Exclusion of 40L raises concern: rights bodies

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International India (AII) on Tuesday said the "potential exclusion of over 40 lakh people, many of them Muslims", raises concerns over "arbitrary detention and possible statelessness" without due process.

Asking authorities to ensure that documenting and updating the names of citizens in Assam is "transparent and non-discriminatory", the rights organisations said the government has not formulated an official policy for those people who are excluded from the National Register of Citizens and declared foreigners by the tribunals.

"Assam has long sought to preserve its ethnic identity, but rendering millions of people stateless is not the answer. Indian authorities need to move swiftly to ensure the rights of Muslims and other vulnerable communities in Assam are protected from statelessness," HRW South Asia Director Meenakshi Ganguly said.

"The NRC should not become a political tool to render stateless people who have been living in India for decades and have established strong links with the country. During the process of claims and appeals, the state government should ensure that the people excluded from the NRC are not deprived of any government services, nor targeted or stigmatised in any manner," AII Executive Director Aakar Patel said.

The organisations said Bangladesh has not agreed to claim those people, whom India claims are illegal migrants, making deportation to Bangladesh unlikely. "India does not have an agreement on deportation with Bangladesh," they added.

Assam government on Tuesday published the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), which is aimed at identifying Indian citizens and legitimate residents following repeated protests and violence over "irregular migration" from Bangladesh.

Around 40 lakh people have not found their name in the list prepared following a nudge from the Supreme Court and the final list will be published in December this year after considering the appeals by those omitted in the list.