National Register of Citizens (NRC) GS: 2 EMPOWER IAS

National Register of Citizens (NRC)

 

Table of Content In news Context Recent update About National Register of Citizens (NRC) Assam Accord How did NRC verification begin in Assam? Why is the NRC being updated now? What happens to the people left out of the final list? Why is it has created a sensation? Impact Challenges Conclusion

 

Mains Q Q) What is National Register of Citizens (NRC)? Discuss how the updated NRC s will address ethical issues rising in the State of Assam.

 

In news:

• The final National Register of Citizens (NRC) for Assam is expected to be published on August 31.

Context:

• The Supreme Court extended the last date for publication of the Assam National Register for Citizens by a month, from July 31 to August 31.
• It was done so on the request of the Centre and the Assam government, the Court refused to entertain their request for re-verification of 20% of the draft NRC data.
• The first draft of the NRC for Assam was published on the turn of the year 2018, on January 1.
• Since 2015, the state has been in the process of updating the 1951 register. Around 41 lakh people have been excluded from the draft lists published in July 2018 and June this year.
• Around 36 lakh have filed claims against their exclusion and objections have been filed against two lakh inclusions.

 

Recent update on this matter:

• The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) recently said that “non-inclusion of a person’s name in the NRC does not by itself amount to him/her being declared as a foreigner”.
• They would be given adequate opportunity to present their case before the Foreigners Tribunals (FTs).
• The time limit to appeal before the FTs is also being increased from 60 to 120 days.
• Every individual, whose name does not figure in the final NRC, can represent his/her case in front of the appellate authority, i.e. Foreigners Tribunals.
• Under the provisions of the Foreigners Act 1946 and the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order 1964, only Foreigners Tribunals are empowered to declare a person as a foreigner.
• The State government would also “make arrangements to provide legal aid to the needy people amongst those excluded from the NRC.
• The Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003 are also being amended to increase the present time limit of filing of appeals in Foreign Tribunals.
• State government would also “make arrangements to provide legal aid to the needy people amongst those excluded from the NRC.”
•  Adequate number of such tribunals was being established at convenient locations.
• In order to maintain law and order situation, central security forces were being provided as per assessment of the Assam government, 

 

About National Register of Citizens (NRC)

• The NRC was last updated in Assam in 1951.
•  Existence of name in the legacy data: The NRC will be now updated to include the names of those persons (or their descendants) who appear in the NRC, 1951, or in any of the Electoral Rolls up to the midnight of 24th March, 1971 or in any one of the other admissible documents issued up to midnight of 24th March, 1971, which would prove their presence in Assam or in any part of India on or before 24th March, 1971. 
• All the names appearing in the NRC, 1951, or any of the Electoral Rolls up to the midnight of 24th March 1971 together are called Legacy Data. Thus, there will be two requirements for inclusion in updated NRC – 

• Existence of a person’s name in the pre-1971 period &
• Proving linkage with that person. 
• A PIL was filed in the Supreme Court seeking the removal of "illegal voters" from the electoral rolls of Assam and the preparation of the NRC as required under the Citizenship Act, 1955.
• Identification and deportation of illegal immigrants was launched by the All Assam Students “Union (AASU) in 1979.
• It culminated with the signing of the Assam Accord on Aug 15, 1985.
• The register, first published in Assam in 1951, is being updated as per the directions of the Supreme Court.
• It is a list to segregate Indian citizens living in Assam from those who had illegally entered the State from Bangladesh after March 25, 1971.

 

Assam Accord: Under this accord, those who entered the state between 1966 and 1971 would be deleted from the electoral rolls and lose their voting rights for 10 years, after which their names would be restored to the rolls. Those who entered on or after March 25, 1971, the eve of the Bangladesh War, would be declared foreigners and deported. The National Register of Citizens now takes its definition of illegal immigrants from the Assam Accord – anyone who cannot prove that they or their ancestors entered the country before the midnight of March 24, 1971, would be declared a foreigner and face deportation.

 

 

How did NRC verification begin in Assam?

• The process of NRC update was taken up in Assam as per a Supreme Court order in 2013.
• In order to wean out cases of illegal migration from Bangladesh and other adjoining areas, NRC updation was carried out under The Citizenship Act, 1955, and according to rules framed in the Assam Accord.

 

 

Why is the NRC being updated now?

• The mechanism for detecting so-called foreigners had previously been delineated by the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act of 1983
• This was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2005, on a petition which argued that the provisions of the law were so stringent; they made the “detection and deportation of illegal migrants almost impossible”. 
• In 2013, the Supreme Court asked the Centre to finalise the modalities to update the new National Register of Citizens. The project was launched in earnest from 2015, monitored directly by the Supreme Court.

 

What happens to the people left out of the final list?

Those who do not make it to the final list will have to appear before the Foreigners’ Tribunals of Assam. These quasi-judicial bodies were originally set up under the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act of 1983. The law has since been struck down by the court but the tribunals persist, tasked with determining whether individuals being tried are foreigners and should be deported.

 

Why is it has created a sensation?

• The updated NRC will count only those as Assam citizens who can prove their residency on or before March 21, 1971.
• All those not included in the list runs the risk of being rendered, illegal immigrants.
• The government has not yet announced any concrete plans about results (to those what it wishes to do with those who are not identified as indigenous citizens). 
• It also seeks to grant citizenship to Hindus living in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan this is creating a sensation throughout the country.

 

Impact:

• The updated NRC should provide a more accurate figure about the number of illegal migrants in Assam, specifically from Bangladesh.

• It will also give the government access to vital data which can be a dependable basis for the promulgation and implementation of policies.
• For bona fide Indian Bengalis in Assam, this could prove beneficial because in the current continuing situation there is nothing really to distinguish them from their Bangladeshi counterpart.
• Publication of an updated NRC is expected to deter future migrants from Bangladesh from entering Assam illegally.
• Staying in Assam without valid documentation will attract detention/jail term and deportation.
• Illegal migrants may find it even more difficult to procure Indian identity documents and avail all the rights and benefits due to all Indian citizens.
• Inclusion of their names in the NRC will provide respite to all those Bengali speaking people in Assam who have been, hitherto, suspected as being Bangladeshis.
• The outcome of the NRC exercise has implications for India's ties with
• Bangladesh.

 

Challenges:

• Flawed Process - People who found themselves on the first list that was released on January 1, 2018, didn’t find their names in the second.
• Multiple agencies: The inclusion of multiple governmental agencies in the exercise has led to some confusion, with the various agencies not coordinating properly and sharing data. 
• Impact on courts: There is also the possibility that a large enough number of people could resort to seeking judicial relief, which could seriously affect the courts. 
• Physical verification is tough: Though the draft provides a window for re-verification, due to large number of people being excluded from the list, it will be very difficult to physically verify all of them.
• Over burden of Judiciary: Since such ‘non citizens’ can resort to judicial relief to substantiate their citizenship claim, it can lead to overburdening of judiciary which already reels under large number of pending cases.
• Detention camps: Apart from deportation, the other option is large scale detention camps - which is an unlikely option for a civilised democracy like India

 

Conclusion:

The need of the hour is that the Government should clearly chart out the course of action regarding the fate of excluded people from final NRC data and political parties should refrain from coloring the entire NRC process through electoral prospects that may snowball in to communal violence.  Therefore, a well coordinated, nationwide move to work out a solution with humanitarian parameters is the need of the hour. Holding a tripartite relation—between the government of Assam, the government of India and the government of Bangladesh is important in this regard.

 

Source)

thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/nrc-exclusion-is-not-the-end-of-the-road-mha/article29187514.ece