Draft, and after

At midnight on December 31, the Assamese called time on celebrations and tuned in to the telecast of a historic news briefing. Registrar General of India Sailesh and the state coordinator of the National Register of Citizens, Prateek Hajela, released the first draft of the updated NRC. There were 3.29 crore applicants; the NRC has 1.9 crore names.

Sailesh had been camping in Guwahati for long to oversee this sensitive exercise. It was announced at the news briefing that citizens could check the list at any of the 2,500 Seva Kendras statewide, starting 8am on January 1, 2018. So, at dawn on New Year's Day, most Assamese queued up at Seva Kendras. Assam is the only state to have prepared an NRC; data came from the census of 1951.

The current draft is an update of NRC 1951. So, NRC 2018 will have all names that were on NRC 1951 and names on any electoral roll of Assam—as on March 24, 1971. The list will also feature Indian citizens who have settled in Assam after March 24, 1971. Descendants of all the above categories will automatically enter NRC 2018. According to the Assam Accord of 1985, March 24, 1971, was the cut-off date to regularise migration into the state.

It was the All Assam Students’ Union's long-standing demand that NRC 1951 be updated. Elated AASU office-bearers opened a booth at its Guwahati head office at December 31 midnight itself, to help people check their status. AASU was at the forefront of the anti-foreigners movement that resulted in the Assam Accord of 1985.

While many were relieved to find themselves on the list, many others were disappointed, and some perplexed. Rubul said, “How is it possible? My little son’s name is on the list, but his parents have been left out!” Some called it a farce. They said 50 lakh illegal migrants are on the list, while genuine citizens were left out.

At least, the second part of the claim is true. Some families who have been residents of Assam for over a century have found themselves in the cold.

But, people are not unduly worried. Sailesh had reassured everyone that the final draft of the NRC will include names from documents that are being verified. He said that the verification process would resume on January 1, and the Supreme Court would be informed of the progress in February. The Supreme Court has been hearing the NRC case since 2009. It set the date for the release of the first draft, and is keenly monitoring developments.

It was a tense day for Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, as intelligence inputs had indicated possible outbreak of violence. So, in the days preceding the announcement, Sonowal assured people through print and electronic media that those who were left out could submit claims and objections. No genuine citizen would be left out, he had said. That assurance seems to have struck a chord, resulting in the relatively peaceful acceptance of the first draft.

“Why should I worry that my name does not figure in this list?” asked Munni Begum. She was reassured by the fact that her late mother's name was there. Shamsul Huda from Hatigaon in Guwahati said, “When documents are authentic, there is hardly anything to worry about. If it did not appear in the list today, it will come in the next list.” He said those with vested interests had hyped up things to create tension and benefit from it.

But, the government was not banking on Sonowal's charm alone. Assam Police chief Mukesh Sahay said 85 additional companies of paramilitary forces and state police personnel were deployed and district administrations were on high alert. Seva Kendras in sensitive areas had special security detail.

For many in Muslim-dominated areas, NRC 2018 is much more than proof of citizenship. Neglected by every government and tired of being vote banks, these people see the list as a step towards homes for the homeless, land for the landless, and a guarantee of a dignified life.

Many Muslims living in the char, or riverine areas, sport beards and wear the traditional green lungi. Quite often, they are mistaken for Bangladeshis, and are scornfully called 'mian’. They hope NRC 2018 will stop the name-calling.

The release of the first draft was not without incident. Haneef Khan, 40, of Cachar district, allegedly committed suicide on January 1, after he found his name missing from the list. He was found hanging from a tree near his house. His wife, Raksha Khan, told the police that he had been worried about what would happen if their names were not in NRC 2018.

In sharp contrast, tribal communities like the Bodo, Dimasa, Mishing, Karbi and Deori were not at all concerned about NRC 2018. Instead of heading to Seva Kendras, they rushed off to churches for morning mass and then to picnic spots. “We are the original inhabitants of Assam,” said a person who did not want to be identified. “We belong to Assam since time immemorial. Where will we be deported to, even if our names do not figure in the final list?”

Both the Congress and the BJP have claimed credit for updating the register. Opposition leader Debabrata Saikia, who is also leader of the Congress legislature party, said NRC 2018 was the fruit of the tripartite talks held in Delhi in 2005 by prime minister Manmohan Singh. Representatives of the Centre, Assam and AASU participated. Assam BJP president Ranjit Kumar Das thanked the Supreme Court, AASU and BJP-led governments at the Centre and in the state. AASU chief adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya said NRC 2018 was a dream come true for the Assamese, and paid respects to the martyrs of the anti-foreigner uprising which had rocked the state from 1979 to 1985.

As the wait for the final list begins, the question uppermost in people’s minds is what will happen to those who are left out. The police can refer their names to foreigners tribunals, where they will have to legally prove their case. No doubt, the final draft holds the map to Assam's immediate future.