Assam residents queue up Monday to to check if their names are in NRC. AP Assam residents queue up Monday to to check if their names are in NRC. AP The issue of citizenship has been dominating the public discourse since Monday, when Assam released the draft of an updated National Register of Citizens (NRC) leaving out 40 lakh of 3.29 crore applicants for inclusion. What determines who is or is not a citizen of India? And what are the special circumstances in Assam, the only state with an NRC? How is citizenship determined in India? Indian citizenship can be acquired by birth, descent, registration and naturalisation. A person domiciled in India as on November 26, 1949 — the date when the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution — automatically became a citizen if he or either of his parents was born in India, or if he had been in India for at least five years until that date. For those born in India after the Constitution came into effect, the Citizenship Act, 1955, grants citizenship by birth based on birth dates. Anyone born between January 26, 1950 and July 1, 1987 is a citizen by birth; a person between July 1, 1987 and December 3, 2004 is a citizen by birth if either of his parents is a citizen of India at the time; those born on or after December 3, 2004 is a citizen by birth if both parents are citizens of India at the time, or if one parent is a citizen and the other is not an illegal migrant — defined as a foreigner who entered India without valid documents, or stayed beyond the allowed period Citizenship by registration can be acquired by persons of Indian origin who have lived in India for 7 years before applying, persons of Indian origin who live in any country outside undivided India, persons married to a citizen of India and who have lived in India for 7 years before the application. Any minor child can be registered as a citizen if the government is satisfied that there are special circumstances. Is it possible for a foreigner with no connection to India (marriage, descent etc) to become a citizen of India ? This is citizenship by naturalisation. Any foreigner, provided he is not an illegal migrant, can acquire citizenship, provided he has stayed in India for 12 consecutive months preceding the date of application, and for 11 years out of the preceding the 14 years. Is citizenship permanent? Under Section 9(1) of the 1955 Act, a person ceases to be a citizen if he or she voluntarily acquires the citizenship of another country or renounces Indian citizenship. India does not allow dual citizenship. Under Section 10, anyone who has become a citizen of India by naturalisation or by registration due to marriage to an Indian citizen can be deprived of the citizenship by the Home Ministry for certain reasons. How is Assam different? Why a separate National Register of Citizens? This is because of a history of migration. During British rule, Assam was merged with Bengal Presidency for administrative purpose. From 1826 to 1947, the British continuously brought migrant workers to Assam for cheap labour in tea plantations. Two major waves of migration came after British rule — first after Partition, from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), and then in the aftermath of the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971. This eventually led to an agitation during 1979-85, led by the All Assam Students’ Union. It culminated in the 1985 Assam Accord signed with the Rajiv Gandhi government, under which illegal migrants were to be identified and deported. Clause 6A was inserted in the Citizenship Act with special provisions for Assam. Express Explained | What it means to be out of NRC What are those provisions? These take into account two cutoff dates — January 1, 1966 and March 25, 1971. Anyone who was a resident of Assam before the first date is a citizen. Migrants who entered on any day between these two dates, and remained there, would need to register with a Foreigners Tribunal. For 10 years, they would have all rights of a citizen except the right to vote, which would be granted at the end of 10 years. Finally, migrants who entered Assam on or after March 25, 1971, are not eligible for citizenship. Is this not the cutoff date for NRC, too? Yes. For inclusion, applicants need to prove that they — or their parents, grandparents etc — were citizens before March 25, 1971. Those who could not prove this, as well as their offspring, have been excluded. Assam already has an NRC, prepared in 1951 with 80 lakh citizens, on the basis of that year’s Census. In 2003, the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules were amended for updating the NRC in order to identify genuine citizens. What was the mechanism for identifying migrants earlier? When Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister, the government introduced the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act, applicable only to Assam. Against the Foreigners Act that was in force elsewhere, the IMDT Act was seen as ineffective as the burden of proof of someone being a foreigner was on the accuser and not on the state or the accused. In 2005, the Supreme Court struck down IMDT Act on a petition filed by Sarbananda Sonowal, then an AGP leader, now Assam Chief Minister and a BJP leader. Before the NRC update, Assam was witnessing protests over the Citizenship Amendment Bill. What was this about? In 2016, the Centre introduced amendments to the Citizenship Act to grant citizenship to religious minorities (mostly Hindus and including other non-Muslims) from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who took shelter in India. The Bill relaxes norms for granting them citizenship by decreasing the residency requirement from 11 years to six years. In Assam, where the agitation was against migrants irrespective of religion, this has led to protests. The Bill is currently pending with a Joint Parliamentary Committee. Is there a similar situation for migrants in any other state?