Citizens’ list update in India’s Assam

Bangla-speaking Muslims anxious

Final draft due to be published Saturday

Ahead of the scheduled publication of the second and final draft of the updated National Register of Citizens (NRC) on Saturday, Bangla-speaking Muslims in the Indian state of Assam are passing anxious and nervous time fearing discriminatory elimination from the list.

And, common people appear to be worried as they are afraid of troubles if a large number of people are dropped from the updated draft NRC.

Although the final draft is scheduled to be published by June 30 in accordance with the directive of the Indian Supreme Court that is monitoring the exercise that began in 2015, it is being anticipated that the publication may be delayed due to loss of work owing to flood in some parts of the state.

At the midnight of December 31, 2017, the first draft containing 1.9 crore people was published leaving behind 1.39 crore to be considered for the complete draft. A total of 3.29 crore people applied with documents to be proved as Indian citizens.

“I’m hopeful that the final draft will be published as scheduled. But, we have, indeed, lost some work due to floods in some areas of the state. Let’s see what happens,” Prateek Hajela, the chief of NRC updating, told The Independent yesterday from Assam, a state that shares border with Bangladesh.

To a question, he said that prior permission of the Supreme Court will be required for any extension of the Saturday deadline.

While visiting Guwahati from June 12 to 15, this correspondent sensed worries and anxieties among the ordinary people, who fear deep troubles ahead if a large number of Bangla-speaking residents are dropped from the list. Having interacted with common people, journalists, politicians, lawyers, academicians, it has been found that the Bangla-speaking people are vulnerable to elimination from the draft NRC.

Among them, Bangla-speaking Muslims are the most vulnerable ones due to various factors, including continuous branding as Bangladeshis, unfavourable attitude from the ruling party both in the centre and the state, their poor socioeconomic conditions and illiteracy.

Although about 34 per cent of the Hindu-majority Assam’s 3.3 crore (33 millions) population are Muslims, due to above-mentioned reasons, they, particularly Bangla-speaking ones, lag far behind than others making them more vulnerable to elimination from the complete draft as they are not good about keeping records of their births and family trees.

As a result, Bangla-speaking Muslims are having an anxious and nervous time in the lead up to the publication of the final draft. They fear that they will be treated in a discriminatory manner that will see elimination of many eligible citizens from the list.  The conditions of the Assamese-speaking Muslims are, however, better than Bangla-speaking Muslims.

The state of many Bangla-speaking Hindus are also bad, but they are ‘more or less secured due to the favourable attitude from the ruling BJP both in Delhi and Dispur’. A significant number of Muslims believes that the motive of the updating of the NRC is political and is an excuse to keep many lakhs (hundreds of thousands) of people off the voters’ list.

A large number of Muslims and Hindus believe that the NRC updating is intended to protect the cultural and linguistic identities of the Assamese-speaking so-called indigenous Assamese people of the state, who, according to many, have already become minority in terms of numbers.

“Look, an NRC is a good thing. But, the problem is it has an ill-motive. I have been living in this state since birth, yet my name did not appear on the first list despite providing the documents,” said a senior citizen, who claimed to be 71-year old.

“I am a lawyer of the Gauhati High Court, but my name did not come on the first draft. Just waiting for the final draft,” said Fazluzzaman Mazumder, a resident of Guwahati in his 40.

“I have been living in the state since my birth. My name is also missing from the first draft,” said a 50-year-old man from Barak Valley who preferred to be identified only by his first name, Sudhir.    

Many people are of the opinion that there will never be a final NRC as many including ‘ruling BJP and alliance parties in power do not want this problem to be solved due to political gains’. If the intention was good and the process was transparent, it would have been a very good thing, they said.

“A good intention is the main thing,” said Nitya Bora, editor of Asomiya Pratidin, the largest circulated Assamese daily, adding, “As of now it does not seem to me the case.”

“Every peace-loving people of Assam want a flawless NRC to solve the problem once and for all,” he said. Mahbubul Hoque, who runs an education empire in Assam, described the situation as fluid, saying that it is being heard that many lakh Muslims may not make to the final draft.

The consequences of such a thing are beyond imagination, he said, adding that a fair and unbiased process is needed to determine true citizens of India.

To a question, NRC state coordinator Hajela claimed that the process of updating is transparent and unbiased.

“I have been tasked with identifying Indian citizens and I and my colleagues are exactly doing the same,” he said.

When asked as to how many people may be dropped from the final draft, Hajela, also a commissioner and secretary to the Assam state government, declined to specify any number, saying, “Look, it is a very sensitive matter having effect on a lot of people, therefore it will not be right to give any number before the publication of the draft.”

“Not having names on the draft is not the final outcome. There are mechanisms to be included and excluded later when the claims and objections will be disposed off,” he reminded. About the options of being included in the list, lawyer Mazumder said, “Yes, there are options. But, it is to be seen how many people, especially those from poor background, know about them and can afford them.”

When contacted, senior diplomats said that they believe this is an ‘internal political issue of India that is unfortunately relating Bangladesh’.  Never ever at any level talks between the two countries, this issue was raised by the Indians, they reminded.

They also regretted the fact that the government of a friendly neighbour like India is allowing the association of Bangladesh’s name with the issue.

