13mn fail to appear in Assam list of residents

Around13mn people living in Assam have been left off a controversial draftlist of citizens released yesterday by authorities, who are underpressure to identify and expel illegal immigrants.Assam has longstruggled to curb immigration from neighbouring Bangladesh and is theonly Indian state to compile a register of citizens.The NationalRegister of Citizens (NRC) includes only 19mn of the state’s more than32mn residents. It was prepared on the orders of the Supreme Court,which is hearing a series of claims to Indian citizenship fromundocumented residents of the state.But there are also concerns theAssam government, which is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindunationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), could use the issue to targetthe state’s Muslim minority.Political leaders have vowed to deportanyone staying in the state illegally, although it is far from clearthat Bangladesh would accept them.Assam Chief Minister SarbanandaSonowal on Sunday sought to reassure anyone left off the draft list,saying every “bona fide Indian citizen” would eventually be included.TheBJP won elections in the state in 2016 after promising to root outillegal immigrants and protect the rights of indigenous groups.Migrantshave long been accused of illegally entering the state from Bangladeshand taking land, causing tensions with local people and sporadicoutbreaks of communal violence.Anyone living in Assam must now provethat their forebears appeared either in the state’s only previousregister of citizens, compiled in 1951, or on any electoral rollpublished before March 1971 to be eligible for citizenship.With millions anxious about their fate, the government strengthened security across the state before releasing the list.UpamanyuHazarika, a senior lawyer who has campaigned against illegalimmigration in the state, said the process of acquiring citizenship hadbeen dogged by corruption.“The Supreme Court will also have toaddress the complicated fate of children born to Bangladeshi illegals onIndian soil after 1971,” he added. The publication of the listevoked a mixed response across the state while there are reports thatone person in the state’s Silchar allegedly committed suicide after notfinding his name.Making the announcement at a press conference, theregistrar general of India, Sailesh said the names of the rest of thepeople are at various stages of verification.The status of inclusionof names can be checked in the websites -- www.nrcassam.nic.in,www.assam.gov.in, www.assam.mygov.in andwww.homeandpolitical.assam.gov.in, the Office of the State Coordinatorof National Registration (NRC) posted on its official Twitter page.Saileshsaid the complete NRC will be published within 2018, adding that thefirst publication is only the part draft and that there is no need toworry if anyone’s name has not been included in it.“It only means that his or her name is at some stage of verification,” he said.InCachar, police said that Hanif Khan’s body was found hanging in thebackyard of his house. “Locals said Khan got afraid after his name wasnot found in the NRC and took the extreme step. However, we are tryingto ascertain if there is some other reasons behind his decision,” said apolice officer.