<doc-sep>Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah addressed a hurriedly-convened press conference on Tuesday to accuse opposition parties of protecting Bangladeshi infiltrators following their protests over the draft report of Assam’s National Register of Citizens. Shah’s press meet was preceded by a short intervention in the Rajya Sabha in response to Opposition protests about the absence of 40 lakh names from the citizens register, when he declared that it is only the BJP that had the courage to go ahead with this exercise. The Congress had dithered over it, Shah said, even though the 1985 Assam Accord had been signed by Rajiv Gandhi. The BJP president’s aggressive stance and his reference to Rajiv Gandhi led to a predictable uproar in the Upper House, resulting in an early adjournment. Shah’s double bill was part of the BJP’s well-crafted strategy to place the controversy generated by the Assam citizens’ list at the centre of a national debate to ensure that this issue is not confined to Assam alone but resonates across the country. Mamata’s warning Claims of undocumented migrants from Bangladesh making their homes in India is a sensitive and emotional issue as the people in Assam believe that the demography of their state has changed following this influx from across the border. This controversy will also figure high in neighbouring West Bengal in the run-up to next year’s Lok Sabha election, as was evident from its chief minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee’s warning that the BJP’s move to divide people would lead to a “bloodbath and civil war”. Having emerged as the Trinamool’s chief political rival in West Bengal, the BJP is all set to draw political mileage from Banerjee’s campaign by accusing the chief minister of indulging in minority appeasement. However, the BJP’s game plan is to extend this debate beyond these two states as it seeks to send out multiple messages. By taking a firm and clear stand on this matter, the BJP wants to live up to its reputation of being a tough party that is headed by a decisive leader who is not afraid of taking difficult decisions. Coming at a time when the Modi government has been in the firing line over the poor state of the economy, the agrarian crisis, growing unemployment and the Rafale deal, the publication of the citizens’ list in distant Assam has provided an opportunity to the BJP to change the national political discourse and return to its communal agenda. “Though the names of Hindus have also been left out of the citizens’ list, the BJP basically wants to play the Hindu-Muslim card by treating all the 40 lakh people as Bangladeshis,” said a senior Congress leader. BJP leaders indicated that it will be happy to see that this controversy lingers on. In fact, it is in no hurry to go beyond the stage of detection of undocumented migrants and resort to their deportation as it can create a fresh set of problems with Bangladesh. The BJP can, however, disenfranchise them and deprive them of voting rights, which will also serve its purpose. It, therefore, suits the BJP to keep this issue simmering in the hope that it will boil over in the coming months. Cornering the Congress While Mamata Banerjee is on its radar, the BJP is particularly keen to corner the Congress on the issue. This was clear from Shah’s line of attack when he accused the Congress of dragging its feet over the implementation of the Assam accord for the several decades and asked Rahul Gandhi to clarify his party’s stand. “If you talk about human rights, what about the rights of people of Assam?” Shah thundered. “Their rights of education, jobs were being taken away... This step has been taken for protecting the rights of the people of India. Every party should make their stand clear whether rights of Indians are important or not.” On its part, the Congress found itself in a spot. Since the process of updating the National Register of Citizens was initiated by Manmohan Singh when he was prime minister, the party could not distance itself from this exercise. At the same time, it had perforce to take note of the fact that 40 lakh names were missing from this list. It chose to limit its objections to the manner in which the exercise had been undertaken. Rahul Gandhi statement In a Facebook post, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said: “The NRC was initiated by the [Congress-led] UPA [United Progressive Alliance government] under Manmohan Singh Ji to fulfill the commitment made in the Assam accord of 1985. However, the manner in which this exercise has been undertaken by the BJP governments at the Centre and in the state of Assam leaves much to be desired. Clearly, after spending close to Rs 1,200 crore, the execution of this critical and highly sensitive exercise has been tardy. The government must move swiftly to resolve this crisis.” Gandhi also took care to avoid any reference to the harassment of minorities but instead described those excluded as Indian citizens. Stating that reports were pouring in from Assam of “Indian citizens finding their names missing from the draft NRC”, he appealed to Congress members to “help all those against whom an injustice has been done in the draft NRC, no matter what their religion, caste, gender, linguistic group or political affiliation”. While Congress leaders are bemoaning the fact that its wish-washy stand has handed a political advantage to the BJP, which was on the look-out for issues that are in sync with its ideology, the saffron party believes it has cottoned on to an issue that helps it set the political agenda.