Assam NRC not foolproof, but needed

Indian Express: Opinions: Monday, September 02, 2019.

An RTI application also revealed that 78% of all orders passed by the tribunals were ex-parte, without the accused ever being heard

Over 19 lakh people have been excluded from the final National Register of Citizens in Assam. The number of those who don’t find themselves in the final NRC is significantly down from the final draft published in July 2018. About 40 lakh people were left out then, which increased to 41.2 lakh after the NRC authorities revised their estimate. Leaders from both the BJP and Congress have alleged that many genuine citizens have been left out even as foreigners were included in the list.

Civil rights activists, NGOs and others have opposed the NRC exercise itself, calling it flawed, communally biased and violative of human rights. Many of their concerns could be genuine. After all, an enumeration exercise of such size and scale, perhaps not undertaken anywhere in the world before, cannot be foolproof. But to question the need for an NRC is doing injustice to the people of Assam, who have suffered years of illegal immigration starting from the turn of the last century. It not only changed the state’s demography but put enormous pressure on scarce natural resources, jobs and land, engendering ethnic and communal tensions. It also spawned the Assam agitation in the early eighties and a militancy that left thousands dead.

But going forward, there are many challenges in order to ensure a free and fair process for those filing appeals against their exclusion. The appeals have to be filed before foreigners’ tribunals, whose functioning has been found to be opaque, inconsistent and often biased. An RTI application also revealed that 78% of all orders passed by the tribunals were ex-parte, without the accused ever being heard. The merit of the presiding officers at these tribunals is also suspect as most of them are not trained judges but lawyers who have been appointed to head the tribunals. There is also a need to shun politics and shrill rhetoric. Using words such as ghusphetiya, or infiltrators, and termites is insensitive and against humanity.