refugee. At present, India has refugees from Tibet, Sri
Lanka (Tamils) and West Pakistan.
