The much-awaited final National Register of Citizens (NRC) list, released 34 years after Assam Accord, apparently has not meet the expectation of many stakeholders clamouring for the process while leaving nearly 2 million people with uncertain fate. A final closure, expected after the highly cumbersome and lengthy exercise, nowhere in sight.
The final NRC release on August 31 excluded 19, 06,657 people and found 3, 11, 21,004 eligible for inclusion.
“Political and non-political organisations in unison condemned the document that excluded 1.9 million people,” IANS news agency reported in a news item after the publication. On one hand, many argue there are “sufficient circumstantial evidences” to indicate that many genuine citizens were excluded, while on the other end, there seems to be common observation that the final tally is much lesser than expected and included many ‘foreigners.’
The All Assam Students' Union (AASU), a leading advocate of the exercise expressed “dejection” while the Assam Public Works, a civil society organisation, which first filed petition in the Supreme Court seeking the updation, conveyed disappointment. Both the organisations are reportedly planning approach the Supreme Court and President respectively for possible solution.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, a party clamouring for the NRC updation in the state, is not elated either. The party’s supremo in Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma promised 'more finals,' seemingly despondent with the ultimate thunder being stolen by the list. The party has been riding on the immigration bogey so far.
According to a report in The Indian Express, Sharma reckoned that the total number of “exclusion will only be 6-7 lakh, which is very less” after correcting for statistical discrepancies and other considerations. Sensing such an outcome, the centre and state government unsuccessfully filed affidavits in the apex court seeking “re-verification of 20 per cent of the names in the draft NRC” especially in border districts, before the final release.
What necessitate the NRC updation? A background check is necessary and goes back nearly 7 decades back when the first National Register of Citizens, 1951, a register containing names of Indian Citizens was prepared after the conduct of the Census of 1951. It recorded “particulars of all the persons enumerated during that Census.”
The start of 'Anti-foreigners' movement' started in 1979 spearheaded by students community can be attributed as the beginning. AASU first submitted the memorandum demanding NRC updating in 1980 resulting in the historic ‘Assam Accord’ signed on August 14, 1985. During the intervening period, the state saw several agitations and movement resulting in loss of lives as well as properties.
The Centre took the first formal decision to update the NRC as per the Assam Accord in 1999 but till the Assam Public Works moved the Supreme Court in 2013, there were no action on the ground. In December 2013, the Supreme Court gave its ruling and the actual exercise began in February 2015 under the constant monitoring of the apex court.
Primarily, the rules have been framed with cut-off date of March 24 (midnight), 1971 decided as per the Assam Accord of 1985 – means persons whose name appears in NRC, 1951 or the Electoral Rolls up to 24th March (midnight), 1971 or their descendent were eligible for the list. There were more or less similar conditions regarding those who registered with the Foreigner Regional Registration Office (FRRO) and declared by the Foreigner Tribunal as Indian citizen, and Indians from other state.
Apart from omission and commission, the list is not just statistical, but involves highly emotive human issue. What would happen to those excluded, a list rendering them ‘stateless.’ The Government has extended time to file appeals against exclusion in the Foreigners Tribunal upto 120 days and promised legal aids for those who cannot afford the appeals. Thereafter, they can seek legal recourses in higher courts. However uncertainty reigns supreme.
The politicisation of an exercise of such magnitude and implications, cannot be ruled out in coming days. A senior government source was quoted in The Indian Express report as saying said that the NRC exercise would not be attempted in other states calling it a “highly problematic, expensive and unproductive exercise,” with no satisfactory results. This should be the lesson learnt.
