AGENCIES/ GUWAHATI
The much awaited final list of National Register of Citizens (NRC) has been released in Assam. Names of 3 crore 11 lakh applicants have been included in the final NRC, while 19 lakh 7 thousand have been excluded.
The NRC is an exercise to identify Indian citizens living in Assam, a state marked by illegal migration from Bangladesh.
The NRC State Coordinator’s office said in Guwahati that the status of both inclusion and exclusion can be checked online on the NRC website www.nrcassam.nic.in
The hard copies of the Supplementary List of Inclusions are available for public viewing at the NRC Seva Kendras, offices of the deputy commissioner and offices of the Circle Officer during office hours.
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has urged upon the people to maintain peace and tranquillity in the state.
Talking to media, he assured that those excluded from final NRC will not be detained and they can appeal against their exclusion in the Foreigners’ Tribunals.
The Assam government will establish 400 Foreigners’ Tribunals in the state to deal with such appeals.
It is for the first time since 1951 that the NRC has been d in Assam to identify bonafide residents. The process of the updation of NRC is being carried out by the Registrar General of India and is being closely monitored by the Supreme Court. The process started in 2013 as per the order of the apex court.
The NRC has immense significance for the people of Assam as the state witnessed a six-year-long movement between 1979 to 1985 seeking detection and deportation of illegal Bangladeshis.
The first NRC draft was published on the midnight of 31st December 2017 which included names of 1.9 crore people out of 3 crore 29 lakh applicants.
On 30th July 2018, the second and final draft was published bearing the names of 2 crore 89 lakh 83 thousand 677 citizens of Assam. Names of around 40 lakh 7 thousand people were not included.
When the NRC was first prepared in Assam in 1951, the state had 80 lakh citizens. According to the 2011 census, the state’s total population is over 3 crore 11 lakh.