GUWAHATI: The Forum Against Citizenship Act Amendment Bill has urged the people of the state not to be “misguided” by propaganda and uproar from certain “outside” organisations that publication of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) would result in “catastrophic violence and disorder” in Assam.
The appeal by the forum comes less than a week for publication of the complete draft NRC in the state. The Supreme Court has set July 30 as the revised deadline for publication of the complete draft NRC.
Addressing reporters on Tuesday, the forum’s chairperson, Hiren Gohain expressed reservations on the fact-finding report by the group, “United Against Hate” as ill-conceived, hasty and damaging as it conflates the NRC with activities of Foreigners’ Tribunal, and the Election Commission’s direction to mark certain people without valid documents as “D-voters”.
“Besides, the online campaign by AVAAZ, a New York-based web portal, declares that the publication of the final draft would lead to mass violence, ethnic cleansing and transfer of minority Muslims to detention camps for life. It claims that 70lakh Muslims would be deleted from NRC, which we say is wildly sensational and perceived without considering the facts in an objective and impartial manner,” he said.
The forum warned that such propaganda, made partly because of either misinformation/ignorance of facts by organisations outside the state, would derail the NRC update process and disrupt social peace and harmony in the state.
“Further, we are convinced that knowingly or unknowingly, such misinformation will frustrate the legitimate aspirations of the indigenous people of Assam for a secure existence of their identity and culture. We have always opposed and condemned chauvinism of any community and striven for justice and peace among people,” Gohain said.
The forum also pointed out that the consensus of leading ethnic groups, including Muslims of immigrant origin, on NRC reached more than three decades has improved social environment of the state greatly and restored peace and harmony among communities in Assam.
“The NRC was a product of the democratic consensus-building that the Supreme Court and the state government had come to accept,” he claimed.
The forum said that the consensus made no distinction on the basis of language, religion or ethnicity for people who could prove their credentials from before the cut-off date of March 24, 1971.