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In the 19th and 20th century colonial Assam (1826-1947) witnessed migration from various provinces of British India especially after the Yaboundo Treaty (signed on 24th February 1826). The liberal attitude of the Colonial arrival of peasants from Bengal to Assam in search of fertile lands.
After the independence the Assam state can be broadly divided in to 2 parts Brahmaputra Valley and Barack Valley in the Brahmaputra are Assami speaking people while on the other hand the in the Barak Valley the population speaks the Bengali.
Considering the seriousness of the matter on the influx of illegal migrants, the government of India went on to formulate the immigrants (expansion from Assam) act ,1950. This act which came in to effect from 1March 1950 mandated expansion of illegal immigrants from the state of Assam. To identify illegal immigrants, the national register of citizens was prepared for the first time in Assam during the conduct of 1951 census. It was carried out under a directive of the Ministry of Home Affairs by recording particulars of energy single person enumerated during the census. However, this measure against illegal migrants too suffered a major setback due to the fact that only from October 1952 onwards the regulations of passport and visa became operational between India and Pakistan. In 1965, the government of India collaborated with the government of Assam to expedite completion of the national register of citizens and to issue national identity cards on the basis of this register to Indian citizens in order to aid identification of illegal immigrants. But in 1996 the central government dropped the proposal to issue identity cards in consolations with the government of Assam, having found the project impracticable. Between 1948 and 1917, there were large scale migrants from Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) to Assam. The national register of citizens (NRC) is a register containing names of all genuine Indian citizens residing in India. The register was first prepared and its updating process was put into action after the 1951. The purpose of NRC update is to identify illegal migrants residing in north eastern state who entered Indian territories after midnight on 24/3/1971 and to determine the citizenship of the applicants who have applied tur inclusion of their names in the update NRC.
Difference between NRC and Citizenship amendment Bill 2016
Assam is in the throes of violence yet again over citizenship. In the past couple of days, life in the north-eastern state has come to a standstill as the BJP-led government at the Centre brought in an amendment that will, effectively, grant citizenship to migrants from Bangladesh. Citizenship has been the biggest pain point of Assam’s political and social life during the past several decades. The National Register of Citizens (NRC) kicked up a storm as over 3 million people were said to have been left out of the roster. The Citizenship Bill and NRC are not one and the same thing. Much of the discourse has been seen to have confused one with the other. Here, we take a look at the two and how they overlap.
Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019
The Bill seeks to facilitate acquisition of citizenship by six identified minority communities namely Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Christians and Parsis from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who came to India before December 31, 2014. Migrants from these communities were earlier given protection against legal action in the years 2015 & 2016 and long term visa provision was made for them. Citizenship will be given to them only after due scrutiny and recommendation of district authorities and the State Government. The minimum residency period for citizenship is being reduced from existing 12 years under the present law to 7 years. The law will not be confined to the state of Assam but will also provide relief to persecuted migrants who have come through western borders of the country to states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh. The beneficiaries of Citizenship Amendment Bill can reside in any state of the country and the burden of those persecuted migrants will be shared by the whole country. NRC is a roster of all those who settled in Assam up to the midnight of March 24, 1971. In 1978-79, several local leaders spotted a rapid increase in the number of Muslims in electoral rolls. A six yearlong agitation followed against illegal migrants from Bangladesh, which culminated with the signing of an agreement called the Assam Accord. The Assam Accord mandated that those who settled in the state after the cut-off date of March 24, 1971 would be weeded out and stripped of citizenship rights. Over the next few decades the NRC was remained stalled until the Supreme Court intervened. The apex court ordered the state government to update the NRC by a deadline and monitored its progress. Subsequently, the first draft of the roster was published on 30 July, 2018.
Bone of contention
The general sentiment in Assam with respect to the bill has been that it will defeat the purpose of the NRC.
The Sentinel, a leading local daily, noted in its editorial on January 5 what the Assamese people think of the citizenship bill: The perverse decision of the Centre to ram through the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 against the wishes of the people of Assam will result in the migration +of millions of Bangladeshi Hindus to Assam.
NRC and Citizenship Act 1955 had been a burning issue in these days, the citizenship act defines the citizenship can be obtained by the birth, registration, descent, naturalisation, incorporation of territory. The government had passed proposals that Hindu, Sikhs, Buddhist, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan will not be treated as illegal migrants and they cannot be deported to their country. The shortens of the period residency from 12 to 7 years. The bill statics that such a long-draw process illegal immigrant from these six minority communities of the 3 nations “Many opportunities and advantages that may acquire only to the citizens of India, even though they are likely to stay in India permanently”.
The Assam people opposed the bill because it will change the demography of Assam the Shillong cabinet has opposed the bill. The issue is that are addressed in the bill that violates the basic tenets of the constitution. By distinguishing illegal immigrants on the basis of religion, the proposed law goes against the fundamental rights to equality under article 14. The protection of article 14 applies to both citizens and foreigners the bill would hamper what the Assam National Register of citizens sakes to achieve in the state, As the NRC does not distinguish on the basis of faith unlike to 2016 bill.
As the bill is a threat to the cultural and linguistic identity of the people of Assam. The bill passed a law and it would be challenged in the supreme court on the ground of Article 14 and as a more to disturb the NRC process.
But ultimately it was taken up at the behest of the Supreme Court of the India’s order following writ petitions by Assam Public Works. The Supreme Court in 2013 headed by the bench of Hon’ble Justice Rajan Gogoi and Justice Rohinton Poli Nariman, directed the Union Government and the State Government to complete the update of NRC to be implemented in adherence to Citizenship Act 1955 and the Citizenship Rules 2003 in all parts of Assam with the objection to rule out immigrants from the state. Pursuant to the direction of the Supreme Court, the Registrar General and census commissioner of India via its notification number 35 article dated December 2013 notified commencing of NRC. The Supreme Court there upon monitors the entire process of NRC update in Assam.
