Guwahati, India: Almost four million people living in Assam state, did not find a place for their names in the final draft list of citizens published by authorities on Monday.
The Registrar General of India (RGI) announced the draft list which is also called as the National Register of Citizens (NRC), it said that out of the 32.9 million population living in the border state, only 28.9 million names were included in the final draft of the NRC.
“No genuine Indian citizens need to worry as there will be ample opportunities given to them to enlist their names in the final list,” Shailesh, the registrar general of India, told reporters Guwahati city.
The definitive list is due to be announced in December.
The first such list was announced back on December 31, 2017, in which 19 million people were included as legal citizens.
After nearly seven decades of the period, the NRC has been updated as part of a campaign to identify undocumented immigrants from Bangladesh. But according to critics, those who were not included on the list may be soon rendered stateless.
The list can be checked online or by paying a visit to one of the 2,500 NRC Seva Kendras installed across the state. The results can also be found through SMS request.
A retired army officer who served the nation for around 30 years has found his name missing from the final draft list.
“I’m hurt. This is what I had to see after serving the nation for three decades. I have no words to say,” said Azmal Haque, 50, a resident of Chhaygaon in Kamrup district, who retired as a junior commissioned officer (JCO) in 2016.
“This is very unfortunate if the system runs like this. If it can happen to a retired army officer what will be the fate of common people,” Haque told news agencies.
Earlier, Haque was given the notice to prove with evidence about his Indian citizenship by the Foreigners Tribunal in 2017. Later on, Assam police had said that it was a case of mistaken identity.
“I had submitted all the documents that was required.”
Unfortunately, Haque’s son and daughter too were not able to find their names in the final draft list.
Expressing discontentment over the draft list, General Secretary Aminul Islam of The All India United Democratic Front said that he was shocked to see then the number of people left off the list.
“It’s quite a huge number. We are shocked,” said Islam from the AIUDF party, which fights for the rights of people of Bengali origin in the state.
“There are several objections. The update process was being done under the supervision of the Supreme Court but it was unfortunate to see the intervention of the state government on several occasions. We will approach the court later,” Islam told news agencies.
“But for the time being, we appeal to the people to maintain peace and harmony.”
Human rights activist Suhas Chakma dubbed the NRC list the “biggest exercise for disenfranchisement in human history”.
“The National Register of Citizens is the biggest exercise for disenfranchisement in human history. This NRC has few parallels such as expulsion of 300,000 Indian origins persons by General Ne Win of Myanmar in the 1960s, expulsion of over 80,000 Indian origin people by Idi Amin of Uganda, the denial of citizenship to over 500,000 Indian origin Tamils by successive governments of Sri Lanka and in the last three decades, the expulsions of the Rohingyas by Myanmar,” Chakma, Director of the Rights and Risks Analysis Group, said in a statement.
You May Also Read: Unable To Withstand Debt, Air India Seeks More Than Rs. 2,100 Crore From Central Govt To Pay Vendors: Sources