The NRC and the Lesser Hindus of India

Coauthored by Saswati Sarkar, Shanmukh, and Dikgaj

A human tragedy of gargantuan proportions is being enacted in India as we write, under the watch of the Indian state. The reports emerging even from the scant attention that the tragedy has received suggests that an ethnic cleansing of alarming proportions is underway. The Indian state has embarked on implementing a national register of citizens in its North Eastern State of Assam, which was intended to include all those who had arrived before 24 March, 1971, and exclude the rest. The final draft list of this NRC was published on July 30 2019 excluded about 4 million individuals [13]. This final draft list excluded overwhelmingly individuals at the intersection of a religion and language, and class (at least primarily) – that is, mostly the poor, uneducated village-dwelling Hindu Bengalis. The excluded are by and large the descendants of the refugees of partition, their parents had migrated to the only land in which they believed they could live without having to convert to Islam, and live as free men and women, with human dignity. Creating a new life for themselves had not been easy the first time and was realized only through an intense struggle for existence. But in one generation the same families are facing statelessness yet again. It is Sita’s Agnipariksha played all over.

After a lengthy process of appeals and reconsiderations that extended over a year, the NRC final list has been published on August 31, 2019. It excludes 19 lakh individuals, and the exclusions retains the same broad characteristics as the final draft list. Those excluded now face the prospect of going through tribunals and subsequently courts, which will de-facto levy hefty financial penalties on them. The time the victims need to devote to travel to the courts (which may be far off from where they live) and attend the sessions would put them at a competitive disadvantage in the current economy especially because of the nature of their livelihood at the margins of daily wage labour and agrarian labour. Simultaneously, the Hindu Bengali populace in Assam is being subjected to confinement in detention centres, harassment and hate crimes. At the same time, several residents of Assam are being tagged as foreigners, despite having documents that should prove their citizenship, and are being held in detention camps across Assam, under utterly inhuman conditions [131]. If those excluded from the NRC eventually lose at the end of the lengthy legal process, they will lose their jobs and other governmental benefits, to start with, and will face detainment and deportation subsequently. Perhaps, we are therefore, witnessing the start of an ethno-religious cleansing in Assam, through a combination of deprivation of livelihood and targeted violence and harassment.

Usually what precedes a group based cleansing, is dehumanization and demonization of the target group through hate discourse. This was visible in this case here as well – refer to our documentation of ethnic hatred against the Hindu Bengalis, particularly those of the East Bengal origin [3].

Next, just as what we see now in Assam, in human history, many ethnic and religious cleansings have been known to have happened through a combination of deliberate and targeted deprivation of livelihood and direct violence. This has for example been documented for Hindus in Bangladesh, where they were forced to leave due to social and economic boycott, and consistently subjected to violence. Nirmal Kumar Bose, who had accompanied Mohandas Gandhi to Noakhali in the wake of the 1946 anti-Hindu pogrom there, has documented this economic boycott there: “In the meanwhile, the economic boycott of Hindus by Muslims with which Gandhiji first became acquainted from some fishermen at Jayag on the 29th of January 1947, began to mount in intensity. It not only affected the landowning Hindus but poor peasants, fishermen and artisans as well. The condition became rather acute by about the middle of February 1947, when scores of people reported to him instances of such boycott from many parts of the district. At Raipur on the6th of February, he said that he had heard of the boycott before. But he uniformly asked people to ignore such events if they were isolated instances. If however they were on an extensive scale, it was the Government’s duty to deal with the situation. If, unfortunately, boycott became also the policy of the Government, it would be a serious matter. He could only think non violently. If the Government, under such circumstances, gave proper compensation, he would probably advise acceptance by the Hindus. He could not think out there and then the pros and the cons. If, on the other hand, they resorted to no compensation, he would advise people to stand their ground and refuse to leave their homesteads even on pain of death. He however hoped that no Government would be mad enough to subscribe to the policy of boycott whether with or without compensation. Those who belonged to the land for ages could not be removed from their homesteads for the simple reason that they found themselves in a minority. It was intolerable.’’ (Chapter 14, [132]). Several human rights studies have identified several devices of mass extermination/genocide. For example Hitler’s was called holocaust right away because the action was direct, it’s only in the last 10-20 years public press and economic historians have called the Bengal famine that killed 4 million through starvation during WW2 as genocide/holocaust by Churchill. Rendering a large group unemployable due to the action of the state would cause intense poverty if not direct starvation. We document this process of ethno-religious cleansing in Assam in this article.

We start with the draft NRC list published on July 30 2019. Using observations by media, activists, data released in Assam assembly and Census, we show that Hindu Bengalis have been disproportionately excluded in this draft list. Most of those excluded had arrived in India before the cut-off date for identifying foreigners, namely 24 March, 1971. They had refugee certificates provided by the government authorities when they arrived, which were not accepted by the NRC coordinator. Many of those excluded had land documents in India predating 1971, which were discounted too. In several cases, some members of a family were included, while the rest were excluded based on the same documents, illustrating how arbitrary the process was. Most of those excluded were poor, nearly illiterate, from rural regions, and had to rely on others to even complete the appeal forms. Several of those excluded, committed suicide from a sense of humiliation and helplessness associated with the foreigner tag, or because they did not have the financial resources or physical stamina to contest the exclusion, or because of the terror of being confined to a detention camp. The individuals excluded in the final NRC draft list went through a resource-consuming appeal process, which had a deadline of December 15, 2018. Though the bulk of the exclusions had limited education, the government conducted no mass-awareness programs, but only passed on instructions to the village heads. Thus, the odds for inclusion were heavily stacked against them to start with (Section A).

After the publication of the final draft list, the Hindu Bengalis were at the receiving end of ethnic violence, vigilante actions, harassment throughout the North East. The acts were either perpetrated by the various state governments therein, or facilitated and condoned through the lack of retributive actions. BJP-RSS was running the state governments throughout this region, either directly or in alliance with local parties. Currently, BJP-RSS government of Assam has formed a high-level committee that is in effect seeking to debar Bengalis from contesting seats in parliament, legislative assembly and local bodies, and from public and private sector jobs in Assam, by providing reservations for Assamese speakers. No Bengali has been appointed to the committee, and the head of the committee as also several other influential members of the committee are known to have taken strong anti-Bengali positions in the past (Section B).

We then study the exclusions from the NRC final list and show that they retain the same religio-linguistic and socio-economic demographic profiles as those in the draft list. But, given the greater amount of media coverage, some additional characteristics of the exclusions become visible in this stage, which clearly existed in the exclusions of the final draft list but were just not commented on in public discourse. First, we note that the exclusions include a gender-based discrimination, and a large number of women who had moved to Assam from other Indian states after marriage have been excluded, as documents from other Indian states were not accepted. The exclusions in this category span all socio-economic classes. Second, we note that a non-negligible fraction of the Hindu Bengali exclusions was middle class to affluent to social and political elite as well. This characteristic is in stark contrast to the socio-economic demographics of those held in the detention camps as the detainees there are invariable dirt poor villagers with limited education [131]. Similar to many other ethnic cleansings, the target populace is gradually increasing in size, and moving from the lowest rung of the target group to higher rungs. In addition, as for the Draft list, most of those excluded were Indian citizens, who suffered such ignominy only because their documentations such as their refugee certificates that establish their domicile prior to the cut-off date of 24 March, 1971, were not accepted. In particular, the exclusion process remained arbitrary in this round too, as it was more a norm rather than an exception to include only some members of many families, thus the impact was suffered by a much larger population share than only those excluded, considering the sufferings of the immediate family members of those excluded.

The harassment of the Hindu Bengalis continues throughout North East after the publication of the final draft list with the connivance of various state governments. In particular, many who have been included in NRC continue to receive “doubtful voter” notices, which is the first step for commitment to detention centers. In effect, Hindu Bengalis are treated as unwanted populace, who the administration would rather have sent elsewhere, either outside Assam or to outside India (Section D).

This targeted persecution of a Hindu ethnicity shows us yet again how defenseless the Hindus are against religio-ethnic atrocities. For example, while the world has turned a deaf ear and a blind eye to the religious persecution faced by the Hindus in Bangladesh and Pakistan, different international bodies, including the US Congress promptly issue strictures on, or convene, to discuss human rights violations in Muslim majority Kashmir, in the same neighborhood. Things get worse when the persecutor is an entity labelled as Hindu Nationalist, the BJP-RSS. Note that the execution of the NRC largely happened when the BJP-RSS has been in power at the center and the state. While the religious persecution faced by Hindus in the hand of Muslims is merely ignored by global bodies and those with media access, that faced by Hindus, or ethnicities thereof, in the hand of BJP-RSS is packaged as persecution of Muslims.

We start with the authors, journalists and columnists who have access to US media. Author Aatish Taseer wrote in Time magazine, “ In the northeastern state of Assam, it [the government of India] was acting to strip 1.9 million people – the great majority Muslim, – of citizenship, rendering them stateless.’’ [140]. It did not matter to him one whit that the majority of those excluded were Hindus. The narrative was all that mattered. Similarly, in the Financial times, Edward Luce, claimed “More ominous still is Modi’s decision to set up a national registry in Assam that will result in up to 2m Muslims being deprived of Indian citizenship. The move is seen as a dress rehearsal for a similar exercise on a national scale. Assam was home to many refugees from Bangladesh when it split from Pakistan in 1971. They, like tens of millions of Indians, lack proof of citizenship. Selectively applied, such a Muslim purge would make the voter suppression efforts in the US look like child’s play’’ [139]. In both cases, the narrative was what mattered – the facts did not. Luce’s article was shared approvingly by Sadanand Dhume, Wall Street Journal contributor:

In the recent US Congress hearings on human rights in South Asia, on October 22, 2019, US Congresswomen Ilhan Omar (who has adopted pro-Islamist stands at various occasions), Pramila Jayapal (of Indian origin) mentioned the exclusions in NRC and detention camps in Assam, India, only to suggest that the Muslims are being targeted through these devices. The chairman of the US Congress hearings, Brad Sherman implied that the majority of those excluded from the NRC are the Muslims [137]. In the session where the witnesses were called the situation in Assam was referred to multiple times by the Amnesty international witness, Francisco Bencosme, with similar implication on the religious demographics of the exclusions [138]. Only Alice Wells, the Assistant Secretary of State, USA, mentioned that both Hindus and Muslims have been excluded from NRC, while the US Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights, and Labour, Robert Destro, emphasised the economic condition of those excluded in the NRC.
The misinformation on NRC and Detention camps liberally shared in the US Congress hearing above was not countered by any of the invited panelists, namely Aarti Tikoo Singh, Nitasha Kaul, Angana Chatterji, even after the event [138]. Times of India journalist Aarti Tikoo Singh operates from India and waxed eloquent during the hearings on the virtues of objective journalism that she practices [134], [135]. But, shortly after the Congressional testimony, in response to a tweet in which Ilhan Omar shared her position on the NRC and detention centers of Assam, she shared a tweet which in effect claimed that the NRC can not be challenged as it is an outcome of Assam accord signed by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and is implemented under Supreme Court supervision. Thus, the “objective journalist” did not set the record straight on the religious demographics of the NRC exclusions and detention camps, but in effect endorsed the falsehood circulated in US Congress, by defending the exclusions on spurious ground. Our documentation of NRC and detention camps completely falsifies her claim of objectivity, as an “objective” journalist would have done this research properly before talking about the situation on the ground or even of contemporary political events in the country she practices journalism in. Right after the Congressional testimony, she exploded in the following tweet:

It is unclear how “Hindu India” could have denied voice to an empowered journalist from a national level newspaper with one of the largest circulations in India, who is also close to India’s social and political elite (eg, she is hosted on chopper rides by a powerful politician from Odisha, Jay Panda [136]). What we can assert is that in her Twitter feed she definitely denied voice to the underprivileged Hindus excluded from NRC and confined to the detention centers, while sharing a response to the misinformation propagated by US Congress woman Ilhan Omar on NRC and detention centers. The other Indian origin panelists, namely Nitasha Kaul and Angana Chatterji, also of Indian origin but living abroad (Angana Chatterji is born of Hindu Bengali parents in an extended family comprising of Muslims and Christians) did not correct this gross factual error either. They are usually quite vocal on any alleged human rights violations of Muslims. Needless to say, neither the Congress representatives nor the external panelists even mentioned the gross human rights violations of non-Muslims in Bangladesh.

In another misinformation campaign, the USCIRF has implicitly claimed that the worst hit in the NRC will be the Muslims [141]. In the first place, the report suffers from glaring factual errors indicating a sloppy research. The report has got the date for publication of the NRC final draft list wrong. It also incorrectly mentions that by December 31, 2019 all the NRC rejects have to file appeals in Foreigner Tribunals. The correction here is that the appeals will have to be filed within 4 months of the date they receive the reasons for rejection; no such letters have been sent out yet. Next, and more important, the report demonstrates religious partisanship and accompanying lack of objectivity. It mentions the Nellie massacre in which the primary victims were Muslims, but omits those massacres that targeted the Hindus [Silapathar, Khoirabari, etc]. Further, the report mentions only in passing that many Bengali Hindus got excluded from the NRC final list. But it does not attempt to get into the demographics of the NRC exclusion process, and it does not ever mention that the majority of the exclusions are in fact the Bengali Hindus. It devotes considerable space to the CAB, since CAB as stated does not provide citizenship to Muslim immigrants, But even there it does not get into the nuances of whether it applies to those who arrived before the cut off dates and the ignominy of the Indian citizens having to declare themselves as refugees to avail of the bill and be eligible to apply for citizenship 6 years later. The report comes across as motivated by the underlying assumption that the sufferings of only Muslims count, and those of all others just does not concern the authors.

The Indian national human rights organizations are only marginally better. A small fraction of them have adopted a bipartisan view to the NRC exclusions, but most others have demonstrated a religious bias similar to the international bodies. For example, Prashant Bhushan, who is active in the human rights scene in India accompanied a team of human rights and peace activists from different parts of the country to Assam under the aegis of Karwan-E-Mohabbat, a peacebuilding initiative [142]. After the visit the team, including Prashant Bhushan, claimed that “the government wants to throw out the Bengali-origin Muslim minority community of Assam and strip them of their citizenship rights through NRC and replace them with Hindus by bringing in the citizenship bill.’’ It did not even matter to them that the bulk of those excluded in the NRC are Hindu Bengalis. Further, Bhushan called the entire NRC a “gross injustice to the state’s Bengali-origin Muslim community” [142], ignoring the fact that the Hojang tribals, the Bengali and Nepali Hindus have been hit even harder by the NRC

Thus, the fact that the majority of NRC exclusions and majority in the detention centres of Assam comprise Hindus of one ethnicity, Hindu Bengalis, has remained off the record in US and Europe. Thus BJP-RSS gets to keep its electorally expedient “Hindu nationalist”, “Hindu party”, “Hindu supremacist” tag, and continues to be ideally situated to persecute Hindus with impunity, and their Hindu victims remain without an iota of global empathy or support. We try to give their unwept misery voice in the rest of the article.

Section A: The NRC Final Draft

The final draft of NRC published on July 30, 2019 excluded about 4 million individuals [13]. Various sources estimated that 2.2-3 million of these exclusions were Hindus, with 2.2-2.8 million of the excluded Hindus being Bengalis. Then Minister of State in the Government of India, Rajen Gohain, who is from Assam, had stated that 3 million of the exclusions were Hindus and NRC had become a device to turn Assam to a Muslim-majority state [38] (BJP-RSS had subsequently denied him ticket to contest the 2019 election though he had been a four time MP from Nawgong [40]. His replacement Rupak Sharma lost the seat to his Congress rival Pradyut Bordoloi [39]). An MLA of the ruling party, BJP-RSS, Shiladitya Deb, estimated that 2.2-2.5 million of the exclusions were Hindus, and Hindu Bengalis were specific targets; he also notes the exclusion of Bihari, Assamese and Marwaris among the Hindus (video statement, [15]). A dissent note in the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) in India, submitted by Javed Khan, Rajyasabha MP, on January 3, 2019, estimated that 3 millions of the exclusions were Hindus, with 2.8 million of them being Bengalis p. 90, [17]. Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee stated that 2.2 million Hindu Bengalis have been excluded through NRC (in a campaign rally for 2019 LS polls) [24]. In Rajya Sabha, on 30-6-2019, TMC MP Derek O Brien, pegged the number of Hindu Bengali exclusions at 2.3 million [29]. Within a month a few more lakhs were additionally excluded. Thus, by all estimates, the majority of the NRC exclusions were Hindus, specifically Hindu Bengalis. This trend would be retained in the final list which has been published on 31 August, 2019.

