Guwahati, June 24: All hopes for an inclusive, error free National Register of Citizens (NRC) appear to be fading fast and there are fears that a large number of people might end up losing their citizenship and related rights in wake of yet another discriminatory order passed by NRC authority.
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On June 13, 2019, Prateek Hajela, the state coordinator for NRC issued an order vide No SPMU/NRC/ Dist-Co-Equip/ 68/ 2015/ Pt-7/ 92, in which he passed an instruction to all District Registrars for Citizens Registration (DRCR) stating that the State Level Quality Checks (SLQC) have found various errors which appeared during hearings on claims and objections. These hearings started on February 15, 2019. Now, prima facie there is nothing objectionable in issuing such an order. However, the questions raised by state coordinator for NRC in this order appear to contradict his earlier order.
Main issue raised is that many people have changed their legacy person, still the Disposing Officers have accepted such claims. Now, the SOP published for claims and objections had barred claimants from changing the legacy person. But, then a person who had used legacy data code of his grandfather earlier and now he has used the legacy data of his father, this can’t be justified as change of legacy person. As any such changes in each and every sphere connected with each other. Whenever a person used legacy data of grandfather during submission of NRC applications in initial period. If he has changed the legacy person from his grandfather to father, the name is distinctly grandfather is connected with the name of his father. In case of a person used legacy data of his father or grandfather, and he/she has found his own legacy document then there is nothing objectionable to use his own legacy document. In such cases, names of father and grandfather must have written in the claim applications. The acceptability of such changing legacy document can be proved even though the family tree the family has submitted.
Let us explain this using a hypothetical situation: A person Mr. A has used his own legacy data as he found his name in NRC-1951 while he was one month old. But, his six other siblings, i.e. B, C, D, E, F, G and their children used legacy data of his father from Voters list of 1966. B, C, D, E, F and G didn’t use their father’s legacy data of NRC-1951 as there was some changes in their in between 1951 and 1966. Now, for instance, the names B, C, D, E, F and G has included in final draft NRC, but not of Mr.A, because of that error. A was only one month old in 1951 and he had never gone to school or could not produce matriculation certificate or have no birth certificate. It is quite impossible, to enroll his name in Voters list upto 1971, as he was not attained the age of 21 by that time.
Mr. A didn’t cite his brothers and sisters in his family tree. On the other hand B, C, D, E, F and G have declared the name of Mr. A and his siblings in their family tree. At that circumstances, if Mr. A have used legacy data of the Voter list-1966 of his father. While Mr. A used his own legacy data of 1951, he must had citied his father’s name. Now, he has used his father’s legacy data which has been endorsed by his six siblings throughout their own NRC applications and family tree they had submitted earlier. If any such claim applications have been accepted by any disposing officer, there is nothing wrong. Issuing show-cause notices to disposing officer in such cases can’t be justified. Moreover, disposing officer are empowered with magisterial power to dispose any such cases. They are picked up from first class officer to exercise their power and function. But now, all their reasoning they used since 15th February, 2019 to disposing the claim and objections is under question mark on the ground of inclusion. But, there is no any such questions regarding exclusions. Thus the latest order issued by NRC authority is only to increase the numbers of excluded persons even after publication of Additional Exclusion list that is to be published on June 26, 2019.
The order may be read here:
