President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed addressing a meeting. (Express archive photo)The family members of former president Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, who were excluded from the draft National Registry of Citizens (NRC), couldn’t find their name even in the final list published on August 31. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was the fifth President of India from 1974 to 1977. Names of four of his family members are missing from the list as they prepare to approach authorities.
“Names of four family members are missing from the NRC list. We will go to authorities after September 7 and follow the process to get the names included in the list,” SA Ahmed, nephew of the former president was quoted as saying by ANI.
Of the 3.3 crore applicants, over 19 lakh people found their names missing from the final list of the updated National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam on Saturday. All those excluded from the list will now get an opportunity to file appeals in the Foreigners’ Tribunals (FT) within a period of 120 days. “A total of 3,30,27,661 people had applied to be included in the NRC. Of them, 3,11,21,004 have been included in the document and 19,06,657 excluded,” a statement from the NRC State Coordinator’s office said.
If the applicant loses their case before such a Tribunal, he or she can appeal in the High Court, and then the Supreme Court if necessary.
Meanwhile, United Nations refugee officials Sunday urged the Indian government to make sure that no one is left stateless as a fallout of NRC.
Filippo Grandi, the UN high commissioner for refugees, voiced his concern in a statement issued in Geneva. He said that “any process that could leave large numbers of people without a nationality would be an enormous blow to global efforts to eradicate statelessness.” He urged India to ensure no one ends up stateless, “including by ensuring adequate access to information, legal aid, and legal recourse in accordance with the highest standards of due process.”
