NRC's First Draft Evokes Mixed Reactions

The release of the much-awaited first draftof the National Register of Citizen (NRC) on the very first day of 2018 has generated much heat-wave in every corner of Assam. The list identifies 1.9 crore people as an Indian and this has evoked mixed reactions across the state.

- Sayantani Deb

Some Stories

62-year-old Sambhu Das, a Dhubri-based school teacher, was detained under the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act in July 2017 and since then he has been kept in a detention centre meant for detaining illegal or doubtful citizens. However, the question that remains to be answered- ‘Is Shambhu Das an illegal citizen?’

“My grandfather’s family migrated from Sylhet to Dhubri around 1950 and after coming to India, he worked at the Public Works Department (PWD) and served the department as a clerk for 15 years,” said Shima, daughter of Shambhu Das, while sharing her story with Northeast Today.

“My father completed his education- both school and college- from Dhubri. He even possesses the proper documents and papers. So, how can he be tagged as an illegal citizen?” she rose a question, adding, “I have already approached the local court for my father’s bail. If he is denied a bail, I will approach the Gauhati High Court as well.”

This is not the lone case as there are thousands of cases like Sambhu Das’ where people are detained as authorities doubt them to be illegal.

Speaking on the same lines, Reena Paul, a student of Assam University said, “My mother Sabita (50) and my aunty Namita (45) were also kept in a detention camp for nearly two months as their pre- and post-nuptial names did not match.”

Throwback

National Register of Citizen (NRC) is the result of Assam Agitation that rocked the state for six years from 1979 to 1985. The demand to identify foreigners (mostly illegal immigrants from Bangladesh) was raised by the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad (AAGSP) - the two bodies that spearheaded the Assam Agitation.