Assam, bordering Bangladesh has witnessed waves of unabated migration of erstwhile East Pakistanis and, after the liberation war Bangladeshis. The intensity of the migrants is so dense that though it had affected the life and prospects of the Indian citizens of Assam, it also provided a committed consolidation of vote bank for political parties. There was a six-year-long agitation against foreigners after a massive influx of migrants, following the Pakistan army crackdown in the liberation war of Bangladesh. The six-year-long agitations(1979-85) ended with the Assam Accord, agreeing on March 24, 1971, as the cut-off date.
Assam Accord resulted in the amendment of the Citizenship Act 1955, conferring Indian citizenship to all those who had arrived from East Pakistan before 1st January 1966. Those who had entered Assam between Jan 1, 1966, and March 25, 1971, too were eligible for Indian citizenship, provided they registered themselves and had lived in the state for 10 years or more. Those who had entered India after March 25, 1971, were to be deported.
The National Register of Citizens (NRC) was first published in 1951, recording citizens and their property holdings. Assam Accord was signed during Rajiv Gandhi’s Prime Ministership and updating the NRC was a part of the Accord.
NRC was thus updated under the scrutiny of the Supreme Court and 2.48 lakh voters are declared as D Category, (the D standing for doubtful citizens) and thus disenfranchised from electoral rolls. They are liable to be tried under the Foreigners’ Act and could face detention camps and deportation if they fail to prove their antecedents. As on Dec 31, 2017, there are 91,206 foreigners thus recorded.
The updated NRC, published on Monday had identified 2.38 crores persons as Indian citizens and had also disqualified 4 million people from the NRC, which has thrown up an exchange of war of words between the government and the opposition. The Home Minister has iterated that the NRC is merely a draft and need not be taken cognisance of.
One minister from Bangladesh has stated that the NRC is an internal matter of India and the 4 million people disqualified are not Bangladeshis, while another minister from the neighbouring country has indicated that it is a matter of right for India to ascertain its citizens.
4 million people are no joke, and it will be a sea of distress if they have to be deported, several times severe than the Rohingya crisis. They can apply for re-verification, and also are eligible to challenge any adverse decision in the High Court and the Supreme Court, though it will be a scary situation, even if a small percentage of those debarred crowd at the gates of an overburdened judiciary.
The CM of West Bengal is rightfully worried, as most of the 4 million migrants are Bengalis and they would all march into West Bengal, should they face the prospects of deportation from Assam. It also helps her to consolidate her image as the champion of the oppressed and against her favourite adversary, PM Modi.
Disenfranchising people, and that too 4 million, is a challenge for India and has grave consequences, internal and external!
Sampath Kumar
Intrépide voix
