Since the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was officially passed two weeks ago, the protests and riots that broke out have shown no sign of subsideping. Indian media reported that at least 25 people have died due to protests in India. Some analysts say that the situation has evolved into the "biggest crisis" since Indian Prime Minister Modi took office.
But compared with the large-scale protests that spread across the country, the Indian government led by Modi seems quite determined. According to a report by India's New Delhi TV station (NDTV) on the 24th, the Indian government cabinet approved a proposal to update the National Population Register (NPR) on the same day, which is expected to cost 85 billion rupees (approximately RMB 8.33 billion). Establish a comprehensive identity database for every "ordinarily resident" in the country. This was considered to be another focus of the protest - Assam 's "National Register of Citizens" (NRC) policy to be extended to the whole country, but it was denied by the Indian government and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
NPR has any connection with the NRC?
In the recent series of protests in India, "Oppose NRC" and "Oppose CAA" are the most common slogans. NPR's proposal once again aroused dissatisfaction and concern among protesters. In this regard, Indian Ministry of Interior Zhang Amit Shah emphasized on the 24th that NPR has nothing to do with NRC. The former is a database and the latter is a process that requires residents to prove their citizenship.
However, according to a report by "India Today" on the 25th, the Indian People's Party government has tied the NPR and the NRC together many times this time. In 2003, an announcement from the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Indian People's Party government compared the two. In addition, the Bharatiya Janata Party government, which has been in power again since 2014, stated in its annual report of the Ministry of Home Affairs for 2018-2019 that the NPR plan is the first step towards establishing a "National Register of Indian Citizens" (NPIC).
The Congress Party, now the opposition party, pointed out on the 24th that in 2014, a senior official of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Modi government stated that the National Register of Indian Citizens (NPIC) would be established through the NPR plan to "verify" everyone's citizenship. , which is consistent with NRC policy.
The NRC policy, which is currently implemented only in Assam, originated from the ethnic conflicts that broke out in the state in 1979 due to the influx of immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh. According to an earlier report by India's "Economic Times", years of conflict have cost thousands of lives, forcing the Congress government in 1985 to promise to ban illegal entry into Assam from the day before Bangladesh's Independence Day (March 25, 1979) Assam , but this promise has not been implemented due to the resistance of the Muslim community, the Congress Party’s “vote base”. Under the rule of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which holds Hindu nationalist views, the NRC was gradually implemented in Assam.
According to a report by the Indian news website Livemint on the 24th, the National Population Register (NPR) project began as early as 2010 and is expected to be carried out in 2020 together with the 2021 census. According to NPR, all persons who have resided in India for six months and plan to reside in India for the next six months and longer are considered “ordinarily resident” and are required to register with the NPR. From April to September 2020, NPR's registration project will be carried out in various parts of India except Assam. Each permanent resident needs to provide information such as name, relationship with the head of household, parents' name, gender, date of birth, marital status, nationality and other information.
reported that in the ongoing large-scale protests, NPR and NRC have gradually become confused. According to a report by The Hindu on the 24th, Shah said on the 9th of this month that NRC will be promoted across the country. Despite this, Modi and Shah successively emphasized on the 23rd and 24th that neither the government cabinet nor the parliament initiated discussions on promoting the NRC policy across the country and had no relevant plans. The inconsistent statements made Shah and Modi appear contradictory.
What will be the consequences if NRC is promoted nationwide?
"The Hindu" reported that no matter what plan the Indian Party has, Shah and other top leaders of the Indian Party have previously compared the NPR with the NRC and have caused tension among the protesters.
Assam is facing several social problems due to the implementation of NRC. According to a report by India's "Economic Times" on the 23rd, Assam residents must present to the authorities documents left before March 24, 1971 (such as census records, electoral registration forms, etc.) to prove that they or their ancestors lived here. Lived in India a day ago. In addition, residents are required to provide documents proving their kinship with their ancestors.The Economic Times stated that for a country like India that lacks document-keeping habits and has a large number of poor people, it is difficult to meet the NRC's requirements.
According to reports, all residents of Assam will need to register themselves with the NRC. Those residents who ultimately fail to qualify for inclusion must be heard by the Aliens Tribunal. If dissatisfied with the decision, residents not included in the NRC can appeal. However, residents have to pay for registration, sorting out certificates, going to official agencies for confirmation and even appeals, which puts many families who are already in financial difficulties into a dilemma.
According to an August report by India's "Business Today", Assam has 1.9 million residents who are not included in the NRC. These people have about half a year to appeal, and those who lose will face detention or deportation. But for these people, neighboring Bangladesh can hardly be called home or a motherland.
In order to accommodate people who have been "denied citizenship", Assam officials have set up six reception centers. According to a report by Outlook India magazine in November, 26 people had died in a shelter center in Assam due to "illness or mental reasons." According to a report by The Times of India in May, a retired army officer from Assam was also detained for failing to prove that he was an "Assamese".
Multiple reports show that just the money and time invested in proving citizenship is enough to put the lives of many residents into dire straits. Even the Citizenship Amendment Act, which Modi calls a "humanitarian act", requires residents who may have lived in Assam for generations to provide relevant certificates. This makes it impossible for the amendment to immediately reverse the difficulties faced by the residents of Assam, and it is even more difficult to ensure that the policy will not make errors due to human factors in practice.
India's "Economic Times" stated that if the "Assam model" is extended to all of India, it means that about 1.25 billion Indians will be required to re-apply for citizenship.
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