CAB Won't Help Those Left out of NRC: Rights and Risks Analysis Group

Guwahati, November 2, 2019:

Rights and Risks Analysis Group, an NGO, has claimed that the proposed Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) will not assist those left out of the final National Register of Citizens, published on August 31.

Countering the ruling BJP's claims that the CAB will help those deprived under the CAB to get citizenship, Suhas Chakma, director of RRAG, said that since the CAB will provide citizenship by naturalisation to people belonging to minority communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan but the Gorkhas, Scheduled Tribes, Bhojpuri, Koch Rajbongshi, Tea Tribes cannot claim to have migrated from these countries and therefore, they cannot claim citizenship under the CAB.

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Moreover, Chakma has claimed that all the non-tribals in ILP states, numbering in excess of 10 lakh, will be dumped into Assam after passage of the CAB. He further warned that if the Northeast is divided into ILP and non-ILP states, there will be 'balkanization' in the region, and cause great suffering in the region.

The final NRC was published on August 31 left out 19,06,657 persons. Many indigenous 'sons of the soil', including Koch-Rajbongshis, gorkhas, karbis, etc, were excluded from the list. However, the ruling BJP has claimed that the deprived shall all be granted citizenship under the CAB.

Assam BJP unit president Ranjeet Kumar Dass recently said that bringing CAB has

become more pertinent now, however, the Rights and Risks Analysis Group has claimed that there are no provisions to help those left out of the NRC, and claimed that the "tweaked CAB will be another instrument to target Indian citizen minorities in ILP states".

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