Introduction:
Section 3(1) (a) of the Citizenship Act states – “Every person born in India on or after the 26th of January, 1950 but before the 1st day of July 1987 shall be a citizen of India by birth.” A new concept NRC has been introduced by the Indian Government, according to this, it will help the government to distinguish the illegal immigrants, and also to detect the rise of terrorism. The ideology of NRC has already gained a lot of controversies.
The National Registrar of Citizens is a record of the names of all genuine Indian Citizens, which are in the state of Assam. This was prepared for the first time, after the 1951 census of India. The concept and authority of NRC have been expanded and now, it is required to include the name of Citizens of India or their descendants, where the names exist in the NRC- 1951 or any of the electoral rolls till 24th March 1971, or in case of any other admissible document which is issued up to midnight of 24th March 1971, as this will showcase the proof of their presence and existence in Assam or any other part of India.
Due to an increase in terrorism, especially through the illegal border crossing, the purpose of NRC, is to identify those illegal immigrants.
NRC and its Impact on Democracy
The process of NRC had made the concept of citizenship as an impression of rejection, whereas the idea of citizenship should be based on People. But not it is about the state. The complete process of NRC can undermine the idea of citizenship by birth, which is considered as an ideal , liberal and universal approach. And forming the idea of citizenship by Relationship is not a progressive concept.
As another way, NRC leads to checking and suspecting their own citizens, and this could be a question mark on the Indian Democracy
NPR & NRC
National Population Register (NPR), originates from the Citizenship( Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003. Population Register is defined in Rule 2(I) of 2003 rules, which states that the particular register contains the details of those persons who usually reside in a village or rural area or town or ward or demarcated area. NPR is considered as a mandatory, as in every resident of India need to take part in the process necessarily, which includes citizens as well as non-citizens. NPR is created under Section 14A of the Citizenship Act. The main reason or objective of NPR is to create an inclusive and broad identity database in the country, with all identification as including well-detailed information.
Whereas Rule 2(k) states the definition and purpose of the National Registrar of Indian Citizen, as that register which contains details of the Indian Citizens, who are in India and Outside India. Section 14 A of the Citizenship Act affords for the maintenance of NRIC, and it can be derived that NPR, NRC, and CAA are the result of the Citizenship Act 1955.
According to Rule 4(3) of the Citizenship Rules, the National Register of Indian Citizens will first be prepared at the local level by a Local Registrar. Accordingly, the Local Registrar will analyze the information of every individual and family in the local Population Register and will create a group of ‘Doubtful Citizens’, who will then be asked to provide proof of their citizenship.
Documents Required – NRC
In the verification of documents, there are two Lists- A & B
LIST A
List A comprises a set of documents, which are required to be an issue before 24th March 1971 (MIDNIGHT), required by people to show to get the name register under NRC. It is required that on the document, the self-name and the name of the ancestor is required
Here is the list A of those documents issued before 24 March (midnight), 1971 which is required for the people to show to get the name register under NRC. On the document, your self-name and name of an ancestor are required.
1. 1951 NRC (if available)
2. Electoral Roll(s) up to 24 March (midnight), 1971
3. Land & Tenancy Records
4. Citizenship Certificate
5. Permanent Residential Certificate
6. Refugee Registration Certificate
7. Any Govt. issued License/Certificate
8. Govt. Service/ Employment Certificate
9. Bank/Post Office Accounts
10.Birth Certificate
11. Board/University Educational Certificate
12. Court Records/Processes
13. Circle Officer/GP Secretary Certificate in respect of married women migrating after marriage.
14. Ration Card as supporting documents.
LIST B
Those applicants who do not have the documents mentioned in the List A on their self- name but have an ancestor, namely, father or mother or grandfather or grandmother or great grandfather or great grandmother need to submit the documents mentioned in this list.