In the table below, we have shown that the districts where the exclusion is higher are the ones where the Hindu Bengalis are in higher proportion, eg, Hojai and Bongaigaon. This is particularly true for the Brahmaputra valley districts – districts like Dima Hasao, and the Barak valley [Cachar, Karimganj, and Hailakandi] districts don’t fall into this pattern directly. Dima Hasao is a tribal district with a strong Hindu Bengali presence, while the Barak valley districts are overwhelmingly Bengali speaking [Cachar – 75.12%, Karimganj – 86.85%, and Hailakandi – 84.72%]. In particular, the districts which had significant Hindu Bengali numbers in the Brahmaputra valley, with the two exceptions of Kokrajhar, and Chirang have shown higher exclusions]. In fact, of the ten districts where exclusions have been the highest, seven districts [which have been highlighted in yellow] have considerable Hindu Bengali proportions, with only Darrang, West Karbi Anglong and Sonitpur showing lower proportions of Hindu Bengali populations. In contrast, of the ten districts which have the least exclusions, eight districts [highlighted in green] have Hindu Bengalis in very low proportions, less than 4% of the entire population. The two which are exceptions – Kokrajhar and Dima Hasao – are both tribal districts. Exclusions are lower among the Muslim heavy districts like Hailakandi, South Salmara or Dhubri. Only Darrang among the Muslim heavy districts was affected badly

In the table above, we have examined the total number of Hindu Bengalis in the different districts of the state. All these are estimates of the Hindu Bengalis from the census 2011. Of the nine districts in the Brahmaputra valley where the Hindu Bengalis have a population of greater than one lakh, seven districts show a higher exclusion rate than the state average.

Also, the regions in which the Bengalis have been targeted are the regions where there is least resentment of the Bengalis. For example, in Barak valley, Bongaingaon and Hojai regions, there have been few anti-Bengali attacks. Yet, it is these regions where the Bengalis have been targeted. It leaves the ground open to speculation as to why these regions were chosen to target the Bengalis.

The exclusions from the draft NRC satisfied some characteristics, other than the religio-ethnic Hindu Bengali one described earlier. Most of those excluded were poor and nearly illiterate and had to rely on others to even complete the appeal forms [65]. The table above shows that except for Guwahati, most of the exclusions re from poor and rural regions.

The head of a National Register of Citizens seva kendra had noted “I think people here, most of who can barely read and write, have really struggled to fill up the forms.” [65]. But, a non-negligible fraction was middle class to affluent as well. Most had arrived in India before the cut-off date for identifying foreigners, namely 24 March, 1971. They had refugee certificates provided by the government

authorities when they arrived, which were not accepted by the NRC coordinator. Many of those excluded had land documents in India predating 1971, which were discounted too.

In several cases, some members of a family were included, while the rest were excluded. Several of the exclusions committed suicide from a sense of humiliation and helplessness associated with foreigner tag, or because they did not have the financial resources or physical stamina to contest the exclusion, or because of the terror of being confined to a detention camp. All these characteristics would also describe the exclusions from the final list.

Our examples below elucidate the profile we mention.

Most of the residents of Choudhury Para, about 70 kilometres from Guwahati, are refugees from the 1964 riots in then East Pakistan. Under rehabilitation programmes, they were issued certificates by the then government. They were given spaces to stay, under a land exchange programme between India and East Pakistan. An overwhelming majority of them found themselves from the NRC final draft list, though they reproduced land documents from 1967 or before [64]. The exclusions comprise of Lakhshmi Rani Barman, 48, who had defied gender-stereotypes for the last twenty years. The residents of her locality had suffered mass evictions, supervised by the local MLA Dr Kamala Kanta Kalita, during and in the immediate aftermath of the Assam agitations of the 1980s. Barman recalls, “I was barely 16 then and had just given birth to my elder son. One day without any notice, men barged into our houses, threw out our belongings, got elephants to rampage around our locality, break houses and throw us away….The local MLA, Dr Kamala Kanta Kalita, stood unmoved as the eviction went on,” . The memories of the incident still rattles her. Then when she was barely 27, and had two sons, aged 12 and 14, when her husband left her without any notice, for another woman. She earned her living as as an autorickshaw driver, perhaps the only female to do so in Assam, then. She had started a small-scale business, which involved frequent travel to Guwahati from Choudhury Para. She took passengers along, if she was travelling alone. Her sons have settled down today. But, as a bolt from the blue, the NRC list excluded her along with her two sons. Her neighbor, Digen Das, is in the same predicament. He is excluded, along with his wife and two sons. He rues: “We have given our voter’s ID card, ration card, land lease agreements and what not. What else do we give now?”. Shakti Burma, another resident of the locality says, “We really work hard and earn a living by making small bamboo seats. It is a huge struggle to spend so much money running around. We have given as much documents as anyone else. Where have they kept our documents? If others are registered, why not us?” [64].
At least 30% of Kathajhar’s residents in Assam’s Baksa district have been excluded. Nepal Chandra Das, the headman of this village, mentions that most of the people in the village were illiterate. Sujit Ghosh, a vegetable farmer, and his family are some of those excluded. They had been excluded since Ghosh’s mother has been declared a doubtful voter by the Election Commission, though Ghosh and his siblings (two brothers and two sisters) had drawn their legacy to their deceased father whose name features in the pre-1971 electoral rolls and was never marked as a doubtful voter. Accordingly, he should have been included per the existing Indian and Assamese laws. Besides, Ghosh and his siblings were never summoned for a face-to-face family tree hearing between officials and members of a family applying for inclusion in the register, which are meant to fill in the gaps in documents [65].
Reuters gave the name of Samir Das, a Bengali-speaking Hindu businessman in Assam’s eastern town of Hojai, his entire family was excluded from the list. Das asserted that they were genuine Indian citizens [13].
Bhaben Das, 48-49, a daily wage Dalit Hindu Bengali labourer of Bholabari, Bagicha village in Udalgiri district of Assam had presented the 1971 voter list in which his father Brajendra Das’ name appeared as his legacy. His brother and 8 year old son Bibhas made it to the draft NRC, but he and his mother Birasmani were excluded. Bhaben was subsequently served notice and he accrued a huge debt running from one hearing to another with his documents. On 3 March, 2019, he received a second notice, and his 65 year old significantly anemic mother Birasmani was asked to appear in the Udalguri Foreigners Tribunal. The mental pressure was just too much for him. He hung himself from a tree. His family attributes his suicide to his inability to repay the loans he had taken to pay for legal fees. He followed in the footsteps of his father, Brajendra Das, who had committed suicide in 1989, by climbing an electric pole and touching some hanging wires, after a tribunal ordered him to prove he was not a foreigner. Months after Brajendra’s suicide, the tribunal declared him Indian. He is survived by his wife Sabitri and eight year old son, Bibhas, who suffers from a developmental disorder. His mother now struggles to complete a sentence without breaking down [115] [125] [121] [122].
74 year old retired school teacher-turned-lawyer, Nirodbaran Das, of Mangaldoi, Assam, about 100 km from capital Guwahati, had studied law after serving as a teacher at a government school for 30-34 years. He had graduated from the local high school in 1968. Thus, his school leaving certificate shows that he was not a foreigner. He was the only member of his family of his wife, three daughters, their husbands, their chidren, who was excluded from the draft NRC . He hanged himself after he had returned from his morning walk. His friends and relatives said they found three documents by his bedside – the NRC notification declaring him a foreigner, a handwritten suicide note and a letter for his wife. In his suicide note, he stated that he sought to “escape the humiliation of being marked as a foreigner after the NRC process“. He blamed no one and in his letter for his wife he asked his family to return money to five people whom he owed Rs. 1,200 each. His family members and locals refused to surrender his body to the police for autopsy, demanding action against the NRC centre for marking him a ‘foreigner’. They relented only after the district deputy commissioner and superintendent of police went to the Das household and promised to hold a probe to find out how he was marked as a ‘foreigner’. A students’ group called for a day-long shutdown in Assam’s Kharupetia town to protest against the exclusion of his name from the draft NRC.Schools, colleges, markets, shops, banks and private offices closed to observe the strike [83] [115].
Sandhya Chakraborty, 57, of Mangaldai town, had not made it to the draft NRC. Fearing that she would land in a detention center, she burnt herself to death [122].

We came across the following names who were Hindus, but not Bengalis. Amar Upadhaya had contested the Assam Assembly election, but his daughter-in-law and two grandsons were excluded. Manju Devi, the great-granddaughter of freedom fighter Chhabilal Upadhyay, Sahitya Akademi winner Durga Khatiwada, whose father Abinarayan Khatiwada’s name figured in the 1951 NRC, were all excluded [63]. Media reports also included the names of several Muslims, the number was substantially less than the Hindu names, but greater than the names of non-Bengali Hindus.

The individuals excluded in the final NRC draft list went through a resource-consuming appeal process, which had a deadline of December 15, 2018 [65]. Though the bulk of the exclusions had limited education, the government conducted no mass-awareness programs, but only passed on instructions to the village heads [65].

Section B: Targeted harassment and persecution of Hindu Bengalis in Assam between the publication of the NRC final draft and final list

Hindu Bengalis continued to be targeted between the publication of the final NRC draft and the final NRC list by Assam Government, Government of India, Assamese chauvinist forces which have been colluding with Islamists. We document the phenomenon below.

The BJP-RSS Government at the center have formed a high level committee, headed by Justice B K Sharma of Gauhati High Court for execution of Clause 6 of Assam accord. Clause 6 of the Assam Accord states, “Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards, as may be appropriate, shall be provided to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people” [130]. Towards the fulfillment of the Clause 6, this committee is considering according reservation of seats in parliament, legislative assembly and local bodies, reservation of employment in central and state government, semi-central government, central public sector undertakings (PSUs) and private sector to indigenous tribal, indigenous Assamese and other indigenous people of Assam, and also protection of land rights for them. It is also considering measures to protect Assamese and other indigenous languages, in Assam [14] [54] [130]. Note that protection of land rights was not included in Clause 6, but the committee has still sought suggestions on the same as it feels administrative, legislative and constitutional safeguards for indigenous people can not be ensured without protecting their land rights [130]. The composition of this committee is heavily biased against Bangla speakers. The head of the Committee, Justice BK Sarma, had passed a judgement in 2004 in Gauhati High Court allowing those accused of being foreigners to be imprisoned in detention camps till their cases were disposed of [129]. The detention centres were created based on this judgement and they are operating from the district jails of the above mentioned districts. Currently, once the Foreigners Tribunals pronounce a D-voter a foreigner, he is immediately sent to a detention camp. They remain there while higher courts examine their cases, should these cases are approached on their behalf. About 70% of the inmates of the detention centres are Hindu Bengalis and the conditions there are inhuman [131]. AASU general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi, is another member of the committee [130]. In the next paragraph we show that AASU bears deep ethnic bias against Bengalis in general and Hindu Bengalis in particular, and Lurinjyoti Gogoi has himself described such positions. The committee has no representation from the Bengali speakers though there are 80 lakh Bengali speakers therein. Note that Bengalis have resided in Sylhet, Kamrup, Goalpara long before Assam got her name. Historically Rangpur, Goalpara, Khasi, Garo, Dima Hasao, Kachar, Sylhet have been part of the Bengal province. On that basis the Bengalis of Assam and the North East have claims to be recognized as the sons of the soil [54]. Purba Srihatta Conference states that the Hindu Bengalis are the oldest inhabitants of the North East, including Assam. They have presented many evidences to the Assam accord article 6 committee [109] [106]. The representatives of Bengali unity mancha, eg, Shantanu Mukhopadhyay, and the organizations from Barak demand that Bengalis can not be excluded from land rights in Assam [54]. Bengali legislators from Barak valley, who are mostly from BJP-RSS, are silent. Bengalis were also not represented in discussions leading to the Assam accord by the Congress [14]. Congress spokesperson Abhijit Chowdhury says that under clause 6 of Assam accord, which the BJP-RSS is pushing, Hindu Bengalis would lose the right to contest elections and own property in Assam. NRC is just a precursor [96]. Former Congress Minister of Assam Rakibul Hussain said that in Assamese areas, BJP-RSS leaders are saying that they would pass the Citizenship Amendment Bill, but through clause 6 of Assam accord, they would stop the Hindu Bengalis from entering government jobs, owning lands, having licenses. They would be deprived from all fundamental rights. The Hindu Bengalis will only be able to vote in Assam [47].

Next, Supreme Court had allowed a provision by which any one could file an objection against any inclusion after the first draft list was published. All Assam Student Union (AASU) had been spear-heading the objection process. AASU had for example appealed to the Supreme Court to allow people to file objections in the district headquarters, arguing that filing objections in the local NRC Seva Kendras involved risk to those who wanted to file objections. The Supreme Court had accepted AASU’s appeal. Around three lakh objections were filed in the last few hours of 31 December, 2018, before the deadline for filing objections ended at midnight.Until the day before only 600 objections had been filed. AASU general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi said, “Around three lakh objections were filed on Monday evening. Approximating five persons per form, the total number of affected people will be around 15 lakh. The objections were filed by the people, helped by AASU and the other organisations.” The highest number of objections, over 70,000, was filed in Barpeta district, in which 2.7 lakh of 19 lakh applicants were excluded from the final draft list. Barpeta additional deputy commissioner Pulak Patgiri said only 35 objections had been filed till December 30 but it swelled to over 70,000 by the end of December 31 [67]. Overall, 5 lakh objections were filed in the Brahmaputra valley [4]. For several years, AASU had been specifically objecting to the inclusion of the Hindu Bengalis in the NRC. Shiladitya Dev has for example alleged that AASU has been on the payroll of Bangladeshi Muslims [68]. Incidentally, ULFA, a terrorist organization which has variously been considered as a B-team of the AASU, or an ideological kin p. 193, [70], is known to have close links with Islamist factions of Bangladesh. For example, the leader of ULFA, Paresh Baruah has embraced Islam and obtained a safe haven in Bangladesh. He is now Kamruj Zaman Khan, and his wife, born as Bobby Dutta is now known as Sofian Zaman. His family now lives in Bangladesh under the patronage of influential Islamic radicals. He has established a financial empire in Bangladesh in collaboration with local Muslim businessmen. Although in the 1980s ULFA started its movement mainly to drive out the millions of illegal Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Baruah has publicly defended illegal Muslim Bangladeshi infiltrators living in Assam. Many of the Hindu leaders of ULFA have Muslim mistresses provided by the Bangladeshi intelligence. The ULFA separatist movement has now become the “Hindu mercenaries of the Jihadis’’ in the words of former RAW (India’s external intelligence agency) chief, [71], [72], [73] [74]. Thus, most of the objections mobilized by AASU would target that community [67].

During this period, Hindu Bengalis have been targeted ethnically throughout North East India and other BJP-RSS ruled states, and have been subjected to mass violence, harassment, intimidation and hate-crimes. Many of these states were under the BJP-RSS rule during this period. On 3 January, 2019, MP Javed Khan had noted in his dissent report that “Hindu Bengalis are being targeted as outsiders by vigilante groups in NDA-ruled states, Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur and Meghalaya’’ p. 90, [17]. On Sebtember 26, 2018, an Economic Times Report noted that “Soon after publication of NRC in Assam student bodies have set up check points in different areas of the [Meghalaya] state to check the documents’ of people coming from other states.’’ [18], pointing to the harassment by the vigilante groups that Khan had noted. Bengalis were harassed, returned from Manipur border and physically assaulted [22].

When the Citizenship Amendment Bill was proposed, 27 Bengali organizations proposed to hold a mass gathering on 17 November, 2018, in Khanapara playground in the city in Guwahati in support of the Bill. Even a mass gathering was opposed by most of the (Asamese) organisations of the Brahmaputra Valley. They planned to shift their venue from Guwahati to some other place in Hojai district, in which Shiladitya Dev, who was leading the 27 organizations from the front, was the MLA [77]. Assamese terrorist organization ULFA threatened to massacre Hindu Bengalis unless the bill was withdrawn. To intimidate the Hindu Bengalis supporting the bill, Ulfa leader Mrinal Hazarika said that if necessary they would go back to the days of 1982 and 1983 in order to force the Centre to withdraw the bill. The Assam Movement which took an anti-Hindu Bengali turn was at its peak during the early 1980s [76]. He said, “The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill must be stopped from being passed (in the Parliament) at any cost. If this does not happen we must go back to the days of 1983. If needed, they must face massacre like incidents and thrown out from the State” [77]. Assam BJP MLA of Hojai, Shiladitya Dev said, “ I urge the Centre and the state government to take appropriate action against them for threatening the common man or I will submit my resignation. A few other MLAs contacted me and said they would also resign if the state government does not act against these Ulfa leaders…They are speaking of going back to 1983 when the Nellie massacre took place. Are they threatening another massacre?… I am a representative of the people. I have every right to speak for my people. I condemn these Ulfa leaders for trying to create a conflict between the Assamese and Bengali people’’ [76]. ULFA leader Jitten Dutta announced that he would not let any Hindu Bengali organization hold any meeting or rally regardless of the objective of the rally [79]. ULFA had also personally threatened Dev for his stated pro-Hindu Bengali stand, saying: “He is in power and surrounded by security personnel but he will not be in power forever. Then people will judge him’’ [76], and “Shiladitya Dev is doing wrong. But he must face consequence for his mistakes. He is now moving with security as he is presently in power. His days will not remain the same and must come down to the land one day.” [77]. Finally, the Assam government denied permission for the proposed rally in support of the Citizenship Amendment Bill [78].

