Assam recognises 19 million as citizens in first NRC draft, 13.9 million more wait for status

The NRC is being updated for the first time after 1951 (only in Assam) with the aim of weeding out those who may have entered the state from Bangladesh after March 25, 1971.

Villagers walk past Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel patrolling a road ahead of the publication of the first draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the Juria village of Nagaon district in Assam, on December 28, 2017. (Reuters)

A part of a much-awaited list that aims to separate the genuine residents of border state Assam and illegal Bangladeshi immigrants was released Sunday midnight.

The first part draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) for Assam that came out amid watertight security recognises 19 million people out of a total 32.9 million applicants as Indian citizens.

Registrar general of India Shailesh said there was no need to panic as the verification process for the rest of the applicants was underway. “Everybody should be patient to wait for the release of the final draft,” he said.

The NRC is being updated in Assam for the first time after 1951 with the aim of identifying those who may have entered the state from Bangladesh after March 25, 1971 — a sensitive issue that led to a movement by the state’s indigenous people in the 1980s. Many fear an unabated influx, which has been going on for close to a century, is a threat to Assam’s identity.

No timeline has been fixed for the release of the complete draft but officials say the process, which is being monitored by the Supreme Court, could take a few more months.

Security has been tightened across the state as there were apprehensions about violence by those whose names are missing. No report of violence was reported till Monday morning.

Muslims in the state are worried about whether their names will be included in the list. But with the first part draft getting published and hopes of inclusion of all names in the final draft, there’s a sense of relief.

“But we will be watchful for few days. Since the draft was released online, it would take some days for people to reach NRC offices and physically verify if their names are in the list,” Assam director general of police Mukesh Sahay told HT.

Individuals, who can prove links with family members whose names appeared in the 1951 NRC or subsequent electoral rolls till March 25, 1971 will be included in the updated NRC.

Physical verification of the updated first draft has begun at over 4,200 NRC centres across Assam. Long queues of people waiting to check their names were seen at several centres since early morning.

“I was relieved to see names of all my seven family members in the first list. We have full faith in the system and are sure that names of those missing will get included in the next draft,” said Nurul Ali, a farmer from Kaki in Nagaon district of central Assam.

Besides the online and physical verification process till January 31, applicants can send text messages or call a 24/7 toll-free helpline to check if they figure in the list.

The All Assam Students Union (AASU) led a mass agitation for six years against illegal immigrants, and the stir led to the signing of the Assam Accord in 1985.

In 2005, as part of an agreement among central and state governments with the AASU, it was decided to update the 1951 NRC to prepare a comprehensive list of bona fide Indian citizens in the state.

The process started in 2015. It got a big push after the nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which made the issue of illegal immigrants a key poll plank, came to power in Assam for the first time in 2016.

“We are happy that the first draft of NRC has been released. It was a much-anticipated dream of all indigenous Assamese. We hope the complete draft, which doesn’t include names of illegal Bangladeshi migrants, would be released soon,” AASU adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya said.

Source: The Hindustan Times

Explained in brief: What is Assam’s National Register of

Citizens updation and how it will impact illegal immigrants

What is NRC, 1951?

National Register of Citizens, 1951 is a register prepared after the conduct of the Census of 1951 in respect of each village, showing the houses or holdings in a serial order and indicating against each house or holding the number and names of persons staying therein. These registers covered each and every person enumerated during the Census of 1951 and were kept in the offices of Deputy Commissioners and Sub Divisional Officers according to instructions issued by the Government of India in 1951. Later these registers were transferred to the Police in the early 1960s.

Why is the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is being updated in Assam?

National Register of Citizens (NRC) updation basically means the process of enlisting the names of those persons (or their descendants) whose names appear in any of the Electoral Rolls up to 1971, 1951 NRC or any of the admissible documents stipulated.

The demands to update the NRC of 1951 were first raised by the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and Assam Gana Parishad more than three decades ago. The organisations had submitted a memorandum to the Centre on January 18, 1980, two months after launching the anti-illegal foreigners Assam Movement.

On November 17, 1999, at an official-level tripartite meeting to review the implementation of the Assam Accord, a decision was taken that the NRC would be updated and the Centre sanctioned Rs 20 lakh for the purpose and released Rs 5 lakh of it to start the exercise. Later, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh led government took the final decision to update NRC on May 5, 2005. Thereafter, the government created a directorate for updating the NRC and the process of computerisation of the voters’ list up to 1971 and the NRC of 1951 began.

How will it impact the illegal immigrants – The Assam accord?

The Assam accord was signed between the leaders of AASU-AAGSP and the Government of India in 1985 marking an end to a six-year-long agitation. The parties agreed that all foreigners who had entered Assam between 1951 and 1961 would be given full citizenship. However, those who entered the state after 1971 will be deported.

What is the background of NRC updation?

A National Register of Citizens was prepared in 1951 after the conduct of the Census of that particular year. The Register included particulars of all the persons enumerated during that Census. As per statutes governing NRC updation that are The Citizenship Act, 1955 and The Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003 (As amended by 1. G. S. R. 803(E), dated 9th November, 2009 (with effect from 9/11/2009.) 2. Ministry of Home Affairs (Office of Registrar General, India), Order No. S.O. 596(E), dated 15th March, 2010, published in the Gazette of India, Extra, Part II. No. 504 S.3(ii), dated 16th March, 2010 p.1.) NRC updation process has started in Assam in 2015.

How will the NRC be updated?

The NRC will be updated as per the provisions of The Citizenship Act, 1955 and The Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003 (As amended by 1. G. S. R. 803(E), dated 9th November 2009 (with effect from 9/11/2009.) 2. Ministry of Home Affairs (Office of Registrar General, India), Order No. S.O. 596(E), dated 15th March, 2010, published in the Gazette of India, Extra, Part II. No. 504 S.3(ii), dated 16th March, 2010 p.1.). As per the two statutes, the eligibility status would be ascertained based on the NRC, 1951, Electoral Rolls upto 1971 and in their absence the admissible documents upto 24th March (midnight) 1971. The updated NRC shall contain names of persons eligible for inclusion in updated NRC by virtue of being original inhabitants of Assam.

Source: Financial Express