Assam Man Excluded from NRC Commits Suicide by Ingesting Pesticide

Guwahati, July 24, 2019:

One of the primary objectives of the NRC, which is being updated for the first time since 1951 in Assam, is to sift citizens from “illegal migrants”, defined as those who entered the state after the midnight of March 24, 1971, the eve of the Bangladesh war.

For decades, Bengali-speaking people have been viewed with suspicion in Assam, even though many families came to the state as far back as the early 19th century. They have been accused of being “illegal migrants” from Bangladesh and are yet to be embraced with open arms into mainstream Assamese society.

However, the NRC is a nightmare for many, and suicides have become commonplace among the Bengali-speaking community in the State as many of them fear that they will be excluded from the NRC. This time, the fear psychosis around the NRC has claimed the life of a 47-year-old farmer named Rahim Uddin in Assam's Hojai district.

The small-time farmer ingested pesticide for the second time since Friday in apprehension of being sent to a detention centre after he was excluded from the draft list of the National Register of Citizens. This was informed by his son, Afzal Hussain.

Speaking to Inside Northeast, AAMSU Chief Adviser Azizur Ahmed says: "His name was excluded later on from the NRC. He had gone to the hearing, but he broke down mentally. He ingested poison, and was taken to the hospital. After he was discharged, he again ingested poison. The NRC officers should have given him assurance and should have given him the information and what steps to take if their names are excluded. The had allegedly misbehaved with him, and he broke down. Their rough behavior towards the people is most unfortunate. I want to appeal the NRC officials to deal with these people in a polite manner. They should maintain their humanity, even though they might be dealing with actual foreigners."

Rahim Uddin made it to the draft list of NRC published on July 30, 2018 but was shocked to see his name in the latest list of exclusions published on June 26 which had over 1,00,000 names. The reason given to him by NRC authorities said “legacy person (through whom Uddin had traced his lineage to Assam pre 25 March 1971) is not parent/grandparent/great grandparent”.

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