National Register of Citizens (NRC), 1951 is a register prepared after the conduct of the Census of 1951 in respect of each village, showing the houses or holdings in a serial order and indicating against each house or holding the number and names of persons staying therein. The NRC was published only once in 1951. The National Register of Citizens (NRC) contains names of Indian citizens of Assam www.jatinverma.org

1. NRC, IMDT Act and Foreigners Tribunals
What is NRC?
National Register of Citizens (NRC), 1951 is a register prepared after the
conduct of the Census of 1951 in respect of each village, showing the
houses or holdings in a serial order and indicating against each house or
holding the number and names of persons staying therein. The NRC was
published only once in 1951. The National Register of Citizens (NRC)
contains names of Indian citizens of Assam.
Why is there a demand for NRC?
Since the colonial Times Assam has seen migration from the adjoining
areas. British brought farmers and plantation workers from Bengal and
Bihar to augment their revenue. However, the problem of immigration
aggravated after separation of East Pakistan and the persecution of
Bangladeshis by the Pakistani Army. The large-scale immigration from
Bangladesh into the Assam during 60s and 70s had erupted mass-protests
in the state, culminated into signing of an accord between the leaders of
Assam and the Union Government. It set March 25, 1971, as the cut-off
date for the deportation of illegal migrants.
Recently Supreme Court in December 2014, ordered that the NRC be
updated in a time-bound manner.
1. Publication of an updated NRC is expected to deter future migrants
from Bangladesh from entering Assam illegally.
2. An updated NRC is likely to put an end to speculations about the
actual number of illegal migrants in Assam in particular and the
country in general.
3. It will provide a verified dataset to carry out meaningful debates and
implement calibrated policy measures.
4. Curbing their voting rights can be beneficial to India. As it will avoid

2. the illegal immigrants from swinging elections in favour of those who
promise them legitimacy.
5. India has already become a resource-scarce country. We are unable
to deliver the basic necessities to the genuine Indian citizens, and a
large number of additional immigrants will further worsen the
conditions. The efficient NRC will help us in identifying the illegal
immigrants and some steps can be taken for their deportation.
6. It will provide a verified dataset to carry out meaningful debates and
implement calibrated policy measures.
7. Inclusion of their names in the NRC will provide respite to all those
Bengali speaking people in Assam who have been, hitherto,
suspected as being Bangladeshis.
IMDT Act:
Illegal migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, 1983 was an act
describing the procedures to detect illegal migrants and expel them from
Assam. The burden of proving the citizenship or otherwise rested on the
accuser and the police, not the accused. This was a major departure from
the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946. The act made it difficult to
deport illegal immigrants from Assam. The act was stuck down by
Supreme Court of India in 2005 in Sarbananda Sonowal v. Union of India.
Foreigners Tribunal:
1. The Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964 was issued by the Central
Government under Section 3 of The Foreigners Act, 1946, to establish
Foreigners Tribunals in any state all over the country.
2. At present there are 100 Foreigners Tribunals in Assam, to expedite
the exercise of determining illegal immigrants in the state through
the NRC.
3. Recent amendments to Foreigners (Tribunal) Order, 1964 in May
2019 lays down the modalities for the Tribunals to decide on appeals
made by persons not satisfied with the outcome of claims and

3. objections filed against the NRC.
4. This Amendment Order also provides for reference by District
Magistrate to the Tribunal for its opinion as to whether the Appellant
is a “foreigner” or not within the meaning of the Foreigners Act, 1946.
5. Since NRC work is going on only in Assam, therefore, the Order,
amended and issued in May, 2019 is applicable only to Assam as on
date for all practical purposes.
What are the challenges with NRC and Foreigners
Tribunals (FT) at present?
1. The parallel processes of NRC, the voters list of the Election
Commission, and the Foreigners’ Tribunals with the help of the
Assam Border Police, have led to utter chaos, as none of these
agencies are sharing information with each other.
2. People who found themselves on the first list that was released on
January 1, 2018, didn’t find their names in the second. Even the
family of a former President of India did not mention on the list.
3. Though the draft provides a window for re-verification, due to large
number of people being excluded from the list, it will be very difficult
to physically verify all of them.
4. The qualifications to serve on the Tribunals have been progressively
loosened. The vague requirement of “judicial experience” has now
been expanded to include bureaucrats.
5. The ‘performance pressure’ has led to bad justice. People are tired of
showing their documents, proving their identities but the FT is never
satisfied. Minor clerical mistakes have resulted in the listing of Indian
citizens as Foreigners. At times FT has gone beyond scope of its
power and ordered arrest, detention, revoked ration cards etc. thus,
troubling a poor Indian.
6. Government is mulling to pass Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016
which seeks to grant citizenship to Hindu Bangladeshis. But under
NRC, a lot of Hindu Bangladeshi might not appear in the list and will
be declared as illegal migrants. Hence NRC is seen to be in conflict

4. with Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016.
7. Since such ‘non citizens’ can resort to judicial relief to substantiate
their citizenship claim, it can lead to overburdening of judiciary which
already reels under large number of pending cases.
8. It is been declared that illegal migrants out of the list of NRC will be
sent back to Bangladesh however India does not have any
deportation treaty with Bangladesh which will lead to further
complexities.
9. Moreover, raising this issue can also jeopardise relations with
Bangladesh. Such an attempt would not only damage bilateral
relations but also sully the country’s image internationally.
10. There is the prospect of being sent to one of the six existing
detention camps, or one of the 10 being planned. These have often
come into focus for lack of basic facilities,
Way Forward:
1. There is a need for a robust mechanism of legal support for the four
million who have to prove their citizenship to India with their limited
means.
2. Ensuring illegal migrants do not move into other states and
maintaining peace in the neighbourhood.
3. Another option is instituting work permits, which would give them
limited legal rights to work but ensure they have no political voice.
4. The published NRC should create an orderly mechanism for those
aggrieved by exclusion to exhaust judicial remedies in accordance
with law, without prejudicing their rights by prejudging any matter.
The accent should be on inclusion, not exclusion. The wheels of justice
cannot pander to the suspicions of a vocal majority without giving the
excluded access to due process.