Assam 'Bandh' Called on 12 September by Rajbongshi Community to Protest NRC

Guwahati, September 10, 2019:

The All Assam Koch Rajbongshi Sanmilani have called for an Assam bandh on the 12th of September. The Rajbongshis have alleged that 12 lakh of indigenous 'sons of the soil' have been excluded from the National Register of Citizens (NRC) of India.

Rajbongshis of the bordering areas have similarities with Bengali speaking population, including language and lifestyle, and are often confused with Bengali settlers, but they anthropologically belong to Mongoloid or Mongoloid Caucasian or Mongoloid Aryan blend, of which Assam and Bengal (undivided) has been the lebensraum.

The numbers claimed by the Rajbongshi community are indeed staggering, as nineteen lakh people have been excluded from the NRC.

Rajbongshi leader Durlav Chamua, while talking to Inside Northeast, said, "Many indigenous people have been excluded from the last NRC list. We are grief-stricken at how the entire process has been carried out."

After publication of the NRC, Prateek Hajela, the State Coordinator, NRC said, “A total of 3,11,21,004 persons have been found eligible for inclusion in the final draft, leaving out 19,06,657 persons, including those who did not submit their claims.

It may be mentioned here that the NRC authority has declared that the non-inclusion of a person’s name in the NRC does not amount to his/her being declared a foreigner. Moreover, every individual kept out of the final NRC can appeal to the Foreigners’ Tribunal (FT). The time limit for filing appeals on FTs has been increased from 60 to 120 days.

Not only this, the Government will provide legal aid to those needy people who have been excluded from NRC, through the District Legal Services Authorities. An increased number of FTs are being established at convenient locations.

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