14 INDIA TODAY AUGUST 13, 2018
tribes being omitted from
the NRC. And many of them
are Hindus. “Just around five
per cent of people in Muslim-
dominated districts such
as Dhubri and Hailakandi
have been excluded from
the NRC,” says an official
involved in the process, “but
in Assamese-dominated dis-
tricts such as Dibrugarh, or
the tribal-dominated Karbi
Anglong, the exclusion rates
are much higher.”
The Congress response
to the NRC has been
confusing at best. Pointing
to several surprise exclusi-
ons, such as the nephew of
ex-president Fakhruddin Ali
Ahmed, the Congress claims
the BJP is using the NRC to
divide and rule. Meanwhile,
former Assam chief minister
and Congress stalwart
Tarun Gogoi insists the
NRC is his brainchild while
party president Rahul Gan-
dhi argues that the “NRC
was initiated by the UPA
to fulfil the commitment
made in the Assam Accord
(1985). But the manner in
which this exercise has been
undertaken by the BJP
government leaves much to
be desired”.
Few people in Assam are
buying the Congress line,
though, with many blam-
ing the party’s ‘politics of
appeasement’ for allowing
the situation to spiral out
of control. “For the sake of
votes,” says Dileep Chandan,
a Guwahati-based political
analyst, “Devakanta Barua,
the Congress president dur-
ing the Emergency, enabled a
policy of ‘Ali (Muslims), coo-
lie (tea tribes) and Bengali’
and helped millions of illegal
Bangladeshi immigrants
settle in Assam.”
If outrage from both
Congress and the Trinamoolcan be dismissed as hypocri-
tical, the BJP’s intentions
also raise eyebrows. Party
chief Amit Shah has been
trying to blunt opposition
claims that the policy is
yet another example of the
BJP’s anti-Muslim agenda
by asserting that illegal
immigrants are a threat to
national security. In Parlia-
m ent, the Shiv Sena askeda question about whether
Rohingya migrants were
involved in terror activities,
giving MoS for home affairs,
Kiren Rijiju, an opportunity
to describe the Rohingya
once again as illegal immi-
grants (rather than refugees)
and accuse them of commi t-
t ing crimes in India. No
opposition party asked Rijiju
for evidence of these crimes.
However, in direct
con t ravention to its own
app roach to illegal immi-
grants, the BJP has sought
to ease the path to citizen-
ship for ill egal Hindu, Sikh,
Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and
Christian immigrants who
have entered India from
Bangladesh, Afghanistan
and Pakistan. In 2016, the
BJP sought to amend the
Citizenship Act 1955, to
provide these illegal im-
migrants citizenship. Should
the amendments be passed,Hindu illegal imm ig rants
from Bangladesh who have
settled in Assam and are not
on the NRC will still become
citizens. The BJP says these
amendments will protect
the Hindu identity of Ass-
am, but it fails to take into
account the strength of pa-
rochial feelings in the state,
the fear among Assamese
of the cultural hegemony of
Hindu Bengalis. Protests
meant the amendments
were put in cold storage, but
will the BJP revive them
once the NRC is published
later this year?
Going by the NDA
government’s approach to
Hindu immigrants, there
is every likelihood that the
bill will be revived. After the
Narendra Modi govern-
ment came to power, several
steps were taken to simplify
the processing of long-term
visas (LTVs) and citizenship
for Hindu minorities from
neighbouring countries.
The government has relaxed
norms for those staying on
LTV, allowing them to buy
property, open bank ac-
counts and obtain PANs as
well as Aadhaar cards.
Amidst the politics, what
is uncertain is the fate of the
four million people excluded
from the draft NRC. On July
31, the Supreme Court made
it clear that no action could
be taken against people on
the basis of the NRC. Those
excluded can file their claims
and objections between
Aug ust 30 and September
28 this year. What will hap-
pen to illegal immigrants
once the final NRC lists are
published? Deportation
is likely impossible. What
rights will these now state-
less people have? Will they
be allowed to buy property?UPFRONT
“It’s a plan
to throw
out Bengali-
speaking people
and Biharis...
this will lead to
a bloodbath”
MAMATA BANERJEE
West Bengal CMPANKAJ NANGIA/MAIL TODAY