GUWAHATI: A mix of uncertainty, nervousness, ambiguity and subdued anticipation is gripping people in Assam, particularly in the areas close to the Bangladesh border, with less than 24 hours remaining for the publication of the complete draft National Register of Citizens.
“The names of five members of our immediate family did not feature in the first draft NRC, despite submission of the 1951 legacy data. We had followed up and NRC people had also done their verification. But we are hopeful that our names would appear tomorrow. In fact I had met the deputy commissioner in this regard yesterday and he assured that things should fall in place,” former Dhubri MLA from BJP, Dhruba Kumar Sen told The Shillong Times on Sunday.
The 1951 NRC is being updated to weed out the foreigners’ problem Assam has grappled with for several decades now.
Unlike the part draft published on the midnight of December 31, 2017 with 1.9 crore names out of 3.29 crore applicants, the complete draft will be published at noon on Monday.
Nilesh Barman of Gauripur, about 10km away from Dhubri, too is in a state of uncertainty as he keeps his fingers crossed.
“The names of four members out of 11 in the family did not appear in the first draft. While there was some issue regarding the birthplace of my mother and daughter who were born in Bengaluru, there were two hearings for them subsequently. But my wife and brother, whose names did not feature in the first draft despite submission of all relevant documents, were not asked to appear in hearings,” Barman said.
He said that while there were many families like his whose members’ names did not appear in the NRC draft, the mood was more or less positive.
“The NRC authorities have said that if the documents were in order there should not be any problem tomorrow,” Barman said, hoping that the matter would be settled once and for all on Monday.
Likewise, Mrinmoy Adhikari, a businessman from Gauripur, has also gone through a harrowing phase since the names of three of his family members, including his and that of two children, did not appear in the part draft.
“I was told there was some confusion in one of the documents (HSLC certificate) submitted by most applicants. Upon verification however, I found there was no problem with mine and the NRC authorities at the NSK told me that there should not be any problem now,” Adhikari said.
He however said, “If indigenous people like us have to undergo such hassles, one can imagine the fate of others. We have been residents of Gauripur since 1919 and while we understand that there would be glitches in the course of such a taxing exercise, many original inhabitants particularly in the Agomani-Halapara area of Dhubri district have been made to weather the storm and yet uncertain about their fate.”
All Assam Minority Students Union, Chirang unit president, Gulzar Hussain, however, told this correspondent that from the union’s part, there was no stone left to calm people who were in fear and tension. “We have been carrying out awareness programmes among people that there was nothing to worry even if people do not find their names in the list tomorrow as the NRC authority will give an opportunity for claims,” Hussain said.
The forms for claims will be made available at the 2500 NRC Seva Kendras across the state and also available for downloading from www.nrcassam.nic.in from August 7.
The NRC authorities will receive the forms from August 30 to September 28.The final NRC will be updated after all claims and objections are resolved.
There was some uncertainty among sections whose names appeared in the draft as well after NRC coordinator in Assam, Prateek Hajela had informed the Supreme Court on July 2 that the names of about 1.5 lakh people included in the first draft will not figure in the complete draft.
Hajela said that the omission would happen partly because applicants could not justify their claims for inclusion during the verification process and partly due to errors committed by field-level personnel.
“They will, however, get a chance to stake claim after the publication of the complete draft on July 30,” he said.