1. Bank/LIC/Post Office records
2.Birth Certificate
3.Board/University Certificate
4.Circle Officer/GP Secretary Certificate in case of married women
5.Electoral Roll
6.Land document
7.Ration Card
8.Any other legally acceptable document
There are two consequences, in case the person does not get registered under NRC-
1.Deported from the state currently living
2.Might get imprisonment for no issue of residency
Merits of NRC
As there is already a scarcity of resources in the world, and India is especially a resource-scarce country, and proper methods and strategies are required to be adopted, and the population of India is incredible as compared to other countries, and sometimes the resources are not supplied to the citizens. The number of people living in India increases, and one of the reasons is the addition of illegal immigrants in large numbers. And when there is a need to deliver basic amenities and needs to genuine and real Indian Citizens, the problem arises, as there is difficulty to distinguish between the real citizens of India and the illegal immigrants. The action of NRC, terms to be efficient, as per to this perspective, as it will help to identify the illegal immigrants, and steps can be taken for their deportation.
Secondly, by identifying the illegal immigrants, the voting process could be then proper, fair, and transparent as when only the Indian Citizens will cast their vote. As illegal immigrants, mostly swing the elections in favor of those politicians who promise them for their protection.
Demerits of NRC
The process lacks impartiality, transparency, and equality. India is a democratic country, and the main aim is to provide equal treatment to everyone, without discriminating against anyone. But on maintain and updating the NRC, with a huge population, and where the ratio of population is mostly of people with less income and low literacy rate. NRC is though a complicated process, and it’s very hard for them to understand the process.
In Assam, Foreign Tribunals are not working properly, and leading to bad justice. People have to present several documents, to prove their identity. Even in minor clerical mistakes, resulted in Foreign Tribunal not satisfied, and this has resulted in many Indian citizens to be categorized as Foreigners, and many times Foreign Tribunals have gone beyond their scope of power authorized, and also ordered arrest, detention, revoked ration cards, etc.
The process of NRC is not properly designed and its after-effects have not been analyzed, as how it will impact on the citizens, its effect internationally as well.
NRC has also created Religion Disputes, especially in the mindset of Muslims.
NRC and Neighbouring Countries
As CAA was passed in 2019, and one of the provisions of the CAA is to provide citizenship to persecuted non-Muslims such as Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians from Bangladesh, Pakistan, or Afghanistan, who entered in India on or before December 31, 2014, and this approach is totally against the Constitution. CAA is associated with NRC, and this can result to hamper the India’s relationship with its neighboring countries, especially Bangladesh and Nepal.
Firstly NRC was conducted in Assam, as to detect and deport the illegal Bangladeshi residing in Assam, and Bangladesh Government stated that none of its citizens are residing illegally in India. In 2014, the Indian government discussed this matter with the Bangladesh government and stated that it is an internal matter, and the Bangladesh Government was ready to accept any illegal Bangladeshi Immigrant. But CAA has complicated the situation and relations between two countries, when this was raised in the Parliament that CAA is required as Bangladesh, along with Pakistan and Afghanistan, as places where the non-Muslim minorities face persecution. This was not welcomed by Bangladesh.
As Nepal is a Hindu majority country, so the concept of CAA was not a serious issue, but then it was stated that to exclude Gurkhas from the NRC list, who are residing in Assam, but also those people who have the background of Nepal, but residing in India for decades, and belong to different ethnic group. As already the relationship between India and Nepal, are shaking up because of Border issues, and exclusion of those categorized people from the list will make the situation worse.
Conclusion
The government has not formulated the proper plan for the NRC and CAA implementation in the country. And no analysis was done, as what provisions embodied in the said acts, are infringing the rights of citizens, or take note of the relations with neighboring countries. As the relations with Bangladesh just improved, and now again they are on the verge of disturbance, and the same with Nepal and the other countries can take advantage of this situation. The idea behind NRC was thoughtful, as per the perspective of protecting the Indian Citizens and their rights, but due to bad policy and planning making, this whole process leads to protests around the country, inter-country relations got worsen and the old dispute of religion got degraded.
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