As the date for the publication of the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) for Assam inches closer, voices of criticism are growing louder. Not unexpectedly, detractors who want to shut down these critical voices too are getting noisier.
The NRC updation exercise, sanctioned by the Supreme Court in 2014, is aimed at identifying “illegal immigrants” from Bangladesh who entered Assam on or after 24 March 1971. Critics argue that the Rs 1,200 crore exercise has been selectively targeting Assam’s Bengali-speaking minorities, mostly Muslims, and has caused trauma and distress to large sections of the economically and socially marginalised population.
