5 years on, NRC continues to haunt millions in Assam

89 pc of  people excluded from Assam’s NRC  list, have been suffering from extreme mental torture

A 55-year-old fishmonger in Barak Valley of Assam is among the 1.96 million people left out of the National Register of Citizens, a document that determines the citizenship of residents of certain border states. This exclusion has thrown his life into turmoil, stripping him of his identity and thrusting him into a battle to prove his citizenship, while he continues to face an uncertain future.

“My name is not in the list and I am an Indian citizen but now the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) says we must identify ourselves as Bangladeshi to get Indian citizenship. How can I call myself a foreigner in my own land,” Saurabh Kumar, tells Media India Group.

The NRC, intended to identify illegal immigrants and protect the rights of legitimate citizens, has instead sown seeds of uncertainty and despair. Those excluded from the NRC are now caught in a bureaucratic maze, facing legal and social challenges as they strive to prove their nationality.

Despite the BJP not mentioning the NRC in its manifesto for the Parliamentary elections held recently, the repercussions of this process continue to haunt Assam. The promise of legal aid and documentation assistance has proven insufficient to address the deep-rooted issues, leaving many in a state of limbo and fear.

According to Aminul Islam, a member of the Assam Legislative Assembly representing the opposition All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) party millions of people have been deprived of jobs in the state due to the NRC rules. “Over 2.6 million people have been unable to apply for government or private sector jobs and acquire ration cards, voter cards, and other documents for which an Aadhaar number is mandatory. They have been deprived of their rights for no fault of theirs,” the legislator said earlier this year in the state Assembly.

“A friend of mine from Assam lost a job opportunity with consultancy firm Deloitte because she could not provide an Aadhaar card, a document she was unable to obtain due to her exclusion from the NRC. This law has created immense uncertainty and fear. Despite the BJP dropping the NRC from its manifesto, the struggle continues. The ongoing debate over citizenship and national identity remains a defining issue, shaping India & socio-political landscape and leaving countless people in a state of limbo,” Alpikaa, a 34-year-old resident of Noida, near Delhi, tells Media India Group.

For many excluded from the NRC, the road to proving their citizenship has been a complex journey through a complex legal system. The process involves procuring legacy documents, often from several decades ago, which many people either never had or lost over time. This challenge is particularly acute for women, who traditionally move to their husband’s household after marriage and may not have retained their birth family’s documents.

“I don’t have any documents to prove that I am an Indian. After marriage, I moved to my husband’s home. In my family, my name is not even mentioned in the list and I feel like I am invisible in my own country. We were promised protection, but now we live in constant fear of losing our home, our land, and our dignity. How can I prove who I am? We need a solution that respects our rights and our existence,” Sneha Abraham, 64 -year-old  a resident of Barfena Pathar  of Baksa district in Assam tells Media India Group.

Like many of her generation, she never used to keep documents safe, as there was no perceived need to do so.

“We come from a time when paperwork was not as crucial as it is now. We relied on community recognition and trust, not on papers. But now, in this digital age, everything demands proof. My whole life and identity are now questioned because of the lack of documents. It is a helpless feeling, living with the anxiety that any day we might be uprooted from our land and homes. We need a system that acknowledges our past and provides a fair solution for those of us who have lived here our entire lives and socially, being labelled a foreigner in one’s own country carries a heavy stigma,” she adds.

According to a survey by National Campaign Against Torture (NCAT),  about 89 pc of  people excluded from Assam’s NRC  list, have been suffering from extreme mental torture because of the fear of being marked as a foreigner and its consequences.

The uncertainty surrounding citizenship status has profound economic implications. Many people have lost their jobs due to the inability to prove their nationality, plunging families into poverty. Children of those excluded from the NRC face disruptions in their education, as schools require documentation that parents often cannot provide.

Communities have been divided and the constant threat of detention and deportation looms large over the affected individuals. Detention centres in Assam, where many of these individuals are held, have been criticised for their poor conditions and lack of basic human rights, further deepening the crisis.

According to government  data last year 68 persons were declared foreigners and were shifted to the new detention centres, it includes 45 men, 21 women and two children.

“The people living in detention centres are not safe. Many have died there, and every day, more are taken to the hospital. I have heard these things on the news and it terrifies me. The conditions are inhumane, and the constant fear of being detained is unbearable. We were promised protection, but instead, we live with the anxiety of losing our homes, our land, and our dignity. We need a solution that respects our rights and provides us with safety and security,” Abraham adds.