4.11.19

NRC ‘base document’ for future: CGI Gogoi

Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi on Sunday strongly defended the current exercise of National Register of Citizens in Assam, saying prior to it there was “guesswork” on the number of illegal immigrants in the state that “had fuelled panic, fear and vicious cycle of lawlessness and violence” and it would be a base document for future.

Justice Gogoi, who is heading an apex court bench which is monitoring the process of NRC in Assam, was also critical of “arm chair commentators” who, he said, are not only far away from the ground reality but also present a highly distorted picture due to which Assam and its development agenda have taken a hit.

The CJI, who hails from Assam, said that NRC is neither a “new or a novel idea” as it found expression as early as in 1951 and the current exercise is an attempt to update the 1951 NRC.

“The NRC is not without contestations. Let me take this occasion to clarify. The NRC is not a new nor a novel idea. It found expression as early as in the year 1951 and in particular context of Assam in year 1985 when the Assam accord was signed. In fact, the current NRC is an attempt to update the 1951 NRC,” said Justice Gogoi, who was addressing a gathering here during inauguration of book ‘Post Colonial Assam (1947-2019)’ authored by veteran journalist Mrinal Talukdar.

A total of 3,30,27,661 people had applied to be included in the NRC. Of them, 3,11,21,004 have been included in the document and 19,06,657 excluded. The names of 1.9 crore people were published as part draft NRC on the midnight of December 31, 2017. 

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