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As the @BJP4India calls #Assam’s citizenship census flawed and admits there were ‘lacunae’, it’s asking for a re-verification and says the govt will take ‘steps’ to fix the exclusion of genuine citizens. In Assam, locals tell me they are tired of this exercise and want closure
For so many it’s about the fear of what comes next, the worry about the uncertainty and questions about how long their lives will be in limbo. There’s anger, disbelief and the recurring theme is that of harassment.
Someone told me yesterday that he had to pay a bribe of 600 INR (8$) to get his wife’s name included in the final list. Others claim they are being targeted because they speak Bengali. An official asked a retired gentleman what his address was in B’desh because of his last name
A lady asked me v belligerently if her brothers were Indians how could she be a foreigner? Says I’m not scared, just tired of making countless rounds to govt offices. This as she clutched a plastic bag with her identity papers in her hand- papers that will determine her future
Every home I’ve visited (now and last year), yellowed pages of tax records, land documents, legacy proofs and every conceivable document you can think of were central to the family’s existence. And this is not ending any time soon.
This is enforced ‘statelessness’ & irrespective of your outlook - that this is a communal exercise vs unchecked illegal immigration being a genuine problem - we must have sympathy for the nearly 2 million who will have to fight this everyday for the foreseeable future
We know how corrupt & difficult the system is, how tough it is sometimes to even pay your bills, disconnect a phone line, get your passport or even file a police complaint. Now imagine all of that magnified to a level where the onus is on you to prove that you’re not a foreigner