ULFA injured at least four persons, in a low intensity bomb blast on October 13, 2018, to intimidate organizations which are trying to give citizenship to Hindu Bengalis [75]. Minutes after the incident was reported on local TV channels, ULFA leader Paresh Baruah called up media houses to claim responsibility. ” Our objective is to resist all those groups who are trying to give shelter to Hindu Bengali immigrants from Bangladesh by Citizenship Bill and the NRC” [75]. On November 1, 2018, 5 Hindu Bengalis, Abhinash Biswas, his brother Ananta Biswas, uncle Shyamlal Biswas, and Dhananjay Namashudra, Subel Das, were summoned from their homes in a village in Assam in which majority were Hindu bengali scheduled castes. They were subsequently executed because of their religio-ethnic identities. Urmila Biswas, the wife of Abhinash, said a short, stout man in army fatigues and carrying an assault rifle, walked into the courtyard of their house, while three others waited outside the gate. The assassins did not speak much and asked the victims to accompany them to the bridge. Shadeb, who survived the gunshots, recounted that the gunmen did not talk much. “They just made them sit down and fired at them.” Arjun Biswas had four gunshot wounds, including one on his head [58]. The killers are yet to be apprehended. Two persons were killed and two others seriously injured in a grenade blast by ULFA at Demow town in Sivasagar district of Assam on November 22, 2018. The explosion occurred around 5:05 pm inside a hardware store [80].

On 28 October, 2018, singer Shaan was attacked for singing Bengali song in Guwahati. Stones were hurled at him while he was in stage. He had to leave the stage [113]. In January, 2019, 2 Hindu Bengali adolescents from Barak were targeted on an ethnic basis and humiliated while attending a school cricket trial camp in Guwahati. Abhishek Deb, Aryan Barbhuyan, Bibek Yadav and Abhishek Kumar had gone from Barak to attend the India camp school sports promotion foundation under-16 state camp in Guahati organized by SSPF. The first two are Hindu Bengalis, while the other two are Hindus of other ethnicities. They reported on 22 January. On 24 January night some Assamese speaking cricketers arrived in their room, and tried to cut Abhishek Deb’s hair, and applied a white paint on his body. The victims were assaulted too. On the winter night the assailants opened the windows in their room, and kept it open all night. They threatened the victims to leave the next morning. Their only charge was how could the victims dare to attend the camp in Guwahati being Bengalis from Barak. The victims could not sleep all night and were cold due to the winter air. In this condition, they went to the camp grounds next morning. But they were not allowed to join the trial and sent back to Silchar on a variety of pretexts. The organizers showed no courtesy nor attached any import to the violence upon them the previous night. Abhishek Kumar and Bibek Yadav were spared somewhat as they were not Bengalis. But, Abhishek Deb and Aryan were specifically targeted. Shaken, Bibek Yadav has stepped down even after being selected for the state school team [112].

Section C: The NRC Final List

The NRC final list has been published on August 31, 2019. It excludes 19 lakh individuals. We describe through observations of various components of the polity and media in Assam in particular and India in general the ethno-religious demographics of the exclusions from the NRC final list. Positioning these observations in context of the ethno-religious demographics of Assam, overall, we show that the Hindu Bengalis of assam have been targeted for exclusion from the NRC final list (Section C.1). Collating various media reports, we obtain the economic profile of those excluded among the Hindu Bengalis in particular, and Hindus in general. Our documentation reveals that most of the exclusions are poor, village dwellers with limited education, though a considerable segment is from the educated middle class and the affluent sections, including the social and political elite. Women, particularly those who have moved to assam after marriage, have been singled out for exclusion among all classes (Section C.2). We next show that it has been a norm to exclude some members of a family from the NRC and include others based on the same documents, thus the number of affected individuals far exceeds the number of excluded individuals, considering the impact on the immediate family members of those excluded (Section C.3). Most of the exclusions had arrived in India before the foreigner cut-off date of 24 March, 1971, noted in the Assam accord – thus most of the exclusions have no legal basis. The exclusions have been executed arbitrarily, because some documents that establish domiciles in India have not been accepted as legitimate evidence (Section C.4).

Section C.1: The Ethno-Religious Demographics of the Exclusions and the targeted exclusion of Hindu Bengalis

The ethno-religious demographics of the exclusions from the NRC final list provided by various sources, broadly agree, and resemble the demographics of exclusions from the final draft list. Leader of the Congress delegation in Lok Sabha, Adhir Chowdhury, says 14 lakhs Hindus have been excluded [114]. On 20 November, 2019, TMC RS MP Sukhendusekhar Roy asked Union home minister Amit Shah about citizenship of 11 lakh Hindu Bengalis excluded through NRC, Shah responded that there is no such provision in NRC [143]. No one in the Parliament has disputed his figure. Pro-BJP-RSS Swarajya Magazine states that 11 lakh Hindu Bengalis, 1 lakh tribals, 1 lakh Gurkhas, 6 lakh Muslims have been excluded [42]. Sources with widely divergent political ideology broadly concur on the large number of Hindu Bengali exclusions. A pro-Muslim news-site like Al Jazeera has said that “a majority of them [the NRC exclusions] are Bengali Hindus who came from Bangladesh’’ [37]. A mainstream English newspaper of assam, which often takes a strong Assamese-chauvilist point of view says “Of the 19 lakh plus left outs, majority are Hindu Bengalis’’ [90]. On October 1, 2019, RSS mouthpiece, Organizer has noted, “ Ever since the final National Register of Citizens (NRC) list for Assam was published by the Assam NRC Coordinator (ANC) on 31st August 2019, there have been a sense of dissatisfaction across most sections particularly the Bengali Hindus. The complete NRC list had 3,11,21,004 persons eligible for inclusion while 19,06,657 were ineligible including those who did not submit their claims. …A large number of names left out among the 19 lakhs, are believed to be those of Bengali Hindus and a significant number of them reside in the three districts ofBarak valley of Assam.’’ [116]. Assam Pradesh Congress Committee General Secretary Apurba Bhattacharya says majority of NRC exclusions are Hindu Bengalis [11]. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former Congress Minister of Assam Rakibul Hussain and Congress MLA of Assam, Kamalakshya De Purakayastha have all said that 12 lakhs of the NRC exclusions are Hindu Bengalis [49] [47] [48]. Bengali activist groups are pegging the number of exclusion of Hindu Bengalis at above 12 lakhs [19]. One such group, “Amra Bangali’’ estimates that 15 lakh Bengalis have been excluded and 25 lakh Bengalis have been affected considering the family members [9]. Just prior to the publication of the final NRC list, Ajit Bhuyan, a Guwahati-based journalist and political commentator, said, “A section of the national and international press has been running a one-sided campaign that those who would be left stateless by the NRC would only be Muslims. But those with ground knowledge are aware that a large number of Hindus are also likely to be left out of the final NRC. There is a strong likelihood that most of them will be Bengali Hindus, who have been voting for the ruling party.” [66]. Shantanu Mukherjee of the All Assam Bengali Hindu Association (AABHA) made the same observation at the same time “Though the national media has been covering stories only about Muslims affected by the NRC update process, we are equally affected. Even our people with pacemakers have been kept in detention centres. We are sure that lakhs of people who voted for the BJP will be excluded on August 31; one of the most affected communities will be Bengali Hindus, aside from some Assamese and tribals.” [66].

We next comment on the demographics of the exclusions of the 1-2 lakh Hindus of ethnicities other than Bengalis. WB Chief Minister Mamata Banarjee has mentioned that 1 lakh Gurkhas has been excluded [43]. Raju Bista, BJP MP from Darjeeling admits that 75000-80000 Gurkhas have been excluded from NRC [26]. A human rights body “Rights and Risks Analysis Group” said that over one lakh tribals, have been excluded from the final NRC list, and “A preliminary survey states that about 25,000 Bodos, 12,000 Reangs, 8,000 Hajongs and thousands of persons belonging to other tribes have been excluded from the NRC,” [44]. About 25 per cent of about 36,000 Reangs in Hailakandi district were left out [44]. In Dhuburi, Bilaspara, Goalpara, Kokrajhar of lower Assam, many Koch-Rajbanshis have been excluded [51]. In general, people from Bengali, Dimasa, Garo, Hajong, Coch, Rajbangshi, Balu communities living in various areas of Hojai have been excluded [87]. A strike has for example been called on 21 September, 2019 by the student organization of Koch and Rajbanshis to protest the exclusion of many of them from NRC [55]. Kamal Chowdhury of all Assam Bengali youth federation also says that many Bodos, Cachari, Koch Rajbangshi have been excluded [114]. All Assam Bhojpuri Jubo Chatra Parishad and All Assam Bhojpuri Conference says that 15000 Bhojpuri speakers, who had arrived in Assam from 1950 from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, have been excluded in NRC [7] [8]. It is possible that some Asomiya have also been excluded, but we have not been able to find any concrete statistical and numerical estimation of their exclusion, outside a few individual names.

Collating the above sources, we summarize the demographics of the exclusions in the table below, which shows that the proportion of Hindu Bengali exclusions substantially exceeds the proportion of exclusions in any other community:

A large number of Muslims of Assam had declared their language as Assamese, though they were speakers of Bangla and had opposed the Bengali language movement [99]. But, still there are approximately 56 lakh Bengali speaking Muslims and assuming that all the Muslims excluded are Bengalis, we get a total of ~10% exclusion among the Bengali speaking Muslims. In contrast, the proportion of Bengali Hindus excluded is roughly three times greater, and even the Nepalis excluded are roughly 1.5 times greater than the number of possible Bengali Muslims excluded. Further, it is interesting to observe that it is the Hajongs who have been excluded in higher proportion than any other community, apart from the Bengalis. The Hajongs are also considered practically Bengalis and indeed, their language is listed as a dialect of Bangla. It is also of some interest to observe that all the Christianised Tea Tribes have made it into the NRC.

The number of Hindu Bengalis excluded constitutes about 1/3rd of the total population of Hindu Bengalis in Assam. To put things in perspective, this number is 20-30% of Hitler’s or Churchill’s holocaust. The action of the state has not jeopardized, at once, this large a Hindu populace anywhere in the last 2 decades, be it Pakistan, be it Bangladesh. There is therefore a targeted ethnic exclusion among the Hindus, with the intersection of the nationwide and statewide linguistic minorities being the principal target. For example, press reports tell us that 75% of the exclusions in Muslim majority Karimganj district are Hindus, the Hindus here are primarily Hindu Bengalis [46]. Maximum number of Hindu Bengalis have been left out from Hojai, the exclusions constitute 25% of all hindu Bengalis there [87] [124]. Many Bengali families of Kokrajhar, Gosaigaon and Srirampur find themselves excluded [23]. 4000 out of 9000 of Derpara of Lamding, 800 from 300 families of Paprichapri of Marigaon have been excluded. Many Koch-Rajbongshi and Hindu Bengalis of Jaklipara have been excluded. In Jatiabhangra village of kamalpur assembly constituency of Kamrup 150 of 50 families have been excluded. In tamulpur Mahakuma of Kalipur, Khairabaji, Mechguri, pukuripar villages 1000 have been eliminated [124]. The Hindu Bengalis are talking of commiting suicide out of humiliation. Some are saying why are we being persecuted through exclusion from NRC, why not kill us directly? [124] In a protest meet held on Jantar Mantar on 5^th September, 2019, Shantanu Mukharjee, general secretary of Sadau Asom Bangali Oikyo Mancha, said “We have been targeted only because we are Bengalis. Why else do you think even Bengali pensioners with pension documents dated back to the early sixties have been left out of the NRC” [19] (the cutoff year for inclusion in NRC is 1971). As an example, Pub Malaybari, is a Hindu Bengali dominated village, 100 km from Guwahati. 2000 of the 3000 Hindu residents of this village find themselves excluded from the NRC. Shreechanda Rani Dutta, a disappointed villager says, “The nearby village has Muslims and all names have been included. This is strange. I have used the same legacy as that of those in other villages. Their names are listed but our names have been deleted” [59]. Another Bengali Hindu, Sanjay Chakrabarty said, “We are a Bengali Hindu dominated village and it is strange that our names have been cut off the NRC. But the nearby village is a Muslim village and 99 per cent people have got their names in the list. How is that possible? Nothing explains this treatment. The same legacy data has been used by other village people.” [59] The India Today Report on 2 September, 2019, states, “Residents of Pub Malaybari village of Kamrup district, located over 100 km from Guwahati, in Assam are in shock. They have turned to gods. Prayer bells in are ringing in the naamghar or the prayer centre of Pub Malaybari village like before but the villagers now look for hope in that sound. Most of the villagers have been left out of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). They are Bengali Hindus. They gathered at the temple to share one another’s grief. This pain is felt even by those who have made it to the NRC list.’’ [59]. Video statements of other Hindu Bengalis alleging racial discrimination in NRC formulation may be found in [32]. Danik Jugasankha, a Bengali newspaper of Assam, wrote on 2 September, 2019, “Despite the submission of adequate legal documents, deliberately, the names of Hindu Bengali, men and women, youth, children and adolescents have not been included in the NRC.’’ [87]. Bengali Federation has said that NRC is the death manifesto of Hindu Bengalis [124].

NRC coordinator Hajela has refused to accept two out of five documents, refugee cards and citizenship certificates. Both of which only Hindu Bengalis and a section of tribals who fled to India from east Pakistan (eg, Chakmas, Hajongs) have [5]. BJP leader and influential finance minister from Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, has claimed “Names of many Indian citizens who migrated from Bangladesh as refugees prior to 1971 have not been included in the NRC because authorities refused to accept refugee certificates. Many names got included because of manipulation of legacy data as alleged by many,” [43] [36]. This further establishes the selective targeting of the Hindu Bengalis. We discuss this further in Section C.4. Shiladitya Deb, MLA of the ruling party, BJP, had also mentioned after the publication of the first NRC draft that Hindu Bengalis were specific targets for exclusion (video statement, [15]). He has also noted that the NRC coordinator Pratik Hajela had deliberately chosen the NRC officers among the segments that show ethno-religious hatred against the Hindu Bengalis, namely the Muslims of Bangladeshi origin, and Assamese chauvinists (racists) [86]. A Government employee, Asit Chakraborti, had publicly stated (in a North East Linguistic and Ethnic Coordination Committee NELECC protest meet) that instructions were provided to them in NRC not to accept any document from Tripura [4]. Those who would obtain documents from Tripura would primarily be Hindu Bengalis. Assam BJP President Ranajit Das has said that many Hindu Bengalis “with surnames of Biswas, Sarkar and Saha” were “intentionally excluded” [45]. The All Assam Bengali Student and Youth Federation also claims that since 1997-98, many are being classified as D-voter just based on their last names [47]. To subvert organizations of protests, Hindu Bengali activists have also been specifically targeted for exclusion, eg, Kamal Choudhury, president of All Assam Bengali students’ federation has been excluded. He says, “My name has been dropped just because I have been fighting against harassment of the Hindu Bengalis having genuine documents’’ [57]. Incidentally, earlier, Hajela had examined his documents himself, and assured him that those were adequate [97].

Finally, many of the residents of Assam did not have documents to prove their domicile prior to 1971. This is particularly true for the refugees who arrived from East Bengal and Bangladesh. A BJP leader in Assam says that the refugees who arrived to India from East Pakistan had always thought that they came to their own place. So they accorded lower priority to getting their documents in order, given the existence struggle that confronted them in their new domicile [96]. For example, Manoranjan Nandi had received bronze paper as a freedom fighter. In 1949 he moved to Shillong from Srihatta in East Pakistan along with his parents and sister Aparna. Aparna, now Chowdhury, has been excluded from NRC. Their home had collapsed in the 60s. They lost all the legacy documents of Aparna. Aparna had applied with her Pan card and Adhar card. They are terrified at the prospect of running to courts and ending up at the detention centers [97]. Lastly, many Hindu Bengalis had lost their documents due to ethnic violence against them in the past – namely the ULFA terrorists had repeatedly burnt down their villages [32]. Thus, the process has been loaded against the Hindu Bengalis from the start.

Section C.2: The Typical Profile of a Hindu excluded from NRC

Like in the NRC final draft, most of the exclusions are poor, daily wage labourers, though a non-negligible segment comprises of the middle and more affluent classes, including professionals, political and social elites.

