Residents of the state of Assam in north-east India are at risk of being without nationality and eventually being deported. Nearly two million people have not been included in the finalized Indian citizenship register, state authorities announced Saturday (August 31st).
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A total of 31.1 million inhabitants of Assam were registered in the National Register of Citizens (NRC), created at the initiative of the Hindu nationalist government, and 1.9 million others were not included according to an official statement. Security had been greatly strengthened in Assam for fear of overflowing during the publication of this list.
Assam, a Bangladeshi border worker, has been experiencing significant interethnic and inter-religious tensions for decades. The state has indeed seen an influx of immigrants since the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971.
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Residents of Assam have been calling for anti-immigration measures from Bangladesh for decades, and tensions are provoking sporadic outbreaks of violence, such as that of 1983, when some 2,000 people were massacred in a single day.
To be considered an Indian, everyone must be able to show that he or his ancestors lived in India before 1971. A particularly difficult exercise in this poor region where many are illiterate and have no documents. In January, MPs passed a law granting Indian citizenship to those who had arrived from Bangladesh, Pakistan or Afghanistan for at least six years - provided they were not Muslims.
With AFP