2019-08-03_Outlook

10 OUTLOOK 5 August 2019

NRC UPDATE

by Abdul Gani in Chhaygaon

(Kamrup)

A

S floodwaters swirled around

him in mid-July, Habibur

Rahman and his family of six

scrambled to save their bel-

ongings in Assam’s Alikakh

char, a sand bar on the Brah-

maputra about 70km from state capi-

tal Guwahati. Their main worry was a

few pieces of documents—brownish,

the edges slightly frayed. Rahman

wrapped them tightly in plastic to

keep the paper dry, in case the water

rose further. These pap ers—land doc-

uments in the name of his father and

grandfather—will det ermine his fate

and that of his family in a few weeks

from now when the much-awaited

and upd ated national register of citi-

zens (NRC) is published.

This Tuesday, the Supreme Court ext­

ended the deadline for publication of

the final NRC till August 31, but that is

unlikely to provide any succour to peo­

ple like the Rahmans— wife Aklima

Khatun and sons Nur Alam, seven, and

Faridul, five—who found their names

struck off the citizenship document last

year. Ironically, the names of their two

daughters—Samira Begum, 14, and

Shahida Khatun, 11—have been inc­

luded. The procedural flaws have bro­

ught the NRC update under the scanner

but officials maintain that all “genuine

Indian citizens” will be included.

Last year, an estimated 40 lakh people

out of 3.29 crore applicants were left

out of the final NRC draft. A second list

published on June 26 this year saw the

names of another 1.02 lakh people off

the roster for allegedly failing to prove

their citizenship. The Rahmans have

filed petitions reclaiming their Indian

citizenship, resubmitted documents

and attended as many as six hearings at

different NRC centres in different dis­

tricts. It may not be enough yet for the

family. “Now, it’s only hope. We are just

hoping and praying that our names are

included in the list,” Habibur, 39, tells

Outlook in his one­room house. “Floods

have damaged our house partly...and

now the biggest tension is the NRC,” he

adds. Another daughter, now three, was

born after the NRC process started.

Across Assam, where vast swathes of

land are facing the annual scourge of

As floods ravage Assam,

many cling on to hope—

and official documents —

for proving their

Indian citizenship

Just

Keep

The

Papers

Dry

SURAJIT SHARMA

FLOOD OF EMOTIONS Habibur

Rahman holds on to a sheaf of land

documents that could earn his family

a place in the NRC; (facing page)

people at an NGO -run NRC

help-desk