The Assam government insists on its demand for a 10-20% re-verification of the nationality claims made by some people included in the final National Register of Citizens (NRC), published in 2019. The state government’s request for re-verification is presently pending in the Supreme Court (SC) for over a year, and the apex court is yet to give its approval. The NRC 2019 is also waiting for approval from the Registrar General of India.
Understanding the National Register of Citizens
The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a register prepared for each village, which shows the houses or holdings in a sequential order and indicates the number and names of persons living therein. This register was first prepared after the 1951 census of India and has not been updated until recently. Presently, only Assam has updated the NRC, with plans to extend the update to the national level. The primary purpose of NRC is to separate “illegal” immigrants from “legitimate” residents. The Registrar General and Census Commissioner India is the nodal agency overseeing this process.
Background Context
In 2018, the SC disclosed the potential for sample re-verification in an order, stating that it could assess re-verifying 10% of the names included in the NRC. In July 2019, the state government submitted an affidavit in the SC seeking a re-verification of 20% of the included names in districts bordering Bangladesh and 10% in the rest of the districts. However, this was dismissed following the submission by the then coordinator of the NRC that re-verification was already performed.
Current Scenario
The state government of Assam has provided the latest figures concerning ‘foreigner’ detection in the state. According to their data, 1,36,149 people have been declared ‘foreigners’ by the hundred functioning Foreigners’ Tribunals in the state. However, from 13th March 2013 to 31st July 2020, only 227 ‘foreigners’ have been deported. A total of 425 individuals are currently held at six detention centres within the state.
The need for re-verification is driven by the desire of the people of Assam for an accurate NRC. The delay in issuing rejection slips to the over 19 lakh people excluded has also fueled this requirement. These people could use these slips to appeal their nationality claim in court. The COVID-19 pandemic and floods in the state are cited as reasons for delay. The rejection slips would detail the reason for exclusion, which would vary from person to person, and based on which they could challenge their exclusion in the Foreigners’ Tribunals. Every individual, whose name does not appear in the final NRC, can present his/her case before the Foreigners Tribunals.