State And The Stateless

Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram plan to launch their own versions of the NRC, which could create a new headache for the Modi government.

- Rabi Banerjee

After Assam released the final list of the National Register of Citizens on August 31, pushing nearly 20 lakh people into legal limbo, more states are likely to follow suit. On September 15, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said he would soon implement a similar scheme in his state. In the northeast, Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram are planning to implement their own versions of the NRC.

In Manipur, where the BJP is in power on its own, and in Nagaland, where it is a member of the ruling coalition, one of the key aims of the new initiative is to tackle illegal immigration from Myanmar. Those who are left out of the Assam NRC are also being monitored by these states. “It will be a dangerous situation for us unless we carry out the NRC immediately,” said Manipur BJP spokesperson Robin Blackie. “Our chief minister has already spoken to the Union home minister. We are sure that it will be implemented.”

Blackie said the state government was under pressure from civil society groups. “They fear that unless the NRC is done, those who are declared as foreigners in Assam will flood Manipur.” They want 1952 as the cut-off year for citizenship instead of 1971, which was used in Assam. Senior Congress leader T.N. Haokip said his party was yet to take a decision on the issue. “We are a little uncertain,” he said.

Nagaland, meanwhile, has taken the first step towards implementing the NRC by launching the Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN). It aims to detect non-locals who have become residents after December 1, 1963, when Nagaland was accorded statehood and was given special status under Article 371A of the Constitution, prohibiting outsiders from buying land in the state. While the state unit of the Congress supports the RIIN, it is opposed to the NRC. Said state Congress president K. Therie, “We support the RIIN. But we would oppose it if it leads to the NRC.”