We first provide examples of exclusions from the poor:

An India Today Report on 2 September, 2019, reports the situation in a predominantly Hindu Bengali village, Pub Malaybari, 100 km off Guwahati, in which 2000 of the 3000 residents have been excluded: “ Most of the villagers are daily wagers and have to travel to Sonapur or Guwahati to earn. Bipul Kar, 30, is angry and shows helplessness as he shares his pain with India Today. He said, “… I am a daily wager and earn by working every day.” “I earn Rs 300 to Rs 400 per day. So, should I now go to work to earn my livelihood or ferry courts to prove my identity as an Indian? I have a family to look after. Should I spend my income on lawyers seeking justice,” Bipul asked. The problem for people like Bipul or Mamata is not just funds but also the time-consuming process in foreign tribunals. The process to prove one’s credentials before tribunals are time taking and energy-sapping. These daily wagers would lose earning for the day they go to the tribunals. And, there is no surety that they would win the case.’’ [59]. Chanchal Bose, a resident of the village, said, “We are very much tensed that even after so much of running around, we are left with no option. We are daily wagers and subsisting on hand-to-mouth condition. Should I now run after courts and NRC officials instead of going to work? We are down and planning to commit suicide if this does not end soon.” [59].
Shyamapada Chakravarty’s entire family has been excluded. His wife Ratna Chakravarty is seen weeping on camera that they have no resources to fight a legal battle. They are very scared about the future of their offsprings. Dino Krishna Das, a small-scale trader, who has also been excluded, is worried sick. [85].
In Gahapur, Chajan development bloc, Brahmajan area, 80% of the residents have been excluded. They have protested through Kirtans [5].
Anandabazar Patrika hawker Ranjit Pal and his entire family in Barak valley have been excluded [96].
70 year old Widow Sabita Biswas lives in Bhuragaon 103 Km East of Guahati. She used to work as a domestic help in Buragaon. She has lost two sons, and now lives with her daughter-in-law and grandchildren. Currently, her daughter-in-law is the sole breadwinner in the family, and works as a domestic help across the river. She used to live in the Arakati Char (a riverine island on the Brahmaputra), but migrated to Bhuragaon when her village went under the water. She says, “We have lost our land in erosion. Earlier we were on the Arakati Char (a riverine island on the Brahmaputra). When our village went under water we migrated to this place, Bhuragaon. Every year flood takes away everything from us, including documents.” The family submitted land ownership documents under Sabita’s husband and father-in-law’s names, but these have been rejected by the NRC process, because the land is no longer there, swept away by the mighty Brahmaputra River. She now worries about the fate of her grandchildren, and is running pillar to post to find some help for them. In 2017, the Assam government had decided to stop taxing land that has been lost due to erosion. Sabitri Biswas says that the officials told her that ownership records of land that has been lost due to erosion do not prove anything. Assam’s minister in charge of disaster management says that at an average rate of 8,000 hectares every year a total of 427,000 hectares of land have been washed away in Assam since 1950. From 2010 to 2015, 880 villages were completely lost, 67 villages were partially lost, and 36,981 families lost their homes. Erosion has consumed nearly 40 villages in the Bhuragaon circle itself.Aman Wadud, a lawyer helping people fight their cases in theForeigner’s Tribunals says, “ If a family has shifted internally within Assam after losing land, we have seen that the foreigners’ tribunals have declared them foreigners since the tribunals did not trust documents of different villages. The tribunals in several judgements felt that the people are different despite having the same name, since some of their documents would be from one area and some other documents would be from other area. There is no justice for those climate victims’’ [133].
Brothers Surendra and Dhiru Mondal were soldiers in the Indian National Army led by Subhas Chandra Bose. Surendra was well-built and very courageous. In 1946 Surendra returned from INA to his native village in Maimansingh of undivided Bengal. After partition he moved to India fleeing the religious persecution in East Pakistan, and with other Namashudras lived in the Durung village near Guahati where as an INA veteran he was very well-respected. He used to talk of Subhas Chandra Bose and Rangoon to the villagers, local school teacher Kamakhya Sarkar still remembers those stories. He used to have INA documents which Kamakhya Sarkar remembers seeing. All through Surendra retained a stick he used in the INA, which his descendants still have. Surendra has died twenty years back. His daughters Shovona Mondal, Shamala Bhowmick, Radharani Sutradhar get by working as maids. They were earlier labeled as D-voters, a tag they could remove. But they have all been excluded from the NRC final list, since there is D-voter label next to their names in the voter list. The officers had asked them to get that label removed from the voter list, they do not know how to accomplish that. They have a subpoena from a magistrate in Kamrup issued in 1955 which had summoned Surendra in a case related to INA. The document was deemed weak by the NRC officers. They just know that they were born in Durung, they will die there and are ready to accept whatever fate has in store for them. Shovona whispers that they would not get into this predicament had their father been alive. Mankishor, a son of Radharani and a daily wage laborer has suffered the same fate. But, Radharani’s married daughters have made it by virtue of their father’s legacy. Samala’s husband and sons have been included too [145].
Nibaran and Abinash, the sons of another INA veteran, Ramanimohan Biswas, live in the same village, Durung. Abinash is a daily wage laborer. In 1946 Ramanimohan had returned to his native Banamalipur village of Mymensingh. After partition he fled to Assam in 1947 and settled in Durung. He married there and his sons were born there. During the regime of Prafulla Mohanta, Nibaran and Abinash and their wives were deemed D-voters, a label they have been able to remove. Now they have been included in the NRC final list. A few Assamese families arrived later to their village. They never receive D-voter notices. They never need to run around for documentations. They just say that they are Assamese, why would they need papers? Abinash laments that only the Bengalis have the burden of proving their nationality and asks what kind of justice that was [145].
Harekrishna Das is originally from Murshidabad and lives in the Kamakhya colony of Lumding. His late father was a daily wage labourer. From 8 July 1955 to 31 January 1957, Harekrishna had studied in Bairgachi junior primary school of Berhampore police station in Murshidabad. On 7 May, 1980, he has got a certificate from the school to that effect. The former Deputy Mayor of Lumding Municipality Tapas Das attests that he knows Harekrishna personally since 1965. Suspected foreigner, he is being tried in a Foreigner Tribunal. Both he and his son Sujay have been excluded from NRC final list [146].

All the above examples are those of the Hindu Bengalis. But the same profile describes the tribal exclusions too.

Assam Government has started constructing a detention camp on 18 December, 2018 in Dalgoma, Matia, Kapikhet [35]. Several laborers who are working in the construction of the detention camps have not made it to the NRC as they do not have any documents; ironically, they may be held at the same detention center they helped build. Shefali Hajong and Sarojini Hajong are two such workers; they belong to the Hajong tribe of Assam [34]. Sarojini Hajong touches with a lot of affection the detention center wall she is helping to build in the Matia, Dalgoma village of Goalpara. Other times she kicks it with frustration. She lives in No. 2 refugee village. She feeds 5 members in her household using the Rs. 250 daily wage she receives as a construction worker. Her husband, Gouranga, has mental illness [30]. “Of course we are scared about what will happen,’’ Sarojini said, “But what can we do? I need the money’’ [34]. Drenched in rain, she puts down the load she is carrying. She asks if they are to send us to jail, breaking our families, why did they give us shelter ? “I don’t object to living in jail, but what would happen to my children ? I repeatedly attended the hearings. They said, no worries. But still they excluded our names. I can not go to Goalpara foreigners tribunal, get hold of advocate, sue. I have to work, I am alone.” [30]. Shefali said “she was tense because of the situation. But I need to fill my stomach…’’. “She said she didn’t know her exact age and believed it was about 26, adding that she did not know why she wasn’t on the citizenship list. We don’t have birth certificates, said her mother, Malati Hajong, also working at the site.’’ [34]. Each worker makes about $4 a day, a decent wage in the impoverished area [34].
Many of the Bhojpuris excluded from NRC are poor people who live in the north shore of Brahmaputra in Udalgiri and Darang. They had lost their documents in floods. 42 year old Kanailal Chouhan is a poor farmer in Udalguri. He has 2 daughters and 1 son. His grandfather got land there in 1970 and moved in that time. They have been excluded from NRC [7] [8].

NRC exclusions have naturally financially shattered the excludees who were already poor. North East Linguistic and Ethnic Coordination Committee (NELEC), a body close to RSS, has described the legal recourse available to those excluded from the NRC, the Foreigners Tribunal (FT) as “yet another round of physical, mental and financial torture. Many can hardly afford it.’’ [90]. Those rejected from NRC are queueing up to obtain certified copies of their documents from various government offices. This is the scenario in Guahati, Dhuburi, Goalpara, Naogaon, Hojai, Morigaon, Chiang, Kokrajhar, Udalguri, Shonitpur, Mangaldoi and others. The government offices are not making the access easy. Middlemen have become active and are extracting the last cent of the helpless people. People are taking loans at high interest rates and are also mortgaging and selling their lands. This terror is being witnessed in villages more. Mostly Hindus are seen in the long queues at the government offices [1].

We now provide examples of exclusions from the educated middle class, affluent and even political and social elites. We elaborate on these examples in the next sections:

Bongaingaon district’s Abhayapuri South constituency MLA Anantakumar Malo and his son has been excluded from NRC [52].
Archana Pal is the wife of Dilipkumar Pal, BJP MLA of Silchar [102].
Aparupa Mukhopadhyay Barman is the daughter of former Trinamul MLA of Durgapur Apurba Mukhopadhyay, and current Deputy Mayor of Durgapur, Anindita Mukhopadhyay. She is also the granddaughter of late Congress MP, Anandagopal Mukhopadhyay. She and her son have been excluded [21].
Babita Pal of Katigora, who is wife of a BJP leader, Rupam Pal, and is herself a member of Cachar District Committee of BJP, and President of Katigora Mandal Committee, has been excluded from NRC, along with her son, Bishal, and her two nieces by marriage [82].
Kamal Choudhury is the president of All Assam Bengali Students’ Federation, He and his brother have been excluded [57].
The sister of Subal Chandra Das, the former Deputy President of Panchayat in Barobisha 2, a village in West Bengal at the border of Assam, who has been married into Lower Assam, has been excluded from the final NRC list [101] [104].
Runa Saraswati belongs to the family of an old elite of assam, Radhakrishna Saraswati, used to export Muga silk from British times. The Sari from this Bengali business house used to grace Ma Kamakhya [103].
Raibahadur Kalicharan Sen was the founder of Santan Dharmasabha, Kamrup academy school, Kamrup Anusandhan Samiti, Paltanbajar Bengali school. Two women in the fourth generation of this family have been excluded [103].
11 members of the family of late Jyotish Das, who had founded Shilapathar, including his researcher son Uttam Das have been excluded [25].
Two women in the current generation of the reknowned Lahiri family in Guahati have been excluded [103].
Abinash Chandra Deb of Tejpur have received 3 gallantry awards. His three offsprings and the children of one of his sons have been excluded [25].
School teacher Samir Bhattacharya, his wife and two daughters Sumita and Kanika have been excluded. Samir’s father Sachindranath had received freedom fighters bronze certificate during India Gandhi regime [97].
Arati Banarjee is the daughter in law of a renowned freedom fighter, Sudhangshu Banarjee, of Naogaon town [108].
Octogenarian Masheshwari Chakrabarti is the wife of freedom fighter late Dibakar Chakrabarti [108].
Minakshi Chakrabarti’s father had won Presidential award as BSF worker [107]
Sarbari Bhattacharjee (nee Chakraborty) is affluent enough to travel to United States of America [81].
Madhavi Ghosh and Poulami Ghosh belong to a comfortable family in Assam (comfortable enough to indulge their progeny with 5 dresses every Durga Puja) [109].
Prabir Sinha is the brother of a lawyer, Pradip Sinha, of Silchar [102].
Dipakrajan Saha had worked in customs and Central excise for 35 years, and retired as an officer in 2019. He, his brother, and two sisters have been excluded [108].

Octogenearian Nabakumar Ray of Bonaigaon is a retired employee of Indian railways [87].
Samir Chakraborti is a retired headmaster from Odalguri district, Tongla town [91].
Arati Gope is the daughter and sister of school teachers in Assam [50] [149].

Dilip Chanda had taught in government school in Morigaon for long. His entire family, except his mother, have been excluded [21].
Pradip Kumar Ray, former employee of State Bank of India in Guahati, finds himself and his wife have been excluded [108].
Krishna Chanda graduate from Calcutta University, and a retired school teacher in Assam has been excluded. Her son Nilanjan Chanda is an IT professional based in Kolkata [127].
Several members of Chandan Majumdar family have been excluded. He is affluent enough to follow up by suing NRC coordinator, Pratik Hajela [117].
Umakanta Bhowmik of Bandipa village of Goureshwar of Baksha district have been excluded. He is educated enough to write to the President of India, the Chief Justice of India, the Prime Minister of India, Speaker complaining against NRC coordinator, Pratik Hajela on 13 August, 2019 [126].
Robindra Paul owns a grocery shop [57].

All the above are Hindu Bengalis. But some middle class Hindus of other ethnicities are in the same predicament as well, eg, retired Airforce officer Chabindra Sharma [124], ABVP leader, Gopalkrishna Das [95] (Both Assamese and Bengalis have Das last names).

Gender has been another differentiator in the exclusions as women have been overwhelmingly excluded. In particular, women who had moved to Assam after marriage have often been on the receiving end, as their legacy documents were provided from neighboring states, such as West Bengal (particularly North Bengal which borders lower Assam) and Tripura, particularly for Hindu Bengali women, which the NRC in Assam refused to recognize. The following examples elucidate this phenomenon, and include several who belong to educated middle class, affluent and even politically connected elite.

