NRC Rings The Division Bell

The controversial census in Assam triggers demands for NRCs in other states. For political parties, it has become a tool to polarise voters along Hindu-Muslim lines

- Kaushik Deka

The publication of the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) for Assam on July 30 has prompted political parties and civil society groups in West Bengal, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, Delhi, Haryana and all northeastern states to demand a similar exercise in their states. Illegal immigration is likely to become a polarising theme for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls if the statements of political leaders across parties are any indication.

The NRC in Assam is being conducted under the supervision of the Supreme Court to identify those immigrants from Bangladesh who have crossed over illegally into India. Ridding the state of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants was the promise that carried the BJP to victory in the 2016 Assam election. Now the party hopes the “fear of outsiders” will have national resonance.

BJP president Amit Shah lost no time dubbing the four million people excluded from the NRC as “intruders”, though later media reports show how many genuine Indian citizens have failed to figure in the register mostly due to incomplete paperwork. Conversely, people declared foreigners by foreigners’ tribunals—quasi courts that have been adjudicating immigration cases since 1964—have been recognised as citizens. Taking cognisance of such discrepancies, the Supreme Court on August 28 asked NRC state coordinator Prateek Hajela to do a sample reverification of at least 10 per cent of the names in the final draft of the NRC.

But that has not stopped political parties from seeking to make political capital of the issue. If the BJP has converted this into an Indians vs outsiders pitch, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is projecting NRC as an exercise against Bengali-speaking people, hoping to appeal to Bangla pride or insecurity.