<doc-sep>Assam NRC: "There is no demand for NRC in Tripura," says Biplab Deb As the ruling BJP faces opposition anger over the updated National Register for Citizens (NRC) in Assam leaving out 40 lakh people, one of its chief ministers in the northeast, compulsive motor-mouth Biplab Deb, has stepped on another landmine. Biplab Deb, the Chief Minister of Assam's neighbour Tripura, has described the citizenship row as "not a big issue". "There is no demand for NRC in Tripura. Everything is systematised in Tripura. I think this is not a big issue even for Assam, (Chief Minister) Sarbananda Sonowal ji is capable of managing it," Biplab Deb told reporters today. "Some people are trying to create panic and disturb the environment," added the 48-year-old who became chief minister of BJP's first government in Tripura in March. Over 40 lakh people left out of the draft citizens' list face deportation if they cannot prove their citizenship. Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the ruling BJP of using the exercise to update Assam's citizenship list to target Muslims in the name of identifying illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Assam NRC: The government said those left out can file appeals against the NRC list Anger over the citizens' register stalled parliament today as opposition parties in both houses protested aggressively against what they called the government's "divide-and-rule policy". Home Minister Rajnath Singh has asserted that no one will be deported or punished based on what is a draft list. Those missing from the list will be given a chance to submit their documents and prove their claim to citizenship, says the ministry. Biplab Deb has, since his rise to prominence after the BJP's victory in Tripura earlier this year, embarrassed his party repeatedly with his unfiltered comments. Recently, in response to a question on how he would tackle mob attacks driven by fake news on social media, Biplab Deb said: "I think you all should think that today there is a wave of happiness in Tripura. You should also enjoy this happiness wave and you will also become happy. Look at my face, how happy I am. It's people's government and people will take action." He has also been derided for saying that "Internet and satellite communication existed during the Mahabharata era".<doc-sep>Residents hold their documents as they stand in a queue to check their names on the final list of National Register of Citizens (NRC) at a NRC Sewa Kendra (NSK) in Burgoan village in Morigoan district on Monday, July 30. (CNN) — A day after a controversial citizenship audit put a question mark on the status of an estimated 4 million Indians living along the country’s border with Bangladesh, the Indian government faced scathing criticism from political opponents accusing it of trampling over human rights of its people. A draft of the so-called National Register of Citizens (NRC) was released Monday, amid popular anger over illegal migration into Assam, which shares a porous border with Bangladesh. Proponents of the registry say it will help root out illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, but the move has prompted fears of possible deportation among Assam’s hundreds of thousands of Bengali-speaking Muslims. The government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said it would not move to deport anybody, and would allow time for a lengthy appeals process for those left out of the registry. Many of the Assam minority Bengali community have lived in India for decades, crossing the border into the state during the bloody Bangladesh independence struggle in 1971. Many others can trace their history back even further, arriving before the independence of India in 1947. Modi’s political opponents – who forced Parliament in New Delhi to adjourn multiple times Tuesday amid a heated debate over the issue – maintain the registry is discriminatory. The principal opposition Congress party said it wasn’t enough to allow people left of the list to file appeals. It called on Modi and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to ensure that the process is fair – and that it doesn’t discriminate against people based on their religion, a concern voiced by many given Assam’s multi-ethnic make-up. “We don’t want that anyone in our country who is a genuine Indian – based on his caste, religion or his ethic roots – to be sent out of the country. This should not happen. The onus should not be on an individual, the onus should be on the government as well,” said senior Congress leader, Ghulam Nabi Azad. “It is not a political issue. It is a question of human rights. It is a humanitarian issue. It is a national issue. We need to look after Indian citizens,” said Derek O’Brien from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) party, which governs the neighboring border state of West Bengal. ’Rendered stateless’ Criticism was also forthcoming from international human rights bodies. Human Rights Watch (HRW) highlighted the lack of an official policy for people who might eventually be excluded from of the final list, saying it could effectively render them stateless. “Assam has long sought to preserve its ethnic identity, but rendering millions of people stateless is not the answer, said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia Director of HRW. The concern was echoed by Amnesty International, which said the exercise “may render a significant number of people stateless.” “It is possible that the process will arbitrarily deprive people, who have lived in India for decades, of their nationality,” it said in a statement. PRAKASH SINGH/AFP/AFP/Getty Images Indian lawmakers hold placards protesting against Assam's National Register of Citizens outside of Parliament in New Delhi on July 31, 2018. But the registry has also drawn support among BJP hardliners. In the nearby state of West Bengal, BJP State President Dilip Ghosh said that if brought to power, the party would seek to replicate the process in the state. “There are more than 10 million illegal immigrants here and because of whom there is pressure on the security of the country, security and economy of the state. We have to free West Bengal from this,” said Ghosh. West Bengal, which also borders Bangladesh, is governed by the Trinamool Congress Party. Ghosh’s comments are likely to intensify the political battle around the registry issue, with opposition lawmakers accusing the BJP of aggravating longstanding social and