Many Hindu Bengali women from Bonaigaon (from localities like Shalbagan, Palpara, Notunpara, Chungapota, Nilibari, Pipeline) have been excluded from NRC. Many of them had arrived in Assam from North Bengal (eg, from Coochbihar, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Mathabhanga) after marriage as this area is close to North Bengal. For example, Champa Dutta, wife of former President of All Assam Bengali student and youth federation and All BTC Bengali student and youth federation, Goutam Dutta, have been excluded. Champa Dutta is from Coochbihar, and she had produced land documents from 1958 in her father’s name from there. Sujata Chakrabarti had presented the appointment letter of her father Nibaran Chakraborti in 1951 in Indian railways in alipurduar. She has been receiving treatment in Bangalore, for the last 6 months. She has been excluded too. Gouri Das has been excluded though she had presented the 1951 NRC inclusion documents of her grandfather. Octogenarian Bakul De has been left out, though her siblings have been included. She had presented evidences of her voting in New Jalpaiguri in 1962. Supriya Ghosh, wife of the leading marketing agent, Debashis Ghosh, of local Bengali newspaper, Dainik Jugashankha, has been excluded too. She had presented the 1964 appointment letter of her father in Bonaigaon Railway workshop [87].
Bina Rani Saha, born in Dinhata, Coochbihar, West Bengal, 1953, could not make it to the NRC, though her son made it to the NRC. Her son made it to the NRC by submitting documents from his father’s side of the family. She came to Assam in 1972, as a young bride, but she had little by way of documentary evidence. She furnished land records bearing her father’s name dating back to 1963, and had submitted a village panchayat document as proof of her relationship with her father. But, in July 2018, when the final draft was published, she was rejected, with the NRC authorities claiming that they had not received the land document Saha said to have submitted. Her son, Chandi Das Saha, asks, “How is that possible?..Why will we not submit the document?” She submitted her land records bearing her father’s name once again (Scroll.in confirms this reviewing the NRC records). She attended two hearings too, where the officials, apparently suggested that her name would appear in the final list, as per her son. It has not, and the grounds for rejection have not been specified yet. Bina Rani Saha just says that “I do not understand what the problem is….I was born in Dinhata only” [62].
Subal Chandra Das is the former Deputy President of Panchayat in Barobisha 2, a village in West Bengal at the border of Assam. His sister has been married into Lower Assam, and has been living in Assam for 25 years. After exclusion in first draft, he himself went to his sister’s place with all documents. But his sister is still excluded from the final NRC list. She has been sobbing ever since the final list was published [101] [104].
70 year old Runa Saraswati had been married from Jalpaiguri to an old elite family in Assam, that of Radhakrishna Saraswati, who used to export Muga silk from British times. The Sari from this Bengali business house used to grace Ma Kamakhya. Runa is excluded from NRC though her sister Deepali made it [103].
Mukul from Jalpaiguri was married to Bhaskarnagar, her sister was married to Bonaigaon. Mukul has been excluded but her sister has made it [103].
Rubi Saha was born in Ashrampara of Jalpaiguri. Floods in 1968 had swept away her books. Unbeknownst to her, land records of her family were swept away from the administrative office too. She was married in to Rihabari, Assam in 1993, and became Rubi Sengupta [27]. Currently, she runs her household as her husband’s eyesight is limited [60]. She had submitted her land documents to the Assam government while applying for NRC. Assam government sent the documents submitted by 7500 individuals to Jalpaiguri for verification. Jalpaiguri could not verify those of around 900, including Rubi’s, as those were lost during the flood. They are discussing what can be done for those 900 people. Her brother Monojit Saha has been regularly visiting the Jalpaiguri administration office. She says that she had left her home, her last name, now she may be deprived of her country because of governmental regulations. Where will she go, she asks with a sad laughter in an autumn afternoon. She recalls that in her childhood she used to go to the railway lines to see Kash flowers, those can be found in Assam too. After exclusion from NRC, she is pondering if she is stateless. The home, the Kash flowers of her childhood are all figments of her imagination. It seems, my country is trying to rob me of those, says Rubi [27] [60]. Earlier every Durga Puja, she would only discuss the festivities with her family. She would either visit her paternal home every year this time, or at least plan to visit. This year has been the only exception. This year with her brother Monojit Saha she is only discussing the additional documents she might need and which Foreigner’s Tribunal she would have to go to. She has an expensive process ahead, and she is terrified that she would be driven from the country. She says, “ I do not have any address any more, I do not have any Puja. Which home am I in? Which home will I go to? I don’t have a country any more, I don’t have a home to return to’’ . Her father used to say, in autumn the river shore gets flooded with kashful, white boats of cloud float in the blue sky, this is the smell of the Earth, this is our festival! She says she has been rejected both by her father’s home (East Bengal) and her husband’s home (Assam) [60].
Arati Gope, 51 years of age, has not been included in NRC, but her husband and daughter Manoj and Luna Gope have been. Arati’s family has resided in Baxirhat of Cochbihar for long. She was born in West Bengal. Her father Satish Chandra Ghosh had joined as a teacher in a primary school in 1967. Her brother teaches in a high school in Tufanganj. She married Manoj Gope in 1991 and moved to Barpeta road of Assam. She submitted legacy documents from before 1971. Now, fearing that she might be sent off to a detention camp, the family has relocated to Baxirhat of Cochbihar. The pictures of the detention camp they saw on TV have terrified them. She says, “ We are apprehensive of getting locked up in detention camps.’’ [50] [149].
At least 700 women from Cooch Behar and Alipurduar who had moved to Assam after marriage have been excluded from the NRC. After the final NRC was published in Assam, many such women have come from different parts of Assam to Cooch Behar district to collect documents so that they can prove their case before the Foreigners’ Tribunal. They are staying at their parents’ or relatives’ homes or in rented accommodation. Laxmi Debnath, originally from Tufanganj is one of them. She says “We are counting days as the notice to appear before the Foreigners’ Tribunal can reach my place any time and then I will have to appear there”. Around 20 such women have decided to meet the SDO of Tufanganj on December 2, 2019; this includes a woman who currently lives in Assam’s Dhubri [149].
Sarbari Bhattacharjee (nee Chakraborty), 55, was born and brought up in Baranagar, Kolkata, West Bengal. In 1982, after marriage to Sujoy Bhattacharjee, Indian Railways employee, she moved to Bongaigaon, Assam. Everyone in her family made it to NRC, except her and her brother in law’s wife, the two women married to the family. She submitted property document from her father’s side in 1934, her tenth board admission card in West Bengal in 1982, which had her date of birth, her picture and her father’s name. Her marriage certificate has her father’s name, her father in law’s name, and her date of marriage. Her father worked in the Baranagar Municipality from 1962-1986, when he passed away, as a West Bengal state government employee. She has a certificate from the Baranagar Municipality about her father’s employment. Her late mother used to receive pension, and she has her pension certificate. She has been voting in Assam, has a PAN card, Adhar card and a passport. Her father in law attended hearings in the NRC Seva Kendra when she had gone to the US; upon being told that she needed to be present in person she visited the NRC Seva Kendra once she returned. Clearly, she has more documents than most Indians as to her citizenship (Quint has checked her documents). But, she finds herself excluded from the final NRC list [81].
Sudhangshu Banarjee of Naogaon town Ward 1 is a renowned freedom fighter. His daughter in law Arati Banarjee is from Raiganj of West Bengal, but she has been living in Naogaon for long. She has been excluded from NRC. This has led to a huge commotion in Naogaon [16].
Elder sister of Shambhu Barnan of Pakiguri of North Bengal was married into Srirampur of Assam. She has been excluded despite submitting requisite documents. Elder sister of Sukumar Roy of Volka, Barbisha is in the same predicament [94].
Gitarani Pal of Lal Ganesh was originally from Dhupguri in North Bengal. She had 1968 school certificate. Her daughter in law Prabhati is from Sapatgram of Dhuburi. Neither of the two women have made it to NRC. Gitarani suffers from high blood pressure and has stopped eating after the exclusion. Gitarani has resolved to commit suicide rather than go to jail. Her son is worried that her anxiety may precipitate a heart attack [97].
Chandana Sengupta had moved from her aunt’s home in Bibekananda Street of Cochbihar to Gosaingaon of Assam after her marriage 34 years back. Her cousin had sent her, her ancestors’ property documents. She also had the 1969 appointment letter of her father who used to work in Cochbihar College. She has been excluded. She and her familiy have lost sleep over their predicament [98].
Ratan Ghosh of Maligaon says despite visiting the NRC office many times, his wife Madhavi and daughter in law Poulomi were excluded. Poulomi’s parents took her and her 5 year old daughter Teesta to their home in Shiliguri to escape the detention camps. The Ghosh family is conserving their financial resources to fight the legal battle ahead. So they did not dare to buy any new dresses for Teesta this puja, though last puja she got 4 dresses as part of their customary puja shopping. Teesta told her grandfather and father that she has many new dresses, so rather than buying her new dress, they should save money to rescue her mother and grandmother from the NRC ashur [109].
In Dibrugarh, Gita Majumdar’s daughter in law had presented land documents from West Bengal in 1964. It was verified twice but she has been excluded [117].
Aparupa Mukhopadhyay Barman is the daughter of former Trinamul MLA of Durgapur Apurba Mukhopadhyay. Her mother Anindita Mukhopadhyay is the Deputy Mayor of Durgapur. Apurba Mukhopadhyay’s father, late Anandagopal Mukhopadhyay, used to be Congress MP. Aparupa had married Guahati resident, Himangshu Barman, who now works in Gujarat. Aparupa had applied with her grandfather’s passport and documents of her paternal home. She and her son have been excluded from NRC, though her husband and daughter have made it [21].
Preetibhushan Dutta was included in NRC first draft, but his wife Namita whose family lived in Tripura was excluded. Preetibhushan used to repeatedly tell his wife “you would be taken to Bangladesh. I wouldn’t be able to see you if you are taken to detention camp”. He committed suicide out of anxiety before the final list was published [92]. Namita remains excluded from the final draft. But she isn’t concerned any more as the couple has no offsprings and her life had centered around her husband. She does not care any more about confinement in detention camp [93].
80 year old Krishna Chanda, nee Krishna Ghosh, was born in Kolkata. She went to school in Kolkata and graduated from Calcutta University in 1962. She moved to Assam in April 1971, after marrying Paritosh Chanda of Assam. She worked as a school teacher there, and has now retired, and receives pension from Assam Government. She has a PAN card and an Adhar card. Now, she has been excluded from the NRC final list, though her 86 year old husband, and Kolkata-based IT professional son, Nilanjan Chanda have been included. She says that, “We have submitted all the proper documents. …At this age, if my name is not in the NRC, what will happen to me? I’ll be put in a detention camp.’’ Together with her husband, she has moved to Kolkata, and the medical treatment of the octogenarian couple have been halted because of the predicament they have been subjected to [127].
61 year old Gita Rani Sarkar was born in 1958 and brought up in Sepahijala, Tripura. She moved to Nalbari Assam later. She could only produce a citizenship certificate granted by the Tripura government in the early 1960s. The Assam Foreigner Tribunal refused to accept it. She was also excluded from the NRC final list. She had to attend the tribunal every day. She repeatedly stated that she had studied in Charilam Higher Secondary School, and had secured admission to class VI there in 1970. The tribunal summoned the headmaster of the school, Dilip Das, to corroborate her claims with substantiation. After substantial effort, Das could locate a few relevant documents, such as the school’s merit list, and sent photocopies of the documents to the tribunal via speed post. But the tribunal demanded original copies of the documents. Going beyond the call of duty, Das applied for ten days from his earned leave and booked a Tatkal train ticket to leave for Nalbari from Tripura. He had to first secure permission from the Sepahijala District Education office. On 22 October, 2019, he boarded a train at 3 AM, and reached the remote village in Nalbari around 10:30 AM. He produced the original records in his possession at the NRC office, and waited for days until Gita Rani’s inclusion in the list was finalised. He met the frail and distressed woman at one corner of the court premises. He assured her of safe resolution, and ecstatic, she broke down in relief and called him son. Das returned home after a week and after spending Rs. 14000 from his own savings in the journey. But he ensured that Gita Rani was safe. The Tripura Education Department has sanctioned his leave as official duty [147] [148].
On 4 September, 2019, 40 year old housewife Sabitri Ray committed suicide after being excluded from NRC. She had lived in Hailakandi. She was terrified of possible separation from her husband and infant daughter. She is from West Tripura and had submitted documents from there [117]. Even 4 days after the suicide of Sabitri Ray as a fallout of her exclusion from NRC, state government has not extended any assistance to her family [11].
5% of Dhubri is estimated to have been excluded from the final NRC; this 5% is primarily Hindu Bengali and Hindi-speaking women who had moved to Assam after marriage and have the requisite documents [87].

Not only Hindu Bengali women, but also many women from Meghalaya who have been married into Assam have been excluded. Tenshak Gabil Momin, chairman of Garo student organization, complains that tribals, women and elderly are being harassed in the name of NRC. Human rights organization Akdo has demanded that Meghalaya government extend legal assistance to the women excluded and the issue be discussed in Meghalaya Assembly [23].

Finally, many women who did not necessarily grow up outside Assam have been excluded, though theie family members have been included. For example, Babita Pal of Katigora, who is wife of a BJP leader, Rupam Pal, and is herself a member of Cachar District Committee of BJP, and President of Katigora Mandal Committee, has been excluded from NRC, along with her son, Bishal, and her two nieces by marriage. They were all included in the NRC draft list. Her father and grandfather were present in the voter lists of 1952 and 1966. They have land documents too. She broke down while talking to journalists after the exclusion of her family [82]. Sabitri Biswas’ name is missing from the final NRC list, through her daughter and grandchildren have made it. In 2017 Sabitri was served a D-voter notice in 2017. She says “If the government is not convinced, if this country is not willing to accept us, then shoot us and give us relief from this continuing humiliation. It seems as if they don’t want us to prove our identity” [120]. Archana Pal, wife of Dilipkumar Pal, BJP MLA of Silchar has been excluded. 3 members of the family of Ajit Deb of Tarapur have been included, but his daughter has been left out [102]. Sudarshan Pal had arrived to Guahati from Tripura before 1970. He has made it to NRC but his three daughters have not [97]. Swati Sinha (27) and her mother have been excluded too [100]. Lila Rani had submitted her father Naba Kumar Dey’s 1954 Citizenship card and her 1972 school certificate and pan card. Her siblings have been included based on the same legacy, but she has been left out. Octogenarian Masheshwari Chakrabarti, wife of freedom fighter late Dibakar Chakrabarti has been excluded. Minakshi Chakrabarti had submitted her father’s 1963 appointment letter to BSF, and her admit card as proof of her linkage to him. Her father had won Presidential award as BSF worker. She has been excluded. Jhuma Rani Pal had submitted her father’s 1968 appointment letter to CRPF and her educational certificates and pancard as proof of linkage. She has been excluded, but the rest of her family have made it to NRC [107]. Rita Saha had submitted documents from 1915 and 1955 as her legacy. Her siblings made it, she did not [108]. Raibahadur Kalicharan Sen was the founder of Santan Dharmasabha, Kamrup academy school, Kamrup Anusandhan Samiti, Paltanbajar Bengali school. Dolan from Anandabazar was married into the fourth generation of this family. She and her aunt by marriage have been excluded. Sugata is the current generation of the reknowned Lahiri family in Guahati. His mother Rumu and wife Ananya have been excluded [103]. Radharani Das and Pinku Das of Tritio Khanda village of Katigora has been excluded from NRC. But Radharani’s husband and children, and Pinku’s husband, parents-in-law, brother-in-law’ and sister-in-law have all been included [47]. In predominantly Hindu Bengali Pub Malaybari, 100 km off Guwahati, Shampa Sutradhara, 34, who has been a panchayat member for last five years, but finds herself excluded from the NRC list [59].

Another important category of gender based exclusion comprise of the tribal women. This category is poor and have limited education. Suhas Chakma, director of “Rights and Risks Analysis Group” has said that an overwhelming majority of the Reang women had been excluded as they were not able to prove legacy from 1971: “The Reangs are shifting cultivators and have extremely low literacy rate and are identified as one of the particularly vulnerable tribal groups. With the exception of educational degrees and land documents, women do not have independent identity documents and always identified as daughter or wife of the male member. Once they are married, the legacy is lost as they are deleted from the family ration cards and for this reason alone, an overwhelming majority of the Reang women have been excluded” [44]. In 1964, from undivided Goalpur-Rangpur, Hajong, Dalu, Garo, Koch, Bonai, Bengalis fled to India. They were rehabilitated in Matia of Goalpara. 9 refugee villages developed there. 20000 people live there. They had applied with their refugee certificates that were provided to them then. Many of the men were included, many women have been left out. Sarojini Hajong, who we had mentioned before, is one of the exclusions. Nayantara Hajong says everyone makes fun of the girls here. They say, you are building your own jail, build it well, decorate it. She didn’t even check if her name is in the NRC. She is used to the uncertainty now, and doesn’t care what happens to her [30]. Amit and Mamata Hajong had opened a tea and sweet shop outside it. Today Mamata finds herself excluded, though her husband, mother and children are in. Amit had applied with refugee certificate and other proofs. He is terrified that his wife may be confined in the detention camp that’s now the source of their livelihood. He says that his family would be devastated in that eventuality. Will he run to courts or look after his children? [35].

Section C.3: Victim count far larger than the number of NRC exclusions – exclusions of some members of a large number of Hindu Bengali families

It has been an exception rather than a norm, to exclude some members of a family from the NRC and include others based on the same documents (eg, cases reported in [32], [57], [87]), thus the number of affected individuals far exceeds the number of excluded individuals, considering the impact on the immediate family members of those excluded. Citizen rights organization in Silchar has said that in many instances parents are included, but children have not been; though, as per Supreme Court ruling, up to the age of 14 a minor has to be identified by the parents’ documents [5]. BJP-RSS general Secretary Ram Madhav had said in Silchar that current NRC has many errors, in many cases father has been included, son have not, mother has made it, daughter hasn’t [110]. In Section B.1 we have provided many examples in which only, or rather selectively, the adult women in a large number of families have been excluded. We now provide examples in which exclusions in families have been partial, though not necessarily dependent on gender. The following examples elucidate this phenomenon, and include several who belong to educated middle class, affluent and even politically connected elite.

We refer to the already cited India Today Report on 2 September, 2019, that reports the situation in a predominantly Hindu Bengali village, Pub Malaybari, 100 km off Guwahati, in which 2000 of the 3000 residents have been excluded: “ In many families, some members figure in the NRC list while others are excluded from it. “We are a family of eight. Only one person’s name figures in the NRC list. I am requesting with folded hands to the authorities to please forgive us and help us find a way out,” Mamata Kar, 59, said….. There are cases of NRC exclusion wherein woman figures in the NRC but her husband and children are excluded from it. One man of a family made it to the NRC list but his brother’s claim was rejected. Another resident, Sheela said, “My name is there in the NRC but the names of my three sons and my husband are not there. How is that possible? The government has to explain that if I am a citizen then why are my children not citizens. Who is responsible for their problems now?….Chanchal Bose, a resident of the village, said, “We had submitted documents at least five times. But out of 10 family members, claim of only one has been accepted“. [59].
The Print India journalist uncovers similar such instances among the Hindu Bengalis excluded from NRC [61].
Daughters of INA veteran, Surendra Mondal, Shovona Mondal, Shamala Bhowmick, Radharani Sutradhar who get by working as maids have been excluded from the NRC final list. Mankishor, a son of Radharani and a daily wage laborer has suffered the same fate. But, Radharani’s married daughters have made it by virtue of their father’s legacy. Samala’s husband and sons have been included too [145].
Anilabala Das is a 60 year old hunch-back grandmother who walks with a carry-bag containing the NRC documents of her grandchildren. She lives in the Tritio Khanda village of Katigora. Her daughter Krishnarani Das can not see in one eye and lives at her maternal home after losing her husband. Krishnarani has made it to NRC, but her son Muktababu and daughter Madhabirani have been excluded. The family is dirt-poor, and is extremely anxious and stressed. They do not know what to do. Hence they are visiting human rights groups [47].
Ratan Chandra Biswas’ (mentioned in [31] as confined in detention camp) two sons and two daughters have not made it to NRC, his wife and one daughter has made it [6].
A cloth merchant of Barbisha in North Bengal says that his parents and two brothers live in Assam. They had submitted their documents dating back to 1952. The brothers have been excluded, though their wives and their parents made it [20].
Government driver Madhabkumar Saha of Silchar has been excluded, but his son and daughter are in [102].
Shambhu Majumdar of Guahati has been excluded, but his wife and daughters have made it [103].
Pradip Chakrabarti had submitted his birth certificate, school certificate, his father’s 1967 land documents. His parents have been included, he hasn’t [107].
Gita Majumdar has been included. But her three sons, and one grandson, who had applied using her legacy data have been excluded [117]. Her daughter in law had been excluded, despite presenting land documents from West Bengal in 1964, which were verified twice [117].
5 members of the family of lawyer Pradip Sinha of Silchar had applied using the same legacy data, his youngest brother, Prabir, has been excluded, rest has been included [102].
Dipakrajan Saha had worked in customs and Central excise for 35 years, and retired as an officer in 2019. He has 3 brothers and 4 sisters. All had claimed the legacy of his late father’s 1968 passbook in United Bank of India, Fancibazar branch, and proof from current bank officers of the corresponding account in that branch. They also submitted Sukumar Saha’s citizenship certificate, signed by Kamrup District Magistrate, and 1966 voter list containing his name. Two sisters and two brothers have made it, the rest of the siblings as also Dipakranjan himself have been excluded [108].
Late Nirmal Chandra Ray had worked in BSNL for long. The Dibrugarh relief and rehabilitation officer had issued a 1952 refugee certificate in his name. Two of his sons have been included through a legacy established through this refugee certificate, one has been excluded [123].
Some members of the family of Umakanta Bhowmik of Bandipa village of Goureshwar of Baksha district have been excluded, others, eg, Umakanta’s brothers, have been included based on the same documents. They had submitted documents predating 1971 in the name of their father Jaydeb Bhowmik [126].
Kamal Choudhury, president of All Assam Bengali Students’ Federation has been excluded, as someone lodged an objection claiming that he was an illegal migrant from Bangladesh. He had submitted the 1951 NRC with his father’s name, 1952 land document as a legacy document. His sisters were included based on the same legacy document, but he and his brother were left out [57].
Bongaingaon district’s Abhayapuri South constituency MLA Anantakumar Malo and his son has been excluded from NRC, but others in his family, including his daughter and brothers have been included based on the same documents as he had provided [52].

