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Date:
06-Aug-2018
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The entire issue of National Register of
Citizens (NRC) stems from the Assam Accord (1985), which was signed between the
leaders of the anti-foreigners' movement in Assam and the Union Government in
the presence of the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. NRC came out under the
strict supervision of the Supreme Court and after the mammoth exercise of over
three years involving 55,000 State govt employees. However, without
appreciating the Constitutional and cultural aspects of the exercise, the
divisive politics of the Opposition parties detonated! Before defending the
infiltrators, the leaders like Mamata Banerjee and Rahul Gandhi must realise
that it is the issue of national integration and security and not of the
vote-bank politics
NJ Thakuria from Guwahati
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seems to be fuming over citizens
scanning exercise in Assam, and she has tried to explain the practice, which is
monitored by the Supreme Court of India, as anti-Bengali (read Muslim), but
nobody subscribes her views in Assam and instead the people urged the Trinamool
Congress (TMC) supremo to look after her state properly than poking her nose in
other States’ affairs.
The debate, which continued for a few months now, came alive once again
with the release of the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC)
in Assam on July 30. The outcome was somehow shocking for the rest of India,
but the people of Assam, irrespective of their community, language and
religion, believed that no less than 30 lakh illegal foreigners (read
Bangladeshi nationals) were taking shelter in the northeastern state.
The Assam Accord (1985)
The historic memorandum
of understanding, signed by leaders of All Assam Students Union & Gana
Sangram Parishad in the presence of the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi The
Accord began with the assurance that the “Government has all along been most
anxious to find a satisfactory resolution to the problem of foreigners in
Assam.” Consequently, it put together a list of resolutions to be implemented
in order to solve the immigration issue in Assam. As per the Accord, all people
who came to Assam prior to January 1, 1966, would be given citizenship. Those who
moved in between January 1, 1966, and March 24, 1971, would be “detected in
accordance with the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Foreigners
(Tribunals) Order 1964”. Their names would be deleted from the electoral rolls
and they would remain disenfranchised for a period of 10 years. Lastly, the
Accord provided a resolution to the case of those who entered Indian borders
after March 24, 1971. “Foreigners who came to Assam on or after March 25, 1971,
shall continue to be detected, deleted and practical steps shall be taken to
expel such foreigners,” said the Accord.
According to the NRC draft in Assam, 3,29,91,384 individuals applied for
citizenship certificates, where 2,89,83,677 people were identified as nationals
with valid papers. The rest (40,007,707) were deleted from the final draft.
However, as it is only a draft, they can apply for corrections in the list with
valid documents. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal termed the release of
NRC draft as historic. He also expressed his heartfelt appreciation and thanks
to the Supreme Court and congratulations to over 55,000 government officials
engaged in the NRC updating process and the people living across the Barak and
Brahmaputra Valleys, plains and hills of the State. “I am confident that the
NRC, which has become the instrument to safeguard the interest of greater
Assamese society, would be able to create a positive atmosphere and it will
also pave the way for realising the hopes and aspirations of the genuine Indian
citizens,” he said.
“No Indian has been
excluded by the NRC. Only those who haven’t been able to present proof of their
citizenship have been excluded from the draft. 40 lakh is not a final figure.
The Supreme Court laid down procedure will be followed”
Apart from providing necessary funds by the Centre for this purpose, the
Union Home Minister took part in discussions with various stakeholders. “After
the publication of the first draft of NRC, people cutting across castes and
tribes, religious, linguistic divides residing in both the valleys, plains and
hills of the State showed tremendous unity and harmony. I hope that the people
will maintain the same harmonious environment after the publication of the
complete draft,” Sonowal added. But not everyone was happy with the draft
publication, as various opposition parties vigorously debated against the
process in both houses of the Parliament. The Opposition voices, led by Mamata
Banerjee with support from the Congress, BSP, CPM, SP and AIUDF, etc., made the
Parliament witness massive debates showing anger against the draft.
With more to it, West Bengal Assembly adopted an all-party resolution
accusing Bharatiya Janata Party-led Government in New Delhi of divisive
politics over the NRC. Mamata Banerjee also sent a group of her party leaders
to Assam and tried to justify that her opposition to the NRC exercise was in
favour of humanity. She predicted violence in Assam after the NRC draft publication,
but when it did not happen, she commented that she was only apprehensive about
it. It may be noted that the first NRC in India was prepared in 1951 following
the same year census (after its Independence in 1947). Assam, bordering
Bangladesh has been preparing a new NRC following the direction (also
monitoring) of the apex court of the country. Earlier, the first NRC draft in
Assam was released on December 31, 2017.
Row over Citizenship
Status “Who are they to decide who can stay in the country and who cannot? This
is a ploy to target particular communities, this is to isolate them. At this
rate, there will soon be a civil war, a bloodbath” — Mamata Banerjee, West
Bengal CM
The background for the NRC is traced to the Assam Accord, which was signed
in 1985 by the Centre with the leaders of Assam Movement. The historic
memorandum of understanding, signed by leaders of All Assam Students Union and
Gana Sangram Parishad in the presence of the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi
culminated the six year long Assam agitation that erupted in 1979. The Accord
reposed responsibility over New Delhi to detect and deport all migrants (read
East Pakistani and Bangladeshi nationals), who entered Assam after the midnight
of March 24, 1971. In other words, the agitating leaders agreed to accept all
residents of Assam before the dateline as Indian nationals.
Need not be mentioned; the movement was run with the spirit of 1951 as the
base year (which is applicable across India) to detect illegal migrants. The
agitating leaders, of course, succeeded in pursuing constitutional safeguards
to the indigenous communities of Assam in the accord.
One can see the influx of millions of illegal Bangladeshi migrants as a
vital socio-political issue for Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya
and Manipur provinces in northeast India. The alienated region shares an
international border of 5,182 kilometres (about 99 per cent of its total
geographical boundary) with Tibet (now under China), Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and
Bangladesh. Its border with Bangladesh is as long as 1,596 km. Soon after the
culmination of the movement, a regional political party named Asom Gana
Parishad (AGP) was born in 1985. The party provided space to all vital student
leaders, and later they succeeded in grabbing power to rule Assam for two
separate terms. But shamefully the regional political leaders did precise
little to resolve the influx issue.
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