Identity assertion in Assam in NE states has always been a sensitive exercise. But on the whole, political parties as well as common people of the state deserve much credit for maintaining peace and harmony, generally speaking. However, this time the upgrading of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is taking place at the same time as the general elections, generating fresh to administrative complexities and political tensions.

To give only one instance of how wires are getting crossed within the already overworked administration: it appears that two persons, both residents of Morigaon district, should be able to cast their votes in 2019. Their names figure in the revised voters’ list, no problems there.

But there is a big problem elsewhere: Authorities of the Second Foreigners’ Tribunal have in both cases declared them as ‘foreigners’, after checking their documents. They are Zainal Abedin, husband of Anwara Begum, with two daughters and one son; all have been declared as foreigners. The other is Rafiqul Islam of the same district. Both men appealed in the High court and lost. They are continuing their legal battle,, but their status remains unchanged !

The Supreme Court in such cases has ordered that the right to vote cannot be denied, obviously assuming that the matter will eventually get sorted out. This applies to people left out of the upgraded NRC lists as well. But at a politically sensitive time like the elections, such instances have the potential to make things unnecessarily difficult and lead to frayed tempers on a community basis. The fact that both men are Muslims does not help matters at all.

There have been many complaints filed by both Hindus and Muslims against what they felt was the arbitrary exercise of their powers by some NRC officials. At least 10 persons, mostly in the Barak valley, have committed suicide over their failure to convince officialdom that they were not foreigners, rightly or wrongly.

What has been glossed over is the kind of harassment, mental tensions and expenditure the common man has to face in proving his citizenship---assuming a person is not a foreigner as defined by the law.

There can be no denying that for most barely literate, poor citizens living in interior villages in Assam for generations, meeting every demand made by NRC officials for official documents etc, can prove a near impossible task. It is generally conceded that any misapplication of justice can result in ruining the lives of families as well as individuals.

This is not to blame the NRC authorities either, as they have to take hard decisions, working under great pressure and the rules prescribed for them. On the other hand, as civil rights campaigners suggest, there should also be sufficient legal safeguards and provisions to ensure that the administration suitably compensates anyone unfairly harassed and hounded.

With the pre-poll campaign in full swing in Assam, such issues have taken a backseat for now. Eager to score debating points and win as many seats as possible in these high stakes elections, both national parties the Indian National Congress(INC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), are back to doing what they do best anyway--- blaming each other !

It is not as though the BJP is the only party to leave most voters in Assam and the other states in the Northeast badly confused and divided on the critical issue of future citizenship and stability. The INC is no different. Worse, the parties themselves are divided on the issue.

While Mr. Amit Shah, BJP President has made it amply clear that it will re-introduce the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) in Parliament again, Mr. Kiren Rijiju Union MoS Home has clarified for local consumption that its provisions will not apply to the NE region. THE CAB assures citizenship status to people of Indian origin displaced or driven out of countries like Pakistan Afghanistan or Bangladesh, provided they are Hindus, Parsis, Christians, Buddhists or Jains, etc. Parties with a sizable Muslim vote bank, such as the INC the Trinamool Congress etc, have strongly opposed the CAB for what they consider its communal, anti-Muslim approach.

The confusion — until the BJP released its poll manifesto, it did not officially endorse Rijiju’s stand — left most major ethnic and tribal groups, as well as the Assamiyas, restive about their future. Most political parties and major ethnic groups have reiterated their fears of being swamped in their homeland again in fresh statements today, led by Samujjal Bhattacharya of the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), even after the BJP has clarified its stand at the central level, endorsing Rijiju’s stand.

The BJP also has exposed what it calls the INC’s duplicity over the CAB. Assam BJP leaders Mr Ramen Deka MP and former State Minister Kabindra Purakayastha have alleged that the INC had earlier supported the idea of citizenship for Bengali Hindus coming over from Bangladesh. Mr. Purakaystha accused the Congress Party’s of opportunism as the party did not clarify its stand on Bengali Hindus living in the NE.

Mr. Deka went further and gave details to the Assamiya media. He claimed possession of documents sent by Assam Government during the tenure of Mr. Tarun Gogoi as the Chief Minister, to the UPA and NDA Governments in Delhi. In memos dated April 20, 2012, July 16, 2014, June 1, 2015 and again later in 2015, the Assam Government had sent proposals to confer a citizenship status for the Bengali Hindus living in the state.

Both accused the Congress of pandering to Muslim sentiments and keeping their vote bank politics alive, by maintaining an opportunistic silence on the status of Bengali Hindus now.

With her known propensity to jump headlong into controversial political battles, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, sensing an opportunity to expand her political base in the NE region, held public meetings at Dhubri and the Barak Valley recently. Her party has put up candidates in the Assam LS polls. Focusing her attack against the NRC exercise, she promised total, open-ended support for both Hindus and Muslims who would be declared as foreigners, from West Bengal. (IPA Service)