All the above are Hindu Bengalis. But Hindus of other ethnicities are in the same predicament as well. Airforce officer Chabindra Sharma had retired on 28 January, 2019 after working for 36 years. He had attended the NRC hearings thrice. He has been excluded, but his entire family, including his 97 year old father, Tejprasad Sharma, has been included [124].

Section C.4: Majority of the Hindu Bengali exclusions had arrived before the cut-off date

Most of the exclusions have resided in Assam since before March 24, 1971, the stated cut-off date for the NRC. As per the former Congress chief minister of Assam, Tarun Gogoi, Election Commission had prepared the 2019 electoral roll based on the 1966 voter list, but many from the 2019 electoral roll has been excluded [12]. Congress MP of Naogaon, Assam, Pradyut Bordoloi, says that 95% of the Hindu Bengalis excluded through NRC are Indian citizens [17]. A Bengali newspaper of Assam, Danik Jugasankha, wrote on 2 September, 2019, “Despite the submission of adequate legal documents, deliberately, the names of Hindu Bengali, men and women, youth, children and adolescents have not been included in the NRC.’’ [87]. Kamal Choudhury, president of All Assam Bengali Students’ Federation, estimates that more than 8 lakhs of those excluded possess pre-1971 documents [57]. The examples provided in Sections B.1, B.2 almost invariably belong to this category. A large number has been excluded because the refugee certificates they had to establish their domicile in India prior to the cutoff date have not been accepted. BJP leader and influential finance minister from Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, has claimed “Names of many Indian citizens who migrated from Bangladesh as refugees prior to 1971 have not been included in the NRC because authorities refused to accept refugee certificates. Many names got included because of manipulation of legacy data as alleged by many,” [43] [36]. He is reported to have said that “The NRC authorities rejected the refugee certificates as they could not verify them. Can they deprive someone’s citizenship just because they failed to verify the document?” [57] The migration and refugee cards were given by the Ministry of Rehabilitation to people who entered India during the 1960s. These could not be verified as this department is non-existent along with the refugee records [56]. We now focus on examples of exclusions effected because the refugee certificates have npt been accepted.

About 500 families fled the 1964-65 riots in East Pakistan to Tejpur Barguri. Government gave each family 1 bigha land and Rs. 5000 in 1969-1970. Many refugees relocated from there to Barchalar, Rakshasmari, Laoari, shukurabasti of Gahapur, Chariduar etc. 550 of the 780 descendants of these families have been excluded from NRC. 50 out of 150 Hindu Bengali families of Jatiabhangrara of Kamrup district, Kamalpur assembly constituency have been excluded. 1500 out of 2500 Hindu Bengalis of Pub Malaybari of Sonapur of Kamrup have been excluded. 40 families of Amingaon, Mariapatti, Meripara have been excluded. 470-475 of Udmari village of Jagiroad have been excluded. All these happened because their refugee certificates have not been accepted [117].
Bongaingaon district’s Abhayapuri South constituency MLA, Anantakumar Malo, was born in 1957 in East Pakistan. In the early 1960s, when he was four or five when his family crossed the Bangladesh border into Assam. He says “I do not remember much….But I have heard enough stories from my parents – the horror that life was for Hindus like us in Bangladesh, moving from one refugee camp to another, surviving on meagre rations provided by a hostile government.”. He has a refugee registration certificate from 1964. His family first lived in Barpeta district’s Baghbor, and currently live in neighboring Bongaigaon’s Solontopara area. He runs a successful business, and has become a legislator in 2016, from Bongaingaon district’s Abhayapuri South constituency on the ticket of All India United Democratic Front. He and his son have been excluded from NRC [52].
Shyamapada Chakravarty, who had arrived from East Pakistan in 1964, has been excluded. In a video statement, he shows a refugee registration identity card issued in 1968 and signed by assistant relief and rehabilitation officer in 1969 in Chargola refugee camp in Cachar district. The card tells that they originally belonged to Sunamganj in Sylhet in Bangladesh, they moved from East Pakistan to India, and they were registered as refugees. He and his family live in a permanent liability center in Assam. The NRC officials did not give any weightage to any of their documents. His nephew, Keshav Chakravarty, asserts that he is an Indian, who was born and educated in India and had dreamt of making it big as an Indian. But he does not think that would be possible any longer. Quint notes that almost every Hindu refugee family at Bamunigaon had arrived before the cut-off date of 24 March, 1971 [85].
In the Derapathar village of Kaki police station of Hojai district, 4000 people from 3 villages have been excluded. After partition, the central government had settled 1414 refugees in these villages after providing them refugee certificates. In 1964 they were first stationed in a refugee camp of Matia of Goalpara. In 1967 they were rehabilitated in Derapathar of Kaki Mouja of Naogaon. Assam rehabilitation minister Sadhanranjan Sarkar and the Naogaon District magistrate had given them refugee certificates. They have been living in the village for 52 years now. They had presented the refugee documents from 1964, but find themselves excluded [87].
Referring to the already cited India Today Report on 2 September, 2019, that reports the situation in a predominantly Hindu Bengali village, Pub Malaybari, 100 km off Guwahati, in which 2000 of the 3000 residents have been excluded, we find the testimony of Pramod Chandra Kar, a decade-long panchayat-level employee in the Assam government: “In 1964, when there was a problem in East Pakistan. Then my ancestors had come here to take shelter. They were then given documents after they ran away to save their lives. We have accepted the entire local dialect and culture of Assam and we are also born here. We are voters. I am working in the local panchayat and I am a government employee yet my name is not there. Names of only 500 people in the village were accepted. Rest of them have been rejected.” [59]

Hindu Bengalis who possess various other documents that establish their domicile in India before the cut-off date have been excluded without any rhyme or reason. Bengali unity platform General Secretary Shantanu Mukhopadhyay and Central Committee member Amritalal Das have said that many Hindu Bengalis who have necessary documents, eg, presence of family members in 1951 NRC, railway job documents of 1955, have been excluded from NRC [47]. We had provided many examples in this category in Sections B.1 and B.2. We provide additional examples in this category below, many of which are from the educated middle-class.

Meena Biswa Sarma of the predominantly Hindu Bengali village, Pub Malaybari, 100 km off Guwahati, said “We have data from 1965 and we have land documents from 1952 but still our names — of six sisters and one brother – are not in the list. I don’t know what the problem is. We are very worried,”. Similarly, Pramila Dutta, of the same village has lived in Assam for about 60 years. She said “We have all our documents with us. But we don’t have the time and energy or money to go to them and get it done. Now, if they want they can come to our residence and verify all documents. We don’t have any money to spend on this anymore.” Bipul Kar, 30, of Pub Malaybari, 100 km off Guwahati was born there and have all documents [59].
A grocery shop owner Robindra Paul has lived in Basugaon in Western Assam’s Chirang district for 23 years. The names of his family members were left out of NRC. He finds it hard to resume his normal business [57].

Octogenearian Nabakumar Ray of Bonaigaon is a retired employee of Indian railways, he was raised by his maternal uncles in Calcutta after the demise of his parents. He had gone to Calcutta to obtain documents when NRC was announced, and had submitted them as well. He has been excluded [87]. Despite having Indian passports, land documents, high school certificates and voter lists from 1951, 1953, 1966, 1968 innumerable other Hindu Bengalis have been excluded – some of the harrowing tales may be heard from the victims [32] [61].
Abinash Chandra Deb of Tejpur had joined Indian Air Force in 1970 and have received 3 gallantry awards. His son Ajay Deb had submitted his father’s appointment letter in Air Force as his legacy. Abinash’s three offsprings and the children of Ajay have been excluded. His offsprings are finding the gallantry awards meaningless. Chittaranjan Chattopadhyay had joined Indian Army in 1950. His family have been excluded [25].
The Chanda family have resided in Morigaon, Assam, for several generations. Prafulla Chanda had land documents in 1954. His son Dilip Chanda had taught in government school in Morigaon for long. They were present in the 1965 voter list. Dilip’s son, Dhiraj, had cleared Higher Secondary in 1966, graduated from Morigaon College in 1970. In 1975 Dhiraj got a job as a teacher in Charaibari G A school. Now the entire family has been excluded from NRC, except, Prafulla’s wife, Seema, who had legacy documents from his paternal family. Prafulla and his wife are now old and sick and almost bedridden. Dhiraj has retired from the army and works in the firefighter department in West Bengal. He had attended several NRC hearings in Assam in the last year. He is worried that he would lose his job as he has lost his country. Hearing that he has been declared foreigner in his own country, Prafulla, has taken to bed fully [21].
Late Jyotish Das was a founder of Shilapathar. His son Uttam Das, who is a researcher, wife Minati Das and 11 members of their family have been excluded [25].
Samir Chakraborti had presented legacy from 1951 but found himself excluded. He is a retired headmaster from Udalguri district, Tongla town. He fell sick due to his high blood pressure right after exclusion and has died [91].
In Golaghat district, Sarupathar, school teacher Samir Bhattacharya, his wife Shampa, daughters Sumita and Kanika have been excluded. Samir’s father Sachindranath was a freedom fighter. Sachindranath’s name appeared in 1950 voter list, he had a citizenship identity from 1956, land documents. Sachindranath got freedom fighters bronze certificate during India Gandhi regime and his wife used to receive freedom fighter pension [97].
In 1968, Dulal Das, then 7 years of age, had fled to Assam from Mymensingh, East Pakistan. He witnessed the burning down of his home and murder of his beloved ones. His family was excluded from NRC final draft [105].
In Udalbakra of Guahati, Pradip Kumar Ray, former employee of State Bank of India finds himself and his wife excluded. He had submitted his graduation certificate of 1968 and State Bank of India appointment letter of 1970 [108].
The father of Chandan Majumdar from Dibrugarh had arrived in Dibrugarh in 1947. Chandan Majumdar’s mother Gita Majumdar has legacy data from 1951 too. She has been included, but her three sons, and one grandson, who had applied using her legacy data have been excluded. Her daughter in law had presented land documents from West Bengal in 1964, which have been verified twice. But she has been excluded. Chandan is suing Hajela [117].
Some members of the family of Umakanta Bhowmik of Bandipa village of Goureshwar of Baksha district have been excluded. They had submitted documents predating 1971 in the name of their father Jaydeb Bhowmik. Umakanta’s brothers have been included based on the same documents. He has written to the President of India, the Chief Justice of India, the Prime Minister of India, Speaker complaining against NRC coordinator, Pratik Hajela on 13 August, 2019. On 14 October, 2019, the Office of the President of India have written to the NRC Department of the Home Minsitry of India, and the Registrar General of India has asked Hajela to act [126].

We now provide some examples of exclusions from other ethnicities despite residing in India since before 1971. 13 members in the family of Dalbahadur (Gurkha), retired soldier of Shilapathar of Dhemaji, had served in the Indian Army. Many in his family including him have been excluded. His father Shwetbahadur was in the British Army in 1940. He resigned protesting the consumption of beef. He rejoined after independence. Shwetbahadur’s wife Bhubaneshwari Kami was a nurse in the Indian Army. Five sons and five sons in law of Shetbahadur are in the army. The family has vowed to return all the medals presented by the Government [25]. Madan Mallik (Assamese) was killed in the Assam agitation, and have been termed “national martyr” by Assamese parties and awarded a plate and Rs. 5 lakhs. He has been denoted a D-voter, as AASU had erroneously changed their last name to Sarkar, so his wife Sarbabala and rest of his family has been excluded from NRC. 6 members of the family of another “national martyr” Mrinal Bhowmik of Chaigaon, Dheknabari have been excluded too [25] [95]. Sabita Das, wife of former AASU leader, Nabakumar Das have been excluded [95]. Meena Hazarika (45) and her 2 daughters Barnali and Meethu have been excluded. Ever since she heard the news, she has been obsessively repeating, “Are we Bangladeshis? Do we have to commit suicide” ? Her family had been living in Assam since the British times. She is now broke because of the legal struggle since exclusion in the previous draft lists [100]. Ranjit Das, who had worked for 22 years in BSF has been excluded. His son, Gopalkrishna Das, who is a leader of ABVP is in the same predicament [95] (Both Assamese and Bengalis have Das last names). 6 members of family of Pradip Boda of Dabka, Sukumar Bordoloi, Molani Bordoloi, many Bodos of Bodoland, Jenimai of Karbi group of Bokul have been excluded [95].

A good indicator of how arbitrary the citizenship determination process has been is that some of those who were confined in the detention camp for more than a year have now been included in the NRC. In one case we know, of Kumud Ram Das, the family members had to mortgage the few trees they owned to fight the captive’s case [63]. The state has not offered even an apology let alone a compensation for their tribulations. In another instance, Arjun Namasudra of Cachar district was served a D-voter notice seven years back, and he had committed suicide. His mother, wife, and children have now been listed in the final NRC list [120].

Section D: Continuing governmental, judicial and social persecution of the Hindu Bengalis in the North-East after the publication of the NRC final list

We show that the Hindu Bengalis have been socially and judicially persecuted throughout the North East in the wake of the publication of the NRC final list, under the watch of various governments who have condoned, facilitated and even taken over such persecutions from various vigilante bodies.

On 9 September, 2019, during his first visit to the North East, post the publication of the NRC final list, home minister Amit Shah had warned that infiltrators would not be allowed to enter any neighboring state after fleeing Assam [28]. Who he meant by infiltrator may be seen from the action perpetrated on ground in the North-Eastern states, all of whom are ruled by BJP-RSS. After the publication of the final NRC list on August 31, 2019, Mizoram and Meghalaya police stepped up the vigilance at the checkgates too. Khasi students Union is checking at the Meghalaya gates too, and examining the documents of the travelers stopping all traffic. The Bangla speakers are being grilled specifically. They have also detained 30 laborers from Assam who did not have their NRC documents. The factory employing them had to submit a bond that they would not employ anyone excluded from NRC [22]. On 18 November, 2019, local media in Assam reported that Meghalaya police has been harassing the Bengali speakers of Assam at the anti infiltration post it has created. They are asking for I-card, Pan card, voter card and Adhar card. They are not allowing anyone to go through without a bribe between Rs. 200 and 500, including those who have all the documents. Those who refuse to bribe are being detained at the checkposts. They are also detaining the night super buses and searching the Bengali speakers [144]. Mizoram (the Silchar Sonai Road Circuit House) has started asking for the ARN number for everyone applying for Inner line permit (ILP) from Barak valley. They are subsequently verifying the NRC status of the applicant and denying ILP to those rejected, though those rejected can not be declared stateless until they go through all remaining legal options. Sales representative Aniruddha Das needs to go to Mizoram for professional reasons once every month, he is now being denied access through the above procedure as he did not make it to the NRC (the rest of his family are in however). Along with a few others like him, he contacted the BJP-RSS MP from Silchar, Dr. Rajdeep Roy, for reprieve, only to be told that rejection from NRC is his personal problem and the MP can not do anything about it [7]. Post the declaration of the final NRC list, security guards have been deployed at every checkpost at Assam-Meghalaya border and 30 additional check posts have been lodged [10]. The vigilance was stepped up at the Jiriram check gate of Manipur [22]. On October 16, 2019, local newspapers report that the autonomous district council of the Khasi hills have forbidden any Bengali from selling merchandise at the roadsides. The restriction is only for Bengalis [106].

On 11 October, 2019, Gouranga Chandra Dey, who worked in the Talap tea garden of Tinsukia was kidnapped by ULFA. Bengali student and youth Federation had protested the kidnapping. He was released on 23 October, 2019 [33]. A Hindu Bengali businessmen, Pradeep Sheel of Sherfanguri has also been kidnapped under the current BJP-RSS regime in Assam [47].

