NRC: Fate of 19 lakh people hanging in balance

Guwahati: A day after 19 lakh people have been declared stateless citizens in Assam, neither the government nor Registrar General of India have come forth to clarify the status of those stripped of their right being Indian.  

In the final draft of NRC, out of 3.30 crore applicants, 3.11 crore names have been found to be eligible for inclusion in updated NRC and a total of 19.06 lakh persons were excluded.

According to RGI, people who have been excluded from the final list of NRC will have to file appeal in Foreigners Tribunals (FT) and subsequently in the high court and Supreme Court to prove their citizenship. The ministry of home affairs has extended the number of days from 60 to 120 days for filing an appeal to the Foreigners Tribunal.

However, experts pointed out that for submitting an appeal before the FT, people will have to submit a certificate of non-inclusion of names in the NRC. Informing that one does not know how long will it take to RGI in issuing such certificate to 19 lakh people, senior advocate said home ministry has not clarified that since when 120 days would be counted. Suggesting that ministry of home affairs should start counting the day since RGI issues certificate to an individual, he said that if it is counted since publication of the NRC, it would create a chaotic scene. Assam government has ruled out the detention of people, who do not figure in the NRC, in any circumstances till the time an FT doesn’t declare them foreigners.

The legal experts also feared that the courts in India will be burdened and get exhaustive as the appeal period is short and cases are far too many which may further clog the process. At present, there are 100 FTs in Assam and 200 more will be made functional soon.