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Will updated NRC lead

to humanitarian crisis?

The updated NRC is likely to detect the post-1971 migrants, as agreed in the Assam Accord but their
deportation is a challenge before the country. So, what would be the fate of those to be identified as
“foreigners” now? nandita sengupta reports

any, perhaps the entire nal updated NRC, likely to be released in bunal where I have to prove that I am not
country started to look December. a foreigner. But, I did not receive any no-
at Assam with shock and Many in Assam now fear that this tice neither from a tribunal nor from po-
surprise after July 30 would turn into a “humanitarian crisis” lice about the case earlier. I had submit-
M morning when the sec- once the final NRC is out as India is un- ted 1966 voters list which had my father’s
ond draft of National Register of Citizens able to deport the migrants due to lack of name (Asmut Sheikh) as a legacy data to
(NRC), 1951, was released with over 40.07 a deportation or repatriation treaty with prove our citizenship and inclusion in
lakh residents missing in the draft. NRC is neighbouring Bangladesh. the NRC,” a visibly worried Ainal told the
believed to solve the illegal Bangladeshi “If the number of foreign nation- Tehelka at Hatisola.
migrants problem that Assam is facing als who settled in Assam after March “Names of my elder brother’s family is
since the Partition. 24, 1971, is huge and their country of there who had submitted the same lega-
Sailesh, the Register General of India origin do not want to take them, what cy data of our father. Now, I am clueless
(RGI), releasing the draft in Guwahati said will be their fate? They are India’s
of the total 3, 29, 91, 384 applicants, 2, 89, liability: whether we like them or not. It
83, 677 were found to be eligible for inclu- will be a humanitarian crisis for India,”
sion in the draft NRC with March 24, 1971, said former director general of Assam
as the cut-off date. This means 4,007,707 police, Harekrishna Deka, in his post on
applicants allegedly “failed” to prove that Facebook. Deka, also a Sahitya Akademi
they or their forefathers came in As- awardee, was a superintendent of police
sam on or before March 24, 1971, as per and a deputy inspector general of police
the cut-off date in Assam Accord , 1985, during the Assam Agitation.
signed by former Prime Minister Rajiv Confusion and fear of being declared
Gandhi and those leading the “historic” “Bangladeshis” was all prevalent at Hati-
Assam Agitation or the anti-foreigners sola and four other neighbouring villages
movement between 1979 and 1985. having maximum Bengali Muslim popu-
This sparked strong criticism from lation in Kamrup district, about 80-km
international media, many of whom pro- west of Guwahati where nearly 5,000
jected it as an “anti-Muslim” despite the residents missed their names in the draft
fact that those who missed the draft NRC NRC.
belonged to different religions and the Ainal Hoque, a 47-year-old farmer
indigenous people too. It is to note that looked confused as he came rushing to
the work on NRC began following an or- NRC Seva Kendra at Hatisola with docu-
der of the Supreme Court in 2013 and is ments. Names of him and a son, Aminul,
being monitored by the apex court. 8, were there in the first draft of NRC re-
The Centre and Assam government leased on December 31 last year but the
have repeatedly assured that those who final draft saw names of all six members
were left out had nothing to worry and of his family missing.
could submit their claims of citizenship “On August 6, I got a letter saying that
between August 30 and September 28 the names of my family were dropped as
for the inclusion of their names in the fi- a case is registered in the Foreigner Tri-

Tehelka / 31 august 2018 34 www.Tehelka.com