Ahead of publication of the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC), the Assam Government on Sunday claimed to have taken adequate steps to ensure that there is no law and order issue across the State after publication of the NRC draft.
The NRC will include the names of all Indian citizens who have been residing in Assam before March 25, 1971, and will be published on Monday noon at all the NRC Sewa Kendras (NSK) across the State. The July 30 deadline was fixed by the Supreme Court (SC) after a series of litigations culminated in the SC cracking the whip and ordering the Centre, the Assam Government, and NRC State convener Pratik Hajela to coordinate and complete the exercise on a war footing.
As the NRC will serve as the first authentic legal record of genuine citizens belonging to Assam, the State is apprehending violence by political groups and organisations who fear a chunk of names will be dropped from the NRC.
Security has been beefed up across the State to maintain law and order, with district Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police being directed to maintain a strict vigil.
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal held a high-level meeting and has directed officers to remain alert and to help and explain the process of claims and objections to people whose names do not appear in the draft. He has also directed the officials not to refer any case to the Foreigners Tribunal based on the NRC draft list.
In his appeal to the people of the State to maintain restrain, Sonowal said, “If any genuine India citizen’s name is left out of the draft NRC, they should not be worried as they can enroll their names through the well laid out procedures prescribed by the Supreme Court of India.” He believes a section of “unscrupulous people” may spread disharmony in society in the name of caste, religion and has alerted police and State officials to curb any such evil design through the social media platforms.
The Centre has dispatched 220 companies of the Central armed police forces to gear up security in Assam and the neighbouring States. Assam Director General of Police Kuladhar Saikia said all necessary steps have been taken to ensure peace across the state on Monday. “We have completed the sector wise deployment of the security forces and we are monitoring all developments closely,” he said, adding police have identified vulnerable areas and would also monitor the social media closely.
The first NRC was created in 1951 following the Census of the same year. It was a serialized list of houses and property holdings in every Indian village, with the number of people residing in them along with their names. The Government then instructed the records to be stored and archived in the offices of the Deputy Commissioners and Sub-Divisional Officers. In the 1960s, the NRC data was handed over to police. However, by the 1980s, there had been demands in Assam to update the list.
By the 1980s the anti-illegal migrants’ movement gained strength in Assam with the emergence of the All Assam Students Union (AASU) and Assam Gana Parishad who brought the issue of updation of the NRC as part of the political agenda. The move was aimed to protect the indigenous culture of Assam that was under threat from illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
NRC convener Pratik Hajela said a well laid down procedure exists for those who do not find their names in the NRC. They can apply between August 30 and September 28 this year with relevant documents. Applicants can check their names in the list which will include the applicant’s name, address and photographs, he added. The applicants can check their names in the draft by visiting their respective designated NRC Sewa Kendra (NSK) which will be available on all working days from 10 am to 4 pm from July 30 to September 28. They may even contact the 24x7 toll free numbers 15107 from Assam and 18003453762 from outside Assam by referring to their 21-digit Application Receipt Number (ARN).