NRC Suicide | SabrangIndia

NRC related panic claims another life in Bengal

Fri, 06 Dec 2019 11:32:47 +0000

Folk singer, found hanging in Jalpaiguri. Family suspects he committed suicide as he was extremely worried about documents related to his identity and citizenship.

69-year-old Shahabuddin Mohammed, a Bhawaiya Rajbanshi folk singer, was found hanging from a tree near his home. His family says that Mohammed had been under severe stress due to the NRC.

His nephew Alimul Alam told The Telegraph, “He was depressed as he could not find proper documents related to his land. He would be glued to TV to know about NRC and would often say that if he could not get those documents, his citizenship would be called into question. Some recent remarks of leaders had left him more scared.”

Mohammed also ran a small grocery shop outside his home to make ends meet. He is survived by a son and two daughters.

This suspected suicide is the tenth such case in Bengal and fifth incident in Jalpaiguri alone! But instead of finding a way to offer people assurance, the political leaders are engaged in a blame game. TMC leader Dulal Debnath who is the deputy chief of the Jalpaiguri Zila Parishad blamed the BJP for making statements about the NRC that cause panic among people pushing them to suicide. However, Jalpaiguri BJP chief Debashis Chakraborty dismissed Mohammed’s death as the result of a property dispute.

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Assam Detention Camp deaths, All India NRC & CAB: Protests held country-wide

Thu, 07 Nov 2019 11:17:51 +0000

Yesterday, November 6, 2019, citizens all over the country came together to protest against the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, that left more than 19 lakh Indians stateless and 27 dead in the abominable detention camps.

Communist Party of India (Marxist – Leninist) (CPIML) had called for country-wide protests on November 6 demanding to shut down detention camps which are nothing but a ‘new version of Hitler’s concentration camps’ The protesting group has also demanded that the government pull back on the proposed exercise to extend NRC to an all India level, as well as strongly opposed the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB).

Before the final NRC list was issued this year, 25 people had already lost their lives in the deplorable detention camps. The families of two others, Dulal Paul and Falu Das who were declared ‘foreigners’ and died soon after, refused to accept their bodies in protest to the conditions they were subjected to in these camps taking the toll to 27!

Now, the Amit Shah government says it will roll-out the NRC all over India, forcing every Indian to submit documents proving that their ancestors were registered citizens and voters in 1951. The central government still says that the detention camps will be opened in every state. Such camps are already under construction in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala.

The government which is also planning to implement the CAB has displayed its fascist ideology by saying that the bill will ensure that if you are not Muslim, you will be accepted as a “refugee” and can apply for Indian citizenship. This only means that under NRC and CAB, Indians will be left with the choice of either dying in detention camps if Muslim, or being reduced from a citizen to “refugee” status if not Muslim!

The CPIML has strongly opposed these ‘fascist exclusionary designs’ in the name of NRC and CAB and has called for all citizens – Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Muslims, and Christians, workers, peasants, students, and women – to unite to resist this ploy which is meant to endanger citizenship of India’s people.

On November 6, protests were held in districts of Assam, Bihar and Uttarakhand. . Protests were also held at many places in UP, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Punjab, as well as Tamil Nadu apart from other states in the country.

CPIML Politburo member Kunal said in Patna that Modi government has inflicted another disaster on the country in the name of NRC and CAB, which will devastate India’s common people.

BJP’s divisive agenda is now coming to the fore with the announcement of their intent to execute the NRC and CAB all over the country.

The police have already started detaining suspected immigrants in Bengaluru. Housing complexes are refusing to employ Bengali speaking workers as labourers or domestic help.

Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) condemns the NRC and CAB and supports the CPIML in its fight against this fascist decision of the government.

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Detention Camp Victim Dulal Paul’s family finally accepts body

Wed, 23 Oct 2019 09:05:03 +0000

The family of 65 Dulal Chandra Paul have finally accepted his body for performing his last rites, almost 10 days after he breathed his last at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMHC). Paul, who had been declared foreigner and had been incarcerated at the Tezpur Detention Camp reportedly suffered from diabetes and a heart condition.

Paul, a resident of Alisinga village in Sonitpur district, had been declared foreigner in 2017. His family say he was ‘mentally unstable’ and it was wrong to declare him a foreigner.

The family refused to accept his body and perform his last rights till he was declared Indian. The body remained in the morgue for over a week! “They said he is Bangladeshi, then why should we take the body? We have all documents, how is my father Bangladeshi,” his son Ashok repeatedly asked authorities.

The family finally relented only after Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal met the family on Saturday October 19, and personally appealed to them during a meeting with members of the All Assam Bengali Youths Federation.

The family accepted the body on Tuesday October 22, at about 2 PM and cremation took place at about 8 PM. But the family’s troubles are far from over. Paul’s three sons are still out of the NRC, though his widow’s name has been included in the list.

