Assam NRC: A look at one year since the Final list excluding 19 lakh people was released

After a year since the final National Register of Citizens (NRC) list was released in Assam, 19 lakh individuals who were left out are yet to know the status of their citizenship.  Amid the onslaught Coronavirus (COVID-19), Assam's NRC officials have reportedly stated that it would be unlikely they will issue official notice rejecting the excluded population's citizenship. Without an official notice of rejection, these 19 lakh individuals cannot approach govt-appointed 'foreigners' tribunals to challenge the final list which was released on August 31, 2019.

Assam NRC Final list here: 3.11 crore included, 19.06 lakh excluded

Here's a look at the year since the Assam NRC final list was released:

What is NRC?

The NRC was first prepared in 1951 under the purview of the Census Act, 1948. In 2013, a special Supreme Court bench headed by  Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Rohinton Fali Nariman ordered the State Government to carry out an updation process. This ended with the receipt of forms by the NRC authorities on 31 August 2015. The process under SC's supervision aimed at separating genuine Indian citizens from undocumented immigrants living in Assam and cost a staggering Rs 1,200 crore. As per NRC terms, a resident has to prove that they or their ancestors entered Assam before midnight on March 24, 1971.

According to the NRC press release, 3,30,27,661 Assam residents have had to prove their Indian citizenship. Previously in December 2017, the first draft was published in which 140 lakh people were included. Further, in July 2018, the second draft was published where more than 40 lakh people were excluded. Apart from these drafts, an additional exclusion list was published on June 26, 2019, where names of 1,02,463 people were published. These persons were earlier included in the draft.

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The final NRC list

On August 31, 2019, the National Registry of Citizens (NRC) state coordinator's office released the final NRC list. 3,11,21,004 Assam residents have been found eligible, while 19,06,657 Assam residents have been found ineligible. The exclusion includes the number of people who did not submit their papers to the NRC authorities. The 19 lakh exclusion is a major decrease from the over 40 lakh excluded in the second draft published on July 2018.

The state coordinator stated that those not satisfied with the outcome can file an appeal before Foreigners Tribunals. Moreover, the state govt assured that those excluded do not become a 'foreigner' and that the state would provide legal aid to needy people excluded by the NRC. The state also gave 120 days to the people who were excluded to appeal to the tribunals, assuring that the number of tribunals had been increased to aid citizens. Those deemed 'foreigners' by the tribunals will be sent to detention camps. The state govt has since then published the list of those included in the NRC.

Why has the Assam NRC disappointed all?

The final list had disappointed BJP and left most Bengali residents aghast. BJP's Assam Home Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had alleged that over 5 lakh Hindu Bengalis were excluded from the list and that they would be given citizenship by the state by 2021. Reports estimate that of the 19 lakh excluded -7 lakh were Muslims, which has led to Assam BJP, AASU oppose the process - leading to violent protests. Moreover, the BJP has batted for a nationwide NRC which has been vehemently opposed by most states. 

As of date, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh have opposed the National Population Register & NRC in its current format - demanding it to be restored to its 2010 version. Moreover, states like Rajasthan, Punjab, Kerala, West Bengal, Telangana, Chhatisgarh have passed anti-CAA resolutions too. Apart from state governments, most parties except BJP have opposed a nation-wide NRC. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka where detention camps were being built too were stalled by respective state governments.

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Developments on detention and deportation

200 new foreigners tribunals were set up ahead of the final list's release in August 2019, as per reports. These tribunals set up as per the Foreigners (Tribunals) Amendment Order, 2019 ordered by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) gave powers to these tribunals to review cases of those excluded and declare if the applicant was a foreigner or not. While these tribunals were supposed to be 'quasi-judicial', as per reports Assam government had taken over control these tribunals, transferring officials based on performance.

While PM Modi has denied the existence of 'NRC detention camps', the MHA informed the Lok Sabha in March that 3331 individuals are housed in six detention camps in Assam - Tezpur (797), Silchar (479), Dibrugarh (680), Jorhat (670), Kokrajhar (335) and Goalpara (370). The Matia detention camp in Assam's Goalpara sanctioned by the Modi govt in 2018 with a capacity to house 3000 'foreigners' was under construction before it was stalled due to COVID-19. In a small relief, the Supreme Court in January ordered that children who were excluded from the list, but their parents were deemed as citizens, must not be sent to detention camps.

Moreover, the fate of those in detention camps is also ambiguous as to whether they would be deported to Bangladesh or not. In December 2019, Bangladesh Foreign Minister A K Abdul Momen asked India to provide the list of any Bangladeshi nationals living illegally in India, stating it would allow their return. But as India and Bangladesh maintain that the NRC and Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) were internal matters, Indian foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, in March has assured Dhaka that the NRC process in Assam will not affect Bangladesh. Hence, the question of deportation still remains unanswered.

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The NRC-NPR-CAA link & nationwide protests

Since the passage of the CAA by the Parliament, violent and peaceful protests were witnessed across the nation. The protests against CAA which began in Assam spread to Uttar Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Gujarat, Karnataka, Bihar, Delhi, and Maharashtra - with Delhi's Shaheen Bagh protest led mainly by Muslim women gaining fame. While thousands were detained by the police throughout the country, at least 27 people died prior to the Delhi riots.  Several universities  - Jamia Millia, Aligarh, Madras University witnessed clashes between police and students which resulted in alleged lathi- charging, tear gas, and rubber pellet action by police and vandalism by protestors. All protests ground to a halt after the Delhi riots in February, killing 53.

While the BJP has maintained that NRC, CAA and NPR were not linked, most Indians have deemed it an attempt to disenfranchise minorities. The BJP which had pushed for a nationwide NRC in their electoral campaigns has now rejected it with PM Modi saying that there were no talks of a 'nationwide NRC' in parliament. Currently, the NPR process too has been stalled due to COVID-19 lockdown.

The NPR, first prepared in 2010 and updated in 2015, is an identity database maintained of all the usual residents of the country and is prepared at the local, sub-District, District, State and National level under provisions of the Citizenship Act 1955. Any resident who has resided in a local area for the past 6 months or more, or intends to do the same has to mandatorily register in the NPR. A nationwide NRC similar to the Assam NRC would be based on the NPR prepared. Meanwhile, the CAA amends the previous Citizenship Act 1955 to make refugees who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, eligible for citizenship. This Act has been challenged in the Supreme Court.