The persecution of Hindu Bengalis, including those who have been included in the final NRC list, through judicial means continue. The NRC officers have issued a statement on 15 September, 2019, that those included may still be rejected any time if the authorities find discrepancies in the documents submitted by any applicant [5]. Several who have been included in the NRC final list have received foreigner notices lately. D-voter notices are being served regularly, and mostly the dirt-poor are getting them [89]. Assam home commissioner Ashutosh Agnihotri has said that if any one has received a D-voter notice in the past, the case will continue even if the individual is included in NRC. They will have to attend court hearings as before. Sending D-voter notices may continue [53]. We provide a few heart-breaking examples:

78 in Katigara have received foreigner tribunals’ notices in the first two weeks of September, 2019, 52 of them have received these noices for the first time. Daily-wage laborer Shyamendra Das (45), his wife, his son and three daughters, of Kalain chali village, had all been included in the final NRC list. But he has received foreigners’ notice from border police. His late father Nagendra Das’ name figured in the 1965 voter list. Shyamendra went to meet the border police at the Katigora police station to find out about the notice, they advised him to go to the Foreigners’ Tribunal. He sobbed disconsolately describing his experience to the media – he is extremely poor, and doesn’t even have the reserves to provide for his family’s food even for a day if he does not go to work. He is worried sick how he can attend the Foreigners’ Tribunal, and is losing his mind. Ramendra Baishnab, Rajbihari Baishnab of Mougram of Kalain, Padmalal Ray of Baroitoli second part village are in the same predicament [88]. Shyamal Das, his wife Soma Das, son Sumit Das and daughter Sagarika Das of Katigora were included in the NRC. But Shyamal Das has suddenly received a doubtful foreigner notice. Shyamal Das’ father Charitramohan Das’s name can be found in 1965 voter list, electoral number, 121, serial number, 22. Charitramohan’s legacy code is 30140089869. Shyamal was born and raised in Katigora. He works in a gym in Shilchar at a monthly salary of Rs. 4000. His wife Soma works as a domestic help at different homes. They live at a dilapidated mud-house in Siddhipur. Shyamal is in poor health and can not undertake heavy workload; the couple is getting by somehow. Shyamal is under severe stress about how he can fight the foreigner tag [89].
Majority of those who have been included in NRC are receiving D-voter notices in various areas of Badarpur. About 100 notices have been sent recently [111]. Babul Chandra Das, Swapnarani Das, their two sons and one daughter have all been included in NRC. But still foreigner’s tribunal has handed over a doubtful voter notice to Swapnarani Das. Swapna’s father, Manturam Das, lived in the Jagannathpur village of Badarpur in Karimganj distrct. Swapna used her grandmother Gouribala Das’ legacy data [89]. Some notices are being sent to unknown places 1 km away, some notices are being pasted at the walls of a wrong house. Kajaolrani Ghosh is one of the recipients. Border police is delivering these notices. All members of the family of one of the recipients have been included in the NRC. His father’s name is in the 1965 voter list. He said sobbing that he would not be able to eat if he does not go to work on even one day, he is at his wit’s end to think how he would go to the foreigner’s tribunals [2]. All 5 members of the family of Sandhya Ray of Jharapara in Bonaigaon, including herself, have been included in NRC final list, some were even included in the final draft NRC. But on 10 September, 2019, she had received a D-voter notice issued on August 17, 2019 [53] [111].
52 year old Malatibala Das has been living in Katirail village, Katogora Tehsil, Cachar district, with her husband Gouranga Chandra Das and daily-wage laborer son Shatrughna. Gouranga used to till some one’s land. His health does not permit any longer. They used to struggle with poverty but get by. They were however at peace, until the foreigner-hunt in Assam destroyed them financially and emotionally. She had received her first foreigner notice in 2017, followed by two other notices in 2019. Three cases have been slapped on her, and one case on her husband. She says that she has the documents that would show that in 1967 her parents used to get ration from the refugee camps, and in 1975 Government gave them land. Her son and her lawyer Kajal Chanda both say that they have her father’s 1964-1965 refugee registration card. She has also voted regularly since 1997. Based on these they had been included in NRC final list. Even after that they have received the notices. Police has informed them that since they have received notice, they have to go to the Tribunal, hire a lawyer and plead their case. They are spending all their resources in trying to prove that she is an Indian. But her case is getting held up due to lack of government pleaders. Her kidney disease was diagnosed a few months back. Both her kidneys are damaged. Silchar Medical College had advised that she be taken to another hospital. Her son took her to Guwahati Medical College. The doctors said there was no way other than kidney transplant or regular Dialysis. She urgently needs a kidney transplant. They could not afford this. She stays on bed all day, except for physically attending the hearings in the Foreigners Tribunal, which is 40 Km away from her home, leaning on her husband and son for support. She juggles her visits to the Foreigners Tribunal with frequent visits to hospitals. In her death-bed Malatibala prays that “God, please see that I can die as an Indian’’ In faint voice, she says “I can tolerate physical pain. But I can not tolerate the pain emanating from the suspicion [of Government] that I am a foreigner’’. Her son is dejected and not sure that his mother will be able to attend the hearings for long. She stops him, saying in faint voice, “before I die I would want to know that I am Indian” [118] [120] [69]. She sobbed when Congress leader from Silchar, Sushmita Dev met her [119].
Some who had successfully removed the D-voter stigma by fighting in courts are getting notices for the same again [88]. For example, 60-65 year old rickshaw driver Bhakta Das had proved his citizenship in 2011 after receiving a foreigner tribunal notice in 2009. Subsequently, he received a letter from the court stating that he was an Indian citizen. He has got another notice in 2017. Using his savings, he attended the hearings. Even after he produced the letter he received from the court in 2011, he has been asked to prove his citizenship in Guwahati High Court. This will cost him more than 1 lakh rupees. His wife, Sumita Das (55) has also received a foreigner notice and is facing trial at Foreigners Tribunal Court-IV in Silchar [118] [120].

Many reports also indicate that the show cause notice of D-voter issued by Foreigners Tribunal were delivered by the Border police after a period of 3-4 months to enable an ex-parte judgement declaring the persons to be foreigners. This phenomenon has been noted by the Adviser of the All BTC Bengali Youth Students Federation(AABYSF), Shyamal Sarkar, after the suicide of a suspected D-voter, Dipak Debnath) [84]. Sarkar also alleged that the state government had adopted political conspiracy against the Bengali Hindus, and a section of ULFA leaders were being roped as a part of the strategy. Also, after Dipak Debnath’s suicide on October 28, 2018, Kamal Chowdhury had lamented that the Bengali Hindus were subjected to harassment by the government machineries, and had demanded compensation of Rs 10 lakhs or government job to the next kin of the victim [84]. Hindu Bengali activists protesting at Jantar mantar have got a list of about 600-700 people in a village in Assam on whom D-voter, PFT cases have been slapped, but the concerned individuals have no knowledge thereof. In many instances, multiple cases have been slapped on the same individual on the same ground, those being targeted are poor farmers, without requisite education to know how to respond [32]. All Assam Bengali youth and student federation has documented how the bureaucracy has been systematically going about labeling Hindu Bengalis as D-voters for several decades. The district administration send the border police a list of names actual citizens. The border police slaps cases on them in foreigners’ tribunals. In many caes the notices for these cases are not sent to the targets by the border police or the concerned administration, and the notices remain with them. After “sending’’ or rather collecting three such notices, the targets are declared D-voters directly, the targets do not get the opportunity to go to the courts because they do not receive the notices, and the targets are too poor to pursue such cases legally [89].

Also, the final NRC list has been published only in Assamese. Thus many of the Bengali names that have been included have been misspelt [41] [9], creating ripe grounds for legal complications in future including D-voter notices [9].

Finally, Hindu Bengalis are being treated as enemy populace in Assam, who the administration would be happier to get rid of. For example, Bidhan Chandra Das (44), used to live with his wife Swapnabala Das (35) and son Nilaychndra Das (13) in Kiaju village of Chuajan police station, Dhansinri Mahakuma, Golaghat District of Assam. They have been included in NRC final list. They have Adhar card and income tax documents. Two of Bidhan Chandra’s brothers live in Bangladesh. Their ancestral home is in Noakhali District, Subarnachar sub district, charjubar police station, charbhata village. They had erred by visiting their family in Bangladesh without passport and visa. Border security force of Bangladesh arrested them and had contacted the border security force of India to see if they would take them back. BSF has declined. As a result, Bangladesh have lodged a case against them and have jailed them. Nilay has been relegated to a facility for minors, while his parents have been put up in regular jails [128].

References:

[1] Dainik Prantojyoti, 30 September, http://dainikprantojyoti.com/30-09-19/epaper.html

[2] Dainik Prantojyoti, 1 October http://dainikprantojyoti.com/01-10-19/epaper.html

[3] Articles on Ethnic Bias in the BJP-RSS ecosystem – by Saswati Sarkar, Shanmukh and Dikgaj https://sringeribelur.wordpress.com/2018/08/05/links-to-articles-on-ethnic-bias-in-the-bjp-rss-ecosystem/

[4] Dainik Prantojyoti, 25 September, http://dainikprantojyoti.com/25-09-19/epaper.html

[5] Dainik Prantojyoti, 16 September, http://dainikprantojyoti.com/16-09-19/epaper.html

[6] As panic over NRC rules Assam, 2018 video of detained man chained to bed adds to fear, 4 October, 2019, https://theprint.in/india/panic-over-nrc-rules-assam-2018-video-detained-man-chained-to-bed-adds-fear/300870/

[7] Dainik Prantojyoti, 8 September, http://dainikprantojyoti.com/08-09-19/epaper.html

[8] Guwahati: 15,000 Bhojpuris from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar left out of NRC, 8 September, https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/080919/guwahati-15000-bhojpuris-from-uttar-pradesh-bihar-left-out-of-nrc.html

[9] Dainik Prantojyoti, 15 September, http://dainikprantojyoti.com/15-09-19/epaper.html

[10] Dainik Prantojyoti, 12 September, http://dainikprantojyoti.com/12-09-19/epaper.html

[11] Dainik Prantojyoti, 9 September, http://dainikprantojyoti.com/09-09-19/epaper.html

[12] Dainik Prantojyoti, 7 September, http://dainikprantojyoti.com/07-09-19/epaper.html

[13] “India leaves 4 million off Assam citizens’ list, triggers fear’’ July 30, 2018, Zeba Siddiqui, Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-politics-religion/india-leaves-4-million-off-assam-citizens-list-triggers-fear-idUSKBN1KK0EE

[14] Dainik Prantojyoti, 3 September, http://dainikprantojyoti.com/03-09-19/epaper.html

[15] Actually Hindus have been targeted and victimized through NRC : Assam BJP MLA https://www.hindujagruti.org/news/112095.html

[16] Dainik Prantojyoti, 1 September, http://dainikprantojyoti.com/01-09-19/epaper.html

[17] Dainik Jugasankha, October 12, https://dainikjugasankha.in/edition/silchar/?pg=3&ar_date=12-10-2019#page3

[18] Meghalaya to implement NRC in phased manner : CM Conrad K Sangma, September 26, 2018 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/meghalaya-to-implement-nrc-in-phased-manner-cm-conrad-k-sangma/articleshow/65967824.cms

[19] TMC’s decision to not allow NRC puts BJP in tough spot, party faces task of balancing between Assamese, Bengali victimhoods, 6 September, 2019. https://www.firstpost.com/politics/tmcs-decision-to-not-allow-nrc-puts-bjp-in-tough-spot-party-faces-task-of-balancing-between-assamese-bengali-victimhoods-7299361.html

[20] NRC hits business badly in some parts of North Bengal – Anandabazar, 3 September, https://www.anandabazar.com/state/nrc-hits-business-badly-in-some-parts-of-north-bengal-1.1040373

[21] Some people myteriously left out of NRC though produces strong document – Anandabazar 4 September, https://www.anandabazar.com/national/some-people-myteriously-left-out-of-nrc-though-produces-strong-document-1.1040816

[22] Neighbour states of Assam on alert on people left out of NRC – Anandabazar 4 September, https://www.anandabazar.com/national/neighbour-states-of-assam-on-alert-on-people-left-out-of-nrc-1.1040818

[23] Women got married in Assam, are anxious about NRC – Anandabazar, 4 September, 2019, https://www.anandabazar.com/national/women-got-married-in-assam-are-anxious-about-nrc-1.1040827

[24] https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=446693229235663

[25] People thinking of returning military medals after being left out of NRC – Anandabazar, 4 September, 2019, https://www.anandabazar.com/national/people-thinking-of-returning-military-medals-after-being-left-out-of-nrc-1.1040823

[26] Raju Bista, Darjeeling BJP MP admits, more than one lakh Gorkha are out of NRC – Anandabazar, 6 September, 2019, https://www.anandabazar.com/district/north-bengal/raju-bista-darjeeling-bjp-mp-admits-more-than-one-lakh-gorkha-are-out-of-nrc-1.1041770

[27] Man lost documents in flood, now out of NRC – Anandabazar, 6 September, 2019, https://www.anandabazar.com/district/north-bengal/man-lost-documents-in-flood-now-out-of-nrc-1.1041780

[28] Assam NRC: Those who are not in final list, would not enter in other state, says Amit Shah – Anandabazar 10 September, 2019, https://www.anandabazar.com/national/assam-nrc-those-who-are-not-in-final-list-would-not-enter-in-other-state-says-amit-shah-1.1043398

[29] Will provide citizenship to Hindus: Shah, July 1, 2019,

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/will-provide-citizenship-to-hindus-shah/article28254094.ece

[30] Many of the Labours may be kept in the Detention Centre made by themselves – Anandabazar 14 September, 2019,
https://www.anandabazar.com/national/many-of-the-labours-may-be-kept-in-the-detention-centre-made-by-themselves-1.1045315

[31] Saswati sarkar, Shanmukh and Dikgaj, “The Lesser Hindus of India and The Detention camps of the Indian State, ‘’

The Lesser Hindus of India and The Detention camps of the Indian State

[32] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbyNQIZzDMc

[33] Dainik Jugasankha, Silchar Edition, 24 October, 2019

[34] Assam NRC: Workers at India’s first detention camp for illegal migrants may end up there, September 8, 2019, https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/assam-nrc-detention-camps-for-illegal-migrants-bangladeshi-1596968-2019-09-08

[35] Assam NRC: Those who are excluded from the final list, are worried of their Future – Anandabazar 15 September, 2019, https://www.anandabazar.com/national/assam-nrc-those-who-are-excluded-from-the-final-list-are-worried-of-their-future-1.1045762

[36] Two million face statelessness as India’s Assam publishes citizens’ list to weed out ‘illegal migrants’, 31 August, 2019, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/08/31/two-million-made-stateless-indian-state-assam-publishes-citizens/

[37] Sanjoy Hazarika, “India’s citizenship question and the never-ending Assam imbroglio’’, 15 September, 2019, https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/india-citizenship-question-assam-imbroglio-190914153846262.html

[38] এনআরসি থেকে বাদ পড়া ৪০ লক্ষের মধ্যে ৩০ লক্ষই হিন্দু, আসামকে ইসলামী রাজ্য বানানোর চক্রান্ত : রেল প্রতিমন্ত্রী, October 27, 2018,

https://www.tdnbangla.com/news/national/out-of-40-lakhs-excluded-from-nrc-hindus-plot-to-make-assam-state-islamic-says-railway-minister/

[39] http://www.elections.in/assam/parliamentary-constituencies/nawgong.html

[40] Union Minister Rajen Gohain denied BJP ticket, March 26, 2019, https://www.deccanherald.com/lok-sabha-election-2019/union-minister-rajen-gohain-denied-bjp-ticket-725238.html

[41] Assam NRC: Final list published in website but lots of mistakes are there – Anandabazar 15 September, 2019,
https://www.anandabazar.com/national/assam-nrc-final-list-published-in-website-but-lots-of-mistakes-are-there-1.1045797

[42] Long Read: The NRC Has Been Sabotaged, Bangladeshi Infiltrators Obtain Legitimacy While Assamese Are Hurting, 1 September, 2019, https://swarajyamag.com/politics/long-read-the-nrc-has-been-sabotaged-bangladeshi-infiltrators-obtain-legitimacy-while-assamese-are-hurting

[43] 1 lakh Gorkhas, genuine Indians left out of NRC final list: Mamata Banerjee, 1 September, 2019, https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/shocked-to-see-genuine-indians-left-out-of-nrc-list-mamata-banerjee-1594112-2019-09-01

[44] Assam NRC: Rights body says over one lakh tribals excluded, 2 September, 2019,

http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2019/sep/02/assam-nrc-rights-body-says-over-one-lakh-tribals-excluded-2027904.html

[45] Excluded from NRC in Assam: 19, 06, 657, 14 September, 2019, https://indianexpress.com/article/north-east-india/assam/nrc-final-list-low-count-assam-bjp-aasu-congress-5955125/

[46] Dainik Jugasankha, 31 August, 2019

[47] Dainik Jugasankha, Silchar Edition, 20 October, 2019, https://dainikjugasankha.in/edition/silchar/?t=m

[48] Dainik Prantajyoti, 21 October, 2019,

[49] Dainik Jugasankha, Silchar Edition, 19 October, 2019, https://dainikjugasankha.in/edition/silchar/?t=m

[50] Woman worried that her mother may have to go to detention camp as her name not included in NRC list – Anandabazar, 17 September, 2019, https://www.anandabazar.com/state/woman-worried-that-her-mother-may-have-to-go-to-detention-camp-as-her-name-not-included-in-nrc-list-1.1046715

[51] Rajbanshi community agitated over final NRC draft – Anandabazar 18 September, 2019, https://www.anandabazar.com/district/north-bengal/rajbanshi-community-agitated-over-final-nrc-draft-1.1047158

[52] Humans of Assam: This MLA hopes his exclusion from NRC will give courage to others facing same fate, 4 September, 2019, https://scroll.in/article/936062/humans-of-assam-this-mla-hopes-his-exclusion-from-nrc-will-give-courage-to-others-facing-same-fate

[53] NRC’s final list will be published when RGI will publish it – Anandabazar 19 September, 2019, https://www.anandabazar.com/national/nrc-s-final-list-will-be-published-when-rgi-will-publish-it-1.1047606

