Assam recognises 1.9 cr as citizens in first NRC draft, 1.39 cr more wait for status

The first part draft of the much-anticipated and updated National Register of Citizens (NRC) for Assam, which attempts to weed out illegal migrants from Bangladesh, was released at midnight on Sunday with the names of 19 million people out of the 32.9 million applicants.

People whose names are missing from the first draft released online by register general of India Shailesh will have to wait longer.

“This is a part draft of the updated NRC. The verification process for the rest 1.39 crore applicants is still on. There’s no need to panic. Everybody should be patient to wait for the release of the final draft,” Shailesh said.

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.

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.

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.

Security was tightened across the state as there were apprehensions of violence from those whose names are missing. But no report of violence or untoward incident has been reported till Monday morning.

“There is no report of any incident related to NRC from across the state. 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 the Hindustan Times.

There was fear especially among people from the minority community about whether their names would be included in the list. But with the first part draft getting published and expectation of the final draft including all names, there’s a sense of relief.

Physical verification of the updated first draft began at over 4,200 NRC centres across Assam. Long lines 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 on 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 online and physical verification of the drafts till January 31, applicants would be able to check their names through text message or by calling a 24/7 toll-free helpline.

The entry of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh to Assam, which has been going on for close to a century, is a contentious issue. Many fear such unabated influx is a threat to the state’s indigenous population.

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

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

The updating process started in 2015 but it got a big push after the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in Assam for the first time last year with sending back illegal immigrants as the main poll issue.

“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.