GUWAHATI, July 22 - Urging the Chief Justice of India to remove the difficulties in the process of updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, the Institute of Social Change and Regional Development (ISCARD), Guwahati, said that the process adopted by the Assam Government for the purpose was so faulty that it would frustrate the very purpose of the exercise. It is also causing serious harassment to ordinary citizens, particularly the poor and illiterate rural masses, the ISCARD added.
�There are already a number of petitions before the Supreme Court of India, challenging various aspects of this process. Many social organisations and citizens� bodies in Assam have been petitioning the Government and the apex court about the harassment being faced by the common people. But the State Government has shown scant respect to the well-meaning suggestions and demands for course correction,� the ISCARD, which had a round-table meet with academics, lawyers, journalists, litterateurs and social workers on the issue on Monday, said.
The round table was conducted by Prof Apurba K Baruah, academic director of the ISCARD, and chaired by Ajit Kumar Bhuyan, chairman of the ISCARD. Participants expressed serious concern over the �unnecessary harassment� caused to genuine citizens, leading even to commitment of suicide by some harassed residents.
�Although it was a process of updating the NRC, yet the Government is actually putting the onus of proving the legacy of legitimate residence in Assam on each and every citizen of India residing currently in the State on the basis of some archaic data which, at times, is not available to genuine and old residents of Assam,� it said.
It added that the present process requires the citizens to personally submit the filled-in forms and attach the required documents and submit them to NRC Sewa Kendras. Since the equipment and personnel in these Kendras are inadequate and insufficient, the poor and illiterate villagers are being made to stand in long queues at the cost of their daily work for livelihood.
�There are serious allegations of bribery in issuing relevant documents and even for filling up forms. Unavailability of legacy data for residents whose ancestors lived in those parts of composite Assam which are no longer parts of Assam after the reorganisation of the State has also led to serious complications,� it said.
Pointing out that the updating exercise was initiated to help detect illegal immigrants and for that, 1971 was taken as the cut-off year, the ISCARD said it is a well-known fact that doubtful settlers have occupied large tracts of land and they generally live together.
�The Government has records of pre-1971 settlements and revenue villages, and it is baffling why that data is not being used to include the names of pre-1971 settlers automatically in the NRC instead of virtually investigating all residents of Assam irrespective of their year of settlement. It is possible that infiltration is taking place now in pre-1971 settlements, but there could be special investigation of such cases on the basis of complaints by neighbours to that effect. The Government�s procedure seems aimed at harassing the genuine residents,� it added.
The round table also suggested that to save the genuine and old residents of Assam, the names of all residents of the pre-1971 villages, towns and settlements as found in the official records be automatically entered in the updated NRC without any need for furnishing documents. Even if the present system of filling up forms is to be continued, the forms should be collected house to house in a Census-like operation instead of forcing people to line up in Sewa Kendras.
�In view of the apprehensions expressed by a large section of citizens about the fact that even in the pre-1971 settlements illegal immigrants are settling down, the Government should ask for specific complaints about doubtful settlers of those areas and investigate their citizenship expeditiously,� it said.
The settlements and villages that have come up after 1971 should be covered by a house-to- house Census along with verification of documents to ascertain the status of legacy of the residents there, it said, adding that the above procedure should be followed even in areas which have recorded unnatural increase in population.
�Since this procedure will not require the citizens to visit NRC Sewa Kendras to submit documents, it will considerably decrease the harassment caused to common people,� it observed.
It further said that the residents of Assam whose ancestors were employed or were in business, etc., in the 1951-71 period in those parts of composite Assam which are no longer parts of Assam after the reorganisation of the State, their legacy data must be procured by the State Government because those States are not releasing the data as there is no NRC update process there.
GUWAHATI, July 22 - Urging the Chief Justice of India to remove the difficulties in the process of updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, the Institute of Social Change and Regional Development (ISCARD), Guwahati, said that the process adopted by the Assam Government for the purpose was so faulty that it would frustrate the very purpose of the exercise. It is also causing serious harassment to ordinary citizens, particularly the poor and illiterate rural masses, the ISCARD added.
�There are already a number of petitions before the Supreme Court of India, challenging various aspects of this process. Many social organisations and citizens� bodies in Assam have been petitioning the Government and the apex court about the harassment being faced by the common people. But the State Government has shown scant respect to the well-meaning suggestions and demands for course correction,� the ISCARD, which had a round-table meet with academics, lawyers, journalists, litterateurs and social workers on the issue on Monday, said.
The round table was conducted by Prof Apurba K Baruah, academic director of the ISCARD, and chaired by Ajit Kumar Bhuyan, chairman of the ISCARD. Participants expressed serious concern over the �unnecessary harassment� caused to genuine citizens, leading even to commitment of suicide by some harassed residents.
�Although it was a process of updating the NRC, yet the Government is actually putting the onus of proving the legacy of legitimate residence in Assam on each and every citizen of India residing currently in the State on the basis of some archaic data which, at times, is not available to genuine and old residents of Assam,� it said.
It added that the present process requires the citizens to personally submit the filled-in forms and attach the required documents and submit them to NRC Sewa Kendras. Since the equipment and personnel in these Kendras are inadequate and insufficient, the poor and illiterate villagers are being made to stand in long queues at the cost of their daily work for livelihood.
�There are serious allegations of bribery in issuing relevant documents and even for filling up forms. Unavailability of legacy data for residents whose ancestors lived in those parts of composite Assam which are no longer parts of Assam after the reorganisation of the State has also led to serious complications,� it said.
Pointing out that the updating exercise was initiated to help detect illegal immigrants and for that, 1971 was taken as the cut-off year, the ISCARD said it is a well-known fact that doubtful settlers have occupied large tracts of land and they generally live together.
�The Government has records of pre-1971 settlements and revenue villages, and it is baffling why that data is not being used to include the names of pre-1971 settlers automatically in the NRC instead of virtually investigating all residents of Assam irrespective of their year of settlement. It is possible that infiltration is taking place now in pre-1971 settlements, but there could be special investigation of such cases on the basis of complaints by neighbours to that effect. The Government�s procedure seems aimed at harassing the genuine residents,� it added.
The round table also suggested that to save the genuine and old residents of Assam, the names of all residents of the pre-1971 villages, towns and settlements as found in the official records be automatically entered in the updated NRC without any need for furnishing documents. Even if the present system of filling up forms is to be continued, the forms should be collected house to house in a Census-like operation instead of forcing people to line up in Sewa Kendras.
�In view of the apprehensions expressed by a large section of citizens about the fact that even in the pre-1971 settlements illegal immigrants are settling down, the Government should ask for specific complaints about doubtful settlers of those areas and investigate their citizenship expeditiously,� it said.
The settlements and villages that have come up after 1971 should be covered by a house-to- house Census along with verification of documents to ascertain the status of legacy of the residents there, it said, adding that the above procedure should be followed even in areas which have recorded unnatural increase in population.
�Since this procedure will not require the citizens to visit NRC Sewa Kendras to submit documents, it will considerably decrease the harassment caused to common people,� it observed.
It further said that the residents of Assam whose ancestors were employed or were in business, etc., in the 1951-71 period in those parts of composite Assam which are no longer parts of Assam after the reorganisation of the State, their legacy data must be procured by the State Government because those States are not releasing the data as there is no NRC update process there.