[54] Bengalis of Barak And Brahmaputra are the natives of Assam – Anandabazar, 21 September, 2019, https://www.anandabazar.com/national/bengalis-of-barak-and-brahmaputra-are-the-natives-of-assam-1.1048628

[55] Speaking Order to reach to NRC-drop outs in November – Anandabazar, 21 September, 2019, https://www.anandabazar.com/national/speaking-order-to-reach-to-nrc-drop-outs-in-november-1.1048632

[56] Rs 1,220-cr and 10 years later, NRC leaves group favouring exercise dissatisfied, raises doubts over migrant numbers in Assam, https://www.firstpost.com/india/rs-1220-cr-and-10-years-later-nrc-leaves-group-favouring-exercise-disastified-final-list-raises-questions-false-claims-on-migrants-7271991.html

[57] NRC: Panic grips ‘over 10 lakh’ Hindu Bengalis, 3 September, 2019, https://www.deccanherald.com/national/east-and-northeast/nrc-panic-grips-over-10-lakh-hindu-bengalis-758845.html

[58] Kin of Bengalis shot dead in Assam’s Tinsukia recount horror, village in shock, 3 November, 2018, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/kin-of-bengalis-shot-dead-in-assam-s-tinsukia-recount-horror-village-in-shock/story-69iRswjkNv249cNxBl2HUL.html

[59] NRC ground report from an Assam village of Bengali Hindus, Manogya Loiwal, 2 September, 2019 https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/nrc-ground-report-from-an-assam-village-of-bengali-hindus-1594609-2019-09-02

[60] Assam NRC: Those who are excluded are indifferent of Durga Puja 2019 – Anandabazar 25 September, 2019, https://www.anandabazar.com/district/north-bengal/assam-nrc-those-who-are-excluded-are-indifferent-of-durga-puja-2019-1.1050530

[61] Left out of NRC, Assam’s Bengali Hindus root for disputed Citizenship Bill, 5 September, 2019,

[62] Humans of Assam: Born in Bengal, married in Assam, this 65-year-old woman did not make it to NRC, September 5, 2019,

https://scroll.in/article/936063/humans-of-assam-born-in-bengal-married-in-assam-this-65-year-old-woman-did-not-make-it-to-nrc

[63] NRC Anarchy, 25 August, 2018, https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/nrc-anarchy/cid/1700006

[64] Of no fixed abode: Proving citizenship under NRC tougher than breaking gender stereotypes for a 1964 riots survivor, August 18, 2018,

https://www.firstpost.com/india/of-no-fixed-abode-proving-citizenship-under-nrc-tougher-than-breaking-gender-stereotypes-for-1964-riots-survivor-lakshmi-4992061.html

[65] As NRC deadline looms, anxieties mount in Assam as most of those excluded struggle to file claims, 8 December, 2018,

https://scroll.in/article/904586/as-nrc-deadline-looms-anxieties-grow-in-assam-as-most-of-those-excluded-struggle-to-file-claims

[66] Why Is BJP Changing Tack on NRC in Assam? 30 August, 2019,

https://thewire.in/politics/bjp-change-tack-nrc-assam

[67] 300,000 objections to inclusion of people in Assam NRC filed on final day, 2 January, 2019,

https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/north-east/300-000-objections-to-inclusion-of-people-in-assam-nrc-filed-on-final-day/cid/1680551

[68] মুখোমুখি শিলাদিত্য দেব (বিজেপি বিধায়ক, অসম)। বিষয় – উত্তর পূর্বে এনআরসি, 12 September, 2019,

[69] Malatibala of Assam laments that she wants to die as an Indian – Anandabazar 17 October, 2019, https://www.anandabazar.com/national/malatibala-of-assam-laments-that-she-wants-to-die-as-an-indian-1.1059189

[70] Ved Prakash, Terrorism in india’s North-east: A Gathering Storm, Volume 1

[71] ULFA chief Paresh Baruah flexed his monetary muscle to slip away during a 2009 raid: Reports https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/nation/story/20111010-assam-ulfa-chief-paresh-baruah-2009-raid-747866-2011-09-30

[72] B. Raman, “ULFA The Hindu Mercenaries of Jihadis’’
http://www.indiandefencereview.com/news/ulfa-the-hindu-mercenaries-of-jihadis/

[73] “Paresh Barua Embraced Islam for Safe Haven in Bangladesh’’ https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Paresh-embraced-Islam-for-safe-haven-in-Bangla/articleshow/20237370.cms

[74] Exclusive: Money makes Ulfa commander Paresh Baruah a rebel https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-exclusive-money-makes-ulfa-commander-paresh-baruah-a-rebel-1590105

[75] Guwahati: 4 injured in low intensity blast, 13 October, 2018,
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/guwahati-4-injured-in-low-intensity-blast/articleshow/66192629.cms

[76] Assam MLA quit threat over Ulfa leader’s talk, 27 October, 2018,

https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/north-east/assam-mla-quit-threat-over-ulfa-leaders-talk/cid/1672693

[77] Assam: ULFA threatens BJP MLA Shiladitya Dev, 24 October, 2018, https://nenow.in/north-east-news/assam-ulfa-threatens-bjp-mla-shiladitya-deb.html

[78] Fearing unrest, Assam says no to pro-citizenship bill rally, 23 October, 2018,

https://www.asianage.com/india/all-india/231018/fearing-unrest-assam-says-no-to-pro-citizenship-bill-rally.html

[79] বাঙালী সংগঠন নালাগে বিজেপি চৰকাৰেও পাতিব নোৱাৰিব সমাৱেশ, বজ্ৰ ঘোষণা জিতেন দত্তৰ 18, October, 2018,

https://assam.nenow.in/citizenship-bill-forget-bengali-forum-even-bjp-government-wont-be-allowed-to-organise-mass-gathering-warns-ulfa-leader-jiten/

[80] Two dead, two injured in grenade blast in Assam’s Shivasagar, 22 November 2018,
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/one-dead-two-injured-in-grenade-blast-in-assams-shivasagar/articleshow/66753078.cms

[81] Despite submitting documents, I’m excluded from Final NRC List, 24 September, 2019, https://w ww.thequint.com/my-report/excluded-from-assam-nrc-final-list-despite-submitting-documents

[82] nrc_article_part1_reference_82

[83] Humiliated Over ‘Foreigner’ Tag, Retired Assam Teacher Kills Himself, 22 October, 2018, https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/assam-nrc-humiliated-over-foreigner-tag-retired-assam-teacher-nirod-kumar-das-kills-himself-1935624

[84] Man commits suicide after being served D-Voter notice by FT in Udalguri, 29 October, 2018, 29 October, 2018, https://www.sentinelassam.com/north-east-india-news/assam-news/man-commits-suicide-after-being-served-d-voter-notice-by-ft-in-udalguri/

[85] I am really scared: Hindu Bengali Refugees excluded from NRC list, 5 September, 2019, https://www.thequint.com/videos/news-videos/i-am-really-scared-hindu-bengali-refugees-excluded-from-nrc-list

[86] Shiladitya Deb’s statements https://m.facebook.com/1140769394/posts/10215457822495653/

[87] Dainik Jugasankha, 3^rd September, 2019, https://dainikjugasankha.in/edition/guwahati/?pg=8&ar_date=03-09-2019#page8

[88] Dainik PrantyaJyoti 12 September, 2019 http://dainikprantojyoti.com/12-09-19/epaper.html

[89] Dainik Jugasankha, 25 September, 2019, https://dainikjugasankha.in/edition/silchar/?ar_date=25-09-2019&t=25-09-2019

[90] NRC Assam: Strong Plea of NELEC to Implement Gazette Notifications, 7 September, 2019, https://www.sentinelassam.com/north-east-india-news/cachar-news/nrc-assam-strong-plea-of-nelec-to-implement-gazette-notifications/

[91] Man excluded from NRC list died in Assam – Anandabazar October 6, 2019, https://www.anandabazar.com/national/man-excluded-from-nrc-list-died-in-assam-1.1055431

[92] Man from Assam allegedly committed suicide due to NRC-worry – Anandabazar, 30 August, 2019, https://www.anandabazar.com/national/man-from-assam-allegedly-committed-suicide-due-to-nrc-worry-1.1038350

[93] Husband committed suicide, wife is indifferent about NRC, Anandabazar, 1 September, 2019, https://www.anandabazar.com/national/husband-committed-suicide-wife-is-indifferent-about-nrc-1.1039284

[94] People are anxious on legal steps over NRC case – Anandabazar, 2 September, 2019, https://www.anandabazar.com/state/people-are-anxious-on-legal-steps-over-nrc-case-1.1039781

[95] Old man died being left out of NRC – Anandabazar 2 September, 2019, https://www.anandabazar.com/national/old-man-died-being-left-out-of-nrc-1.1039746

[96] Political patries target nineteen lakh people out of NRC – Anandabazar, 2 September, 2019, https://www.anandabazar.com/national/political-patries-target-nineteen-lakh-people-out-of-nrc-1.1039744

[97] After Prateek Hajela’s assurance man out of NRC in Assam – Anandabazar 2 September, 2019, https://www.anandabazar.com/national/after-prateek-hajela-s-assurance-man-out-of-nrc-in-assam-1.1039740

[98] People out of NRC are anxious – Anandabazar 2 September, 2019, https://www.anandabazar.com/national/people-out-of-nrc-are-anxious-1.1039630

[99] Despite being included in NRC list, no relief for people of Assam right now dgtl – Anandabazar, 1 September, 2019, https://www.anandabazar.com/editorial/despite-being-included-in-nrc-list-no-relief-for-people-of-assam-right-now-dgtl-1.1039452

[100] Mother of two shocked as their names missing from final NRC list dgtl – Anandabazar 1 September, 2019, https://www.anandabazar.com/national/mother-of-two-shocked-as-their-names-missing-from-final-nrc-list-dgtl-1.1039427

[101] After NRC final list anxiety in Barobisha – Anandabazar, 1 September, 2019, https://www.anandabazar.com/state/after-nrc-final-list-anxiety-in-barobisha-1.1039379

[102] Husband committed suicide, wife is indifferent about NRC – Anandabazar, 1 September, 2019, https://www.anandabazar.com/national/husband-committed-suicide-wife-is-indifferent-about-nrc-1.1039284

[103] Mother’s name is out of NRC, son is in list – Anandabazar, 1 September, 2019, https://www.anandabazar.com/national/mother-s-name-is-out-of-nrc-son-is-in-list-1.1039274

[104] Central intelligence in North Bengal to watch NRC effect – Anandabazar, 1 September 2019, https://www.anandabazar.com/state/central-intelligence-in-north-bengal-to-watch-nrc-effect-1.1039253

[105] Assam NRC: Final list to be published on 31st August, 2019, 41 Lac people may be excluded dgtl, 31 August, 2019, https://www.anandabazar.com/national/assam-nrc-final-list-to-be-published-on-31st-august-2019-41-lac-people-may-be-excluded-dgtl-1.1038509

[106] Dainik Jugasankha, Silchar Edition, October 16, 2019

[107] Dainik Jugasankha, Guahati edition, 1 September, 2019

[108] Dainik Jugasankha, Silchar edition, 6 September, 2019

[109] Dainik Jugasankha, Silchar edition, 30 September, 2019

[110] Dainik Jugasankha, Silchar edition, 21 September, 2019, https://dainikjugasankha.in/edition/silchar/?ar_date=21-09-2019&t=21-09-2019

[111] Dainik Jugasankha, Silchar edition, 20 September, 2019, https://dainikjugasankha.in/edition/silchar/?ar_date=20-09-2019&t=20-09-2019

[112] nrc_article_part1_reference_112

[113] Singer Shaan was attacked for singing Bengali song in Guwahati, Assam, 28, October, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVBpom36uGE

[114] Dainik Jugasankha, Silchar edition, 11 September, 2019

[115] Assam NRC: Are India’s ‘unwanted people’ being driven to suicide? 28 June, 2019, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-48754802

[116] The importance of the visit of RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat to Silchar, 1 October, 2019,Organizer,https://www.organiser.org/Encyc/2019/10/1/RSS-Sarsangchalak-Mohan-Bhagwat-visits-Silchar.html

[117] Dainik Jugasankha, Silchar edition, 6 September, 2019

[118] Dainik Prantojyoti, 15 October, 2019

[119] Dainik Jugasankha, Silchar edition, 15 October, 2019

[120] Seems they don’t want us to prove our identity’: Same persons get multiple D-voter notices post NRC, Indian Express, October 16, 2019, https://indianexpress.com/article/north-east-india/assam/assam-nrc-persons-get-multiple-d-voter-notices-6070260/

[121] Assam NRC: Son follows in father’s footsteps, commits suicide, 14 March, 2019, https://www.sabrangindia.in/article/assam-nrc-son-follows-fathers-footsteps-commits-suicide

[122] Death by Citizenship: A loving son, a brave mother, a distraught father – faces of Assam’s tragedy, 16 July, 2019,

https://scroll.in/article/930624/death-by-citizenship-a-loving-son-a-brave-mother-a-distraught-father-faces-of-assams-tragedy

[123] Dainik Jugasankha, 4 September, 2019

[124] Dainik Jugasankha, 2 September, 2019

[125] বাবার পথেই আত্মঘাতী ছেলে, অসমে NRC-র বাঙালি ‘বলি‘ ৪১, 10 June, 2019,

https://eisamay.indiatimes.com/nation/assam-son-follows-in-fathers-footsteps-commits-suicide-due-to-nrc/articleshow/69724404.cms

[126]Dainik Prantojyoti, 29 October, 2019

[127] NRC Process Harassing for My 80 Year old Mum & She’s still excluded https://www.thequint.com/my-report/nrc-process-harassing-for-80-yr-old-mum-assam

[128] Dainik Jugasankha, Silchar Edition, 2 November, 2019

[129] The Dreaded List of Assam. https://archive.fo/20130217223724/http://easternpanorama.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1583&Itemid=10

[130] Panel seeks suggestions from public on Clause 6 of Assam Accord, 22 August, 2019, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/panel-seeks-suggestions-from-public-on-clause-6-of-assam-accord/story-IQ2FsfCTCjUAxFYnWHjAHO.html

[131] Saswati Sarkar, Shanmukh, Dikgaj, “The Lesser Hindus of India and The Detention camps of the Indian State’’, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/panel-seeks-suggestions-from-public-on-clause-6-of-assam-accord/story-IQ2FsfCTCjUAxFYnWHjAHO.html

[132] Nirmal Kumar Bose, “My Days with Gandhi’’

[133] Climate refugees stripped of citizenship in Assam, https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/2019/11/08/climate-refugees-stripped-of-citizenship-in-assam/

[134] Aarti Tikoo Singh, My speech at US Congressional hearing, 24 October, 2019,

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/Tic-Tac-Toe/my-speech-at-us-congressional-hearing/

[135] On J&K, Indian Journalist’s Face-Off With Ilhan Omar In US Congress, 24 October, 2019,https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/us-hearing-on-kashmir-a-setup-against-india-in-favour-of-pakistan-says-journalist-aarti-tikoo-singh-2121204

[136] Jay Panda Chopper Row : ‘If Abhijit Iyer-Mitra’s Action Was Stupid, What Odisha Govt Did Is Even More Stupid’, 20 September, 2018,

https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/if-abhijit-iyer-mitras-action-was-stupid-what-odisha-govt-did-is-even-more-stupid/316864

[137] US Congressional Hearing on South Asia, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7CvelSHeWw

[138] US Congressional Hearing on South Asia with testimony from witnesses https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9N48k6k3SY

[139] India’s Journey into Illiberal Democracy, https://www.ft.com/content/331677bc-03c5-11ea-9afa-d9e2401fa7ca

[140] Aatish Taseer, “Why is India sending me into exile?’’ https://time.com/5721667/aatish-taseer-india-oci/

[141] Religious Freedom Implications of the NRC https://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/2019%20India%20Issue%20Brief%20-%20Religious%20Freedom%20Implications.pdf

[142] Bhushan: Need to fight BJP’s divisive politics, https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/north-east/need-to-fight-bjps-divisive-politics-bhushan/cid/1719761

[143] অসমের মতোই দেশের সব রাজ্যেই হবে এনআরসি, জানালেন অমিত শাহ, 21 November, 2019,

https://www.anandabazar.com/national/nrc-will-be-implemented-across-the-entire-country-says-amit-shah-1.1073325

[144] Dainik Prantojyoti, 18 November, 2019

[145] Dainik Jugasankha, Kolkata edition, 18 November, 2019

[146] https://m.dailyhunt.in/news/india/bangla/aajkaal-epaper-aajkal/6+mama+masi+bharatiy+tabu+oder+ma+bideshi+jelabandi-newsid-149643058 nrc_article_part1_reference_146

[147] https://www.thebetterindia.com/203756/assam-nrc-wrongly-listed-name-tripura-principal-citizenship-detention-india/

[148] Beyond the call of duty – the Assam story, 16 November, 2019, https://sabrangindia.in/article/beyond-call-duty-assam-story

[149] Mainuddin Chisti, 1 December, 2019, Assam settlers pin NRC hope on Didi

https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/west-bengal/assam-settlers-pin-nrc-hope-on-didi/cid/1723328