The home minister, Asaduzzaman Khan, told this correspondent unequivocally on February 27, that there is no illegal immigration from Bangladesh.

 

Citizens list update in Indias Assam

Bangla-speaking Muslims anxious

Final draft due to be published Saturday

Ahead of the scheduled publication of the second and final draft of the updated National Register of Citizens (NRC) on Saturday, Bangla-speaking Muslims in the Indian state of Assam are passing anxious and nervous time fearing discriminatory elimination from the list. And, common people appear to be worried as they are afraid of troubles if a large number of people are dropped from the updated draft NRC. Although the final draft is scheduled to be published by June 30 in accordance with the directive of the Indian Supreme Court that is monitoring the exercise that began in 2015, it is being anticipated that the publication may be delayed due to loss of work owing to flood in some parts of the state. At the midnight of December 31, 2017, the first draft containing 1.9 crore people was published leaving behind 1.39 crore to be considered for the complete draft. A total of 3.29 crore people applied with documents to be proved as Indian citizens. Im hopeful that the final draft will be published as scheduled. But, we have, indeed, lost some work due to floods in some areas of the state. Lets see what happens, Prateek Hajela, the chief of NRC updating, told The Independent yesterday from Assam, a state that shares border with Bangladesh. To a question, he said that prior permission of the Supreme Court will be required for any extension of the Saturday deadline. While visiting Guwahati from June 12 to 15, this correspondent sensed worries and anxieties among the ordinary people, who fear deep troubles ahead if a large number of Bangla-speaking residents are dropped from the list. Having interacted with common people, journalists, politicians, lawyers, academicians, it has been found that the Bangla-speaking people are vulnerable to elimination from the draft NRC. Among them, Bangla-speaking Muslims are the most vulnerable ones due to various factors, including continuous branding as Bangladeshis, unfavourable attitude from the ruling party both in the centre and the state, their poor socioeconomic conditions and illiteracy. Although about 34 per cent of the Hindu-majority Assams 3.3 crore (33 millions) population are Muslims, due to above-mentioned reasons, they, particularly Bangla-speaking ones, lag far behind than others making them more vulnerable to elimination from the complete draft as they are not good about keeping records of their births and family trees. As a result, Bangla-speaking Muslims are having an anxious and nervous time in the lead up to the publication of the final draft. They fear that they will be treated in a discriminatory manner that will see elimination of many eligible citizens from the list. The conditions of the Assamese-speaking Muslims are, however, better than Bangla-speaking Muslims. The state of many Bangla-speaking Hindus are also bad, but they are more or less secured due to the favourable attitude from the ruling BJP both in Delhi and Dispur. A significant number of Muslims believes that the motive of the updating of the NRC is political and is an excuse to keep many lakhs (hundreds of thousands) of people off the voters list. A large number of Muslims and Hindus believe that the NRC updating is intended to protect the cultural and linguistic identities of the Assamese-speaking so-called indigenous Assamese people of the state, who, according to many, have already become minority in terms of numbers. Look, an NRC is a good thing. But, the problem is it has an ill-motive. I have been living in this state since birth, yet my name did not appear on the first list despite providing the documents, said a senior citizen, who claimed to be 71-year old. I am a lawyer of the Gauhati High Court, but my name did not come on the first draft. Just waiting for the final draft, said Fazluzzaman Mazumder, a resident of Guwahati in his 40. I have been living in the state since my birth. My name is also missing from the first draft, said a 50-year-old man from Barak Valley who preferred to be identified only by his first name, Sudhir. Many people are of the opinion that there will never be a final NRC as many including ruling BJP and alliance parties in power do not want this problem to be solved due to political gains. If the intention was good and the process was transparent, it would have been a very good thing, they said. A good intention is the main thing, said Nitya Bora, editor of Asomiya Pratidin, the largest circulated Assamese daily, adding, As of now it does not seem to me the case. Every peace-loving people of Assam want a flawless NRC to solve the problem once and for all, he said. Mahbubul Hoque, who runs an education empire in Assam, described the situation as fluid, saying that it is being heard that many lakh Muslims may not make to the final draft. The consequences of such a thing are beyond imagination, he said, adding that a fair and unbiased process is needed to determine true citizens of India. To a question, NRC state coordinator Hajela claimed that the process of updating is transparent and unbiased. I have been tasked with identifying Indian citizens and I and my colleagues are exactly doing the same, he said. When asked as to how many people may be dropped from the final draft, Hajela, also a commissioner and secretary to the Assam state government, declined to specify any number, saying, Look, it is a very sensitive matter having effect on a lot of people, therefore it will not be right to give any number before the publication of the draft. Not having names on the draft is not the final outcome. There are mechanisms to be included and excluded later when the claims and objections will be disposed off, he reminded. About the options of being included in the list, lawyer Mazumder said, Yes, there are options. But, it is to be seen how many people, especially those from poor background, know about them and can afford them. When contacted, senior diplomats said that they believe this is an internal political issue of India that is unfortunately relating Bangladesh. Never ever at any level talks between the two countries, this issue was raised by the Indians, they reminded. They also regretted the fact that the government of a friendly neighbour like India is allowing the association of Bangladeshs name with the issue. The home minister, Asaduzzaman Khan, told this correspondent unequivocally on February 27, that there is no illegal immigration from Bangladesh.