Union Home Minister Amit Shah has stated on the floor of the Lok Sabha that there will be a nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC). However, no government announcement to this effect has been made till date. Some states such as Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh have expressed interest in conducting it. Let us look into the details of this,
1.What is the National Register of Citizens (NRC)?
Articles 5-11 of the Indian Constitution lays down the provisions related to the concept of Citizenship. The government has subsequently enacted the Indian Citizenship Act, 1955.
Article 11 of the Indian Constitution lays down that the powers of only the parliament to legislate on matters related to citizenship.
The nationwide National Register of Citizens will be governed by The Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules 2003.
It will be a register in which a list of individuals who will be considered to be citizens of India, will be included.
2. Has the NRC been carried out before anywhere in India? What were the details and the concerns that emerged because of it?
The government published the first National Register of Citizens (NRC) in 1951 for the state of Assam.
From 1979-85, the All Assam Students Union (AASU) held prolonged agitations in the state against ‘illegal immigrants. The then government of India headed by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi signed the ‘Assam Accord’ and agreed to update the National Registry of Citizens in the state.
After much delay, the exercise was carried out in Assam from 2013, monitored by the Supreme Court.
The cut- off date for the individuals to be included in the NRC from Assam was March 24th, 1971.
The final and updated NRC was released on August 31st, 2019.
It left out about 19 lakh residents of the state out of 3.3 crores.
People were asked to submit documents of their parents/ grand-parents and this has now created fear in the minds of the people that the All-India NRC will have the same procedure.
Concerns have emerged that individuals who couldn’t prove the citizenship of their parents, did not have documents were left out. While it is true, the cases are still pending before the Foreigners Tribunal and the matter is sub-judice. It excluded people, irrespective of their religion.
3. If 19 Lakh people can be excluded in Assam, what about those from the rest of India?
Assam has had the issue of illegal immigration before independence itself. It was a special case where those who couldn’t submit the documents have for now been excluded from the list. The rest of the country will not have not submit the documents related to their parents/ grand- parents.
4. What will be the procedure to enlist one’s name in the National Register of Citizens? Will it be discriminatory will it target members of one specific community?
The specific rules for the NRC are yet to be made. However, it is expected to be a simple procedure which may entail the production and submission of day to day documents such as Aadhar card, Voter ID, Driving Licence, Ration Card, Pension Certificates etc. The exact list of documents will be revealed once the rules are made, however, it is expected to be a simple procedure.
No Indian citizen is expected to be targeted. No one will be targeted just for following a religion of their choice.
Article 14 of the Indian Constitution provides for Right to Equality, which has two related concepts: Equality before law and Equal opportunities of law.
Right to Constitutional Remedies will be available to each and every citizen and the highest judicial authority can be approached.
5. Will those who have no documents like landless poor, poor city dwellers and others be excluded from the National Register of Citizens and be declared stateless?
Not at all. The government in its handout explaining the concept of citizenship, has clearly stated that anyone not having documents, will not be harasses. They will be asked to bring in a witness, the statement of the community to which they belong to will be taken as sufficient evidence.
In worst cases, their names on the electoral list will be considered by the authorities.
The exact rules will be framed after which the exercise will be carried out. No one will be excluded from the register.
6. Difference between the NRC and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 has been passed to give citizenship to members who are Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, Christians and Zoroastrians from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. This is a legislation to give citizenship and not take away existing citizenship.
These nations have Islam as their state religion except Bangladesh.
The members of these communities have been prosecuted at different times in their nations and continue to be treated shabbily even today in Pakistan.
NRC too is expected to be a simple procedure which will not exclude anyone.