Infact, in a cruel twist of fate, even the Gauhati High Court upheld the Foreigners’ Tribunal order declaring Paul a ‘foreigner’. The Gauhati HC order may be read here:

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Assam NRC: Death toll rises to 57, 6 people die in 13 days!

Tue, 09 Jul 2019 05:36:44 +0000

Guwahati, 8 July: Assam, that has been facing a humanitarian crisis on account of an environment of uncertainty, anxiety and fear, just saw six people taking their own lives in a span of just 13 days. These people committed suicide after the Additional Exclusion list was published on June 26, 2019 leaving out over one lakh more people from the National Registr of Citizens (NRC).

First to succumb to hopelessness and despair was Nur Nehar Begum, adolescent girl from Rawmari Chapari that falls under the Dalgaon Police Station in the Darrang district. Her name had not appeared in the NRC draft published on July 30, 2018. When the Additional List was published on June 26, 2019, Nur and her confused family didn’t quite grasp the purpose of the list. In the absence of proper councelling or correct information, Nur urged them to go to the Nagrik Seva Kendra (NSK) to check if her name appeared in the list, not knowing that only names of people who were left out would appear on the list. When they called from the NSK to tel her that her name was missing, Nur felt frustrated and dejected and hung herself.

Next was Joynal Abedin, a daily wage labourer of Dumerguri village, that falls under Abhayapuri police station in the Bongaigaon district. He was disturbed as names of some members of his family did not appear in the previous NRC draft. He had filed claims and hearing were on, but a group of miscreants allegedly told him that the names would be included only if he paid a heafty amount of money. Failing to collect the amount, Abedin hung himself on July 3.

But the macabre dance of death did not end there. Next to die was 37 year old daily wage labourer Rahim Ali from Bantipur village that falls under Kayakuchi police station in Barpeta district. Devastated that three of his children’s names had been included in the Additional Exclusions list published on June 26, 2019, Ali who worked in Guwahati rushed back to his village. He tried to get information how to deal the upcoming hearing to be held on 6th July. But, when he couldn’t, he went into the forest nearby and hung himself. His body was discovered a few hours later.

Rahim Ali

Kulsum Begum of Barkhetry area under Nalbari District also took the extreme step as she was facing trouble getting linkage documents required in the process of updating the NRC. This is an acute crisis among married women as most of them do not have birth or education certificates and therefore find it difficult to provide evidence of linkage to their fathers. Kulsum also hung herself.

On July 8, twin suicides took place in Baksa and Dhemaji District. In Chunpura village that falls under Gabardhana police station of Baksa District, 59 year old Ambar Ali was facing D Voter cases since 1997. None of his family members’ names appeared in draft NRC. He had been acutely distressed due to this for a few years. When he came to know that his family has been left out as he is a D Voter, he went to the railway track at Gandharipara near Barpeta Road and killed himself by sitting in front of a running train.

Ambar Ali

In another incident of 8th July, Amar Majumder of Silapathar of Dhemaji District in upper Assam hanged himself. He was facing NRC hearing related trouble despite allegedly having all valid documents.

The recurrent suicide cases have witnessed sharp reaction from all rights group of Assam. The Bharatiya Nagorik Adhikar Surakshya Mancha, All Assam Students Union (AAMSU), All BTC Minority Student’s Union (ABMSU), All BTC Bengali Youth Student’s Federation (ABBYSF) and various other organizations have alleged that the general people are facing undue harassment despite having all sorts of legal documents. The general masses are losing faith upon the constitutional and legal system of the country. If such discriminatory tendencies of the government, Foreigners Tribunals and NRC authority continue, it will be mockery of constitutional democracy in India.

Related Articles:
1. Are citizenship determining processes in Assam biased against the underprivileged?
2. The Curious Case of Syamlal Ali The Making and Re-Making of Indians as Citizens in Assam: A CJP Series
3. MHA targets Md Sanaullah again, deliberate attempt to obfuscate the truth?
4. Assam Detention Camps: 70 year old woman might not live long enough to be released CJP delegation meets son who makes passionate plea to set ailing mother free

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93 year old found dead in Assam after objection filed against his name in NRC

Mon, 27 May 2019 10:26:22 +0000

In a heartbreaking instance of man succumbing to hopelessness, Ashrab Ali, a 93 year old man, was found dead in Assam’s Kamrup district after someone filed an objection application against the inclusion of his name in the National Register of Citizens (NRC). His family alleges he committed suicide by consuming poison.

“His name was in the final draft of NRC published last year but someone put an objection against him and he had to attend a hearing on May 23 in Rangia (about 100 km away). After the hearing, his biometrics were taken and that scared him because some people in the village told him that biometric details are taken from suspected foreigners whom police might put in a detention camp,” Fazlur Rehman, a family member, told Indian Express.

