BIJAY SANKAR BORA | India Tomorrow
GUWAHATI, AUGUST 31— Even as Assam has achieved the unparalleled feat of updating the 1951 National Register of Citizens (NRC) taking March 24 midnight of 1971 as the cut-off date after almost six-year-long massive exercise, demand is getting louder in other Northeastern states barring Sikkim for updating of the document in those states to protect the rights indigenous tribal population and purging of those states of illegal migrants, if any.
The North East Students’ Organisation (NESO), the banner organisation of all the top-bracket students organizations of different states in the region, have reiterated its demand for launching NRC updating exercise in rest of the Northeast following in the footsteps of Assam where the indigenous population is under threat because of ‘unabated illegal migration from Bangladesh’.
NESO constituents Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) of Meghalaya, All Arunachal Pradesh Students Union (AAPSU), Mizo Students’ Union (Mizo Zirlai Pawl), Naga Students Federation (NSF), Twipra Students Federation of Tripura, All Manipur Students’ Union (AMSU) have pressed for either updating of the NRC or similar feasible exercise in their respective states to facilitate easy detection of illegal migrants who have sneaked into those state and settled down.
The KSU, in fact, has been most vociferous in demanding NRC updating exercise in Meghalaya. KSU president, Lambok Marngar too reiterated that NRC should be implemented in Meghalaya while the modalities for its implementation can be different here in the state.
NESO chairman, Samuel Jyrwa has been demanding NRC updating exercise in all the NE states taking different cut off years (base year) depending on the uniqueness and history of each of these states.
Stating that the Centre has to understand the unique nature of the North Eastern states as all North Eastern states share international boundary with other countries, Jyrwa added that the NESO had already approached the Union Home Ministry with their NRC demand.
It may be recalled that after the final draft of the updated NRC was published in Assam on July 30, 2018 leaving out over 40 lakh citizens out of over 3.29 crore applicants, the KSU, AAPSU, MZP had launched suo moto drive on their own in their respective states to detect illegal migrants staying in their states.
The KSU and the MZP members had resorted to checking of passenger vehicles coming in their states on the highways creating panic and harassment among commuters while the AAPSU had launched neighbourhood as well as house-to-house checking to detect illegal migrants. These students’ bodies had apparently pressed the panic button apprehending that some of the over 40 lakh people who had failed to make it to the final draft NRC in Assam on July 30, 2018 might sneak into the neighbouring states in search of safe sanctuary and to avoid detection and deportation.
There has been demand in Nagaland from the NSF and other like-minded NGOs to prepare a register on indigenous people from different Nagaland-origin tribes living in the state which would be an exercise similar to updating of the NRC.
This demand from the NESO and its constituents from different N-E states assumes significance in the event of the final updated NRC being published in Assam. The fall out in Assam of the exercise will be strictly monitored by indigenous communities in the neighbouring states which also claim to have faced the threat of illegal migration.
The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a register containing names of all genuine Indian citizens. It was first prepared in 1951.The 1951 NRC list has been updated for Assam, which has been dogged by the vexed problem of illegal migration from Bangladesh , to simplify detection of migrants and stop further influx.
The updating process of the NRC in Assam was started in the year 2013 under the strict monitoring and supervision of the Supreme Court of India. On December 31, 2017, a part draft NRC list was released and subsequently on July 30, 2018, the complete draft of NRC was released in Assam.
