NRC rider to ‘Assamese’

Guwahati, July 22 : Dispur has told the Centre that it would not be possible to define who is an “Assamese” without completing the process of updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC), 1951.

The Union home ministry had yesterday asked the Assam government to expedite the process of the definition to ensure a decision on 100 per cent reservation of seats in the Assembly, Parliament and other local bodies for the state’s indigenous people.

The ministry expressed unhappiness over the inordinate delay in defining “Assamese” by the group of ministers (GOM) that had been constituted by the state government in 2005 to take a final decision on the issue.

Highly placed sources told The Telegraph that Dispur had apprised the Centre that the GOM was constrained to take a decision under the present status of NRC as it might generate negative repercussion among various communities and lead to a law and order problem.

“The very process of updating the NRC has not yet been able to progress properly due to division of opinions. While the minority groups want the update on the basis of the voters’ list of 1971, many non-minority organisations have demanded that the NRC be updated on the basis of the voters’ list published in 1952. The AASU, in its report submitted to the GOM, clearly stated that the NRC 1951 or the voters’ list of 1952 be taken as the benchmark to define the concept of indigenous Assamese people. So the government feels that it would be a politically immature step to take the final decision on the issue without waiting for the completion of the NRC update,” the source said.

Sources said the BPPF (Mohilary) — a partner in the Congress-led government — has also threatened to demand a separate state if its demand for reservation of some seats in Assam exclusively for tribals was not given due consideration by the Union and state governments.

“Keeping in mind next year’s Assembly poll, the Congress government will not raise a sensitive and thorny issue like definition of Assamese,” the source said.

AASU adviser Sammujjal Bhattacharyya termed the government step as an attempt to woo illegal Bangladeshis for votes. He said the AASU does not understand the logic of the NRC update to define who is an Assamese.

He said considering the gravity of socio-economic aggression by illegal foreigners, the AASU also wants creation of a provision under the clause 7 of the Assam Accord to enable the people to assert an exclusive right over land and other natural resources in the state. He said since flood and erosion were fast eating up huge quantum of lands, Assam must come out with a proper land policy to protect the interest of indigenous people.

“The AASU’s demand is being given due consideration,” a source said.