communal tensions in return for votes. “This is absolutely vote bank politics and election agenda,” said Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, at a press conference Monday. “They are Indians but they have become refugees in their own land,” she added, referring to those not included in the final draft of the registry. BIJU BORO/AFP/AFP/Getty Images A resident holds documents on his way to check his name on the final list of National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Kuranibori village, in Assam's Morigoan district on July 30, 2018. Appeal process In a statement Monday evening, the leader of the opposition Congress party Rahul Gandhi called on the government to “swiftly to resolve this crisis.” “There are reports pouring in from all corners of Assam of Indian citizens finding their names missing in the draft NRC, creating massive insecurity in the state,” said Gandhi. “I appeal to all members of the Congress party to help maintain peace and help all those against whom an injustice has been done in the draft NRC, no matter what their religion, caste, gender, linguistic group or political affiliation,” added Gandhi. The government has said people who have been excluded from the latest NRC draft will have until late September to file appeals and claim citizenship. It is unclear how long authorities will take to conclude the appeals process. Out of the state’s 32.9 million population, 28.9 million people have been recognized as legal citizens by the draft. Assam is the only state in India to have a citizenship register. It was created in 1951 to identify Indian citizens from illegal migrants from East Pakistan. An updated NRC was ordered by the Supreme Court of India in 2014 and the process began in 2015. The cutoff date to be eligible for Indian citizenship is March 24, 1971, a day before the onset of the Bangladesh Liberation War. CNN’s Manveena Suri contributed to this report.<doc-sep>
The first NRC was prepared in 1951 and included all those who were mentioned in the 1951 Census of India. The Assam NRC issue has become such a widely debated topic in India that even international media has taken note of the fact that there are over 40 lakh people who are now at risk of losing Indian citizenship. While the Opposition has accused the BJP-led central government of playing vote-bank politics over this issue, the government has responded by saying that the demand for the NRC being updated is a very old one. Here is all you need to know about this issue: What is NRC? The National Register of Citizens is a list of all the legal citizens of a state. It is governed by The Citizenship Act, 1955, and The Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003 (amended in 2009) and a 2010 order of the Ministry of Home Affairs, published in the Gazette of India. When was the first NRC done? The first NRC was prepared in 1951 and included all those who were mentioned in the 1951 Census of India. Why is the NRC being updated in Assam right now? The idea of updating the NRC in Assam stems from the demand to identify illegal migrants from the state from Bangladesh, something which the All Assam Students Union (AASU) and All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad (AAGSP) demanded during the six-year-long Assam Movement. The movement culminated with the signing of the Assam Accord in 1985. Even though the Assam Accord does not mandate updation of the NRC, it does talk about the deletion of foreigners' names from the electoral rolls. A formal decision to update the NRC was first taken by the Centre in 1999, but the work did not begin. In a tripartite meeting among the central government, the Assam government and AASU on 5 May, 2005, it was decided to update the NRC. But nothing much progressed beyond talks. In July 2009, Assam Public Works — an NGO — filed a case in the Supreme Court, demanding updation of the NRC. In 2010, the government decided to hold pilot projects of NRC updation in two blocks in the state. But violence in Barpeta district stalled the work yet again. It was only after the Supreme Court directed the government to update the NRC in 2014 that work on updating the list began in full swing. The court also fixed a cut-off date of 1971, meaning that anyone who came to Assam after 1971 would be considered a foreigner. Thus, the demand to update the NRC has existed for a long time. Who are eligible to register for the NRC? As The Telegraph explains, people whose names appear on the 1951 NRC and those who appear on any voter list in Assam up to midnight of 24 March, 1971, and the descendants of the above are eligible to register for the NRC. Moreover, people who came to Assam from Bangladesh between 1 January, 1966 and 24 March, 1971, registered themselves with the Foreigner Regional Registration Office, and were declared by the Foreigner Tribunal as Indian citizens are also eligible. Indian citizens who moved to Assam after 24 March, 1971 will need to provide proof of residence in another part of the country as on 24 March, 1971. Has the final NRC been published? No. The second and final draft of the NRC was published on Monday. The first draft of the NRC was published during the intervening night of 31 December and 1 January this year, containing 1.9 crore names. The final NRC will be published later during the year, after a process of claims and objections has ended. According to News18, the final NRC is expected to be published in December this year. What is the political controversy surrounding the final NRC draft? The names of 40.07 lakh applicants did not find a place in the second and final NRC draft. This fact caused all the political outrage over the NRC, with the Opposition disrupting Parliament proceedings over the exclusion of such a large number of applicants. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee lashed out at the BJP over the draft NRC, accusing the party of playing vote-bank politics, while also warning that the issue will "destroy" India's relationship with Bangladesh.