Guwahati (India) (AFP)

The Indian government's decision to deprive nearly two million people of Indian nationality in the sensitive state of Assam (north-east) has sparked a wave of criticism, including within the ruling party.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose Hindu nationalist party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governs Assam, justifies his decision by the need to get rid of "foreign infiltrators".

Residents excluded, especially Muslims, could find themselves without nationality and eventually be deported, at the risk of causing further unrest in a country already under heavy tension in Kashmir.

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.

But local BJP officials point out that many Bengali-speaking Hindus have been banned from the NRC as an important electoral base for their party.

"We do not trust this NRC, we are very dissatisfied," Ranjeet Kumar Dass, president of the BJP for Assam, told Press Trust of India.

"Many people with false certificates have been registered" while 200,000 "authentic Indians" have been excluded, he said.

The NRC, which officially aims to fight against illegal immigration, asked the inhabitants of Assam to prove their Indian citizenship.

Critics accuse Hindu nationalists of using it to attack minorities, including Muslims.

Excluded persons from the NRC have 120 days to appeal to special foreign courts.

But opponents of this registration process claim that members of these courts are often under-qualified and subject to "performance" objectives and that the proceedings are riddled with inconsistencies and errors.

A leader of the Congress Party, India's main opposition force, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, announced that the party would support those who were wrongly excluded, including providing legal aid.

For the opposition, the NRC translates the objective of the BJP to satisfy only its co-religionists.

Those who have exhausted all legal remedies may be declared foreign and - in theory - placed in one of the six detention centers with a view to possible expulsion.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi on Sunday urged the Indian government not to detain or expel people in Assam before the end of the verification process.

"Any process that would leave a large number of people without nationality would seriously undermine efforts around the world to reduce the number of stateless people," he said in a statement.

A senior government official quoted Sunday by the newspaper The Hindu, on condition of anonymity, said it would be "impractical" to send into custody a large number of excluded.

"No decision has yet been made regarding who will be declared foreigners, perhaps they will be given work permits," he added.

© 2019 AFP