The family says that he was disturbed after attending the hearing and feared he would be dragged away to a detention camp. He also feared how his family’s citizenship status would now be questioned if his citizenship could not be proved.

It is noteworthy, that in May 2018, Prateek Hajela, the State Coordinator of the NRC, had directed all NRC officials to keep pending names of siblings and family members of declared foreigners from the NRC. The controversial order was upheld by the Gauhati High Court. In a version of ‘guilty by association’, it makes all family members of a declared foreigner vulnerable as their citizenship comes into question. Ali feared if he were to be declared foreigner, his entire family would suffer.

Independent journalist Rohini Mohan tweeted this heart rending thread about meeting Ali’s family at his funeral. She also tweeted this video of purple pesticide that a local reporter shot near where Ali’s body was found. But the local police have ruled out suicide saying no poison was recovered from the location where the body was found. However, a post mortem has been ordered.

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70 year Bengali Hindu dies in Goalpara Detention Camp in Assam

Mon, 08 Apr 2019 13:20:30 +0000

Guwahati, April 8, 2019: 70 year old Amrit Das became the latest example of what some people in Assam are beginning to call a 3D death. He was first pronounced a D-Voter. Then a Foreigners’ Tribunal ruled that he was a Declared Foreigner and finally he died in a Detention Camp. This is the 43^rdsuch death in the state.

A resident of Ward Number 10 of Barpeta Road, under Barpeta District Das was declared a foreigner through an ex-parte judgment by a Foreigners Tribunal (FT) on May 20th, 2017 and subsequently lodged in the Goalpara Detention Camp. Das, who was admitted to the Goalpara Civil Hospital, breathed his last on 6th April, 2019.

According to his family, Das was feeling pain in his chest after he was lodged in Goalpara Detention Camp and had complained of uneasiness on April 6th, 2019 following which he was admitted to the hospital where he breathed his last.

Lashing out at the Assam government, the family members refused to take the body of deceased and perform the last rites. “If he (Amrit) was a foreigner, then the government should send his body to the place where he belonged and perform the last rites,” said one of the family member of Amrit Das. In fact, many people came out on the street to stage a demonstration demanding justice for Das.

Given how Das was a Bengali Hindu, his death is also bad news for the BJP, given how they have been trying to actively cultivate the Bengali Hindu vote bank in the region.

Father of two daughters and two sons, Amrit Das used to provide for his family by running a small portable snack shop. He would leave early every morning, carrying his collapsible wooden contraption upon four rickshaw wheels and set shop along the roadside, making and selling potato chops. The proceedings to clear his name took a huge toll on the family’s meagre finances.

After being declared a foreigner by FT at Barpeta, he was promptly detained and send to Goalpara detention camp. Then, his family challenged the order of Foreigners Tribunal before Gauhati High Court, but the order of the FT was upheld by the Gauhati High Court.

A Senior Advocate of Gauhati High Court, who was appearing for Amrit Das said, “The name of Birendra Das, father of Amrit Das was available in the voters list of 1961 onwards. The name of Amrit Das is available even in the present voters list. All their documents are correct as per court. But, problem is that as per voters list of 1961 and present voters list of 2016 or 2019, age difference between father and son is only 13 years.”

This clearly appears to be an error, probably made while recording, entering or updating the data. Many such errors lead to discrepancies in data reflecting on different government documents for the same person. “Due to lack of awareness and sometime due to negligence of government officials, there are numerous discrepancies in the voters list, especially with respect to spelling of names, titles, age etc. I had tried my level best to convince the fact before the court, but I failed. It is a regular happening in Assam and needs special attention to save hundreds of distressed people.”

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EXCLUSIVE: Despairing of Justice, the 30th Citizen commits Suicide in Assam: NRC

Mon, 29 Oct 2018 04:35:34 +0000

After being falsely accused of being a ‘foreigner’, Deepak Debnath of Udalgiri district, Assam committed suicide by hanging himself in a grove near his house. This is the thirtieth such incident in the span of four years since the process of updating NRC.

This was a tragedy foretold. In the run up to the publication of the final draft of the NRC, a number of last minute decisions taken by the NRC state coordinator and a sudden rise in the number of cases of ‘D-voter’ being referred to foreigners tribunals by the border police in Assam, has ensured that a number of genuine Indian citizens were left out of the register.

The many potent ramifications of such a move was not lost on the men and women who found themselves excluded. That some of them would be pushed to take an extreme step was certainly possible. An alert, compassionate state government might have taken steps to alleviate fears and ensure that the the natural principal of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ was clearly communicated. And since no such move is forthcoming from the ‘leaders’ in Assam, many more of such tragedies seem to be now a certainty. Sabrangindia has painstakingly collated this list of suicides that we will be releasing shortly.

Mr Debnath’s name had appeared in the first draft of the NRC, published on December,31, 2017 but had been struck off the NRC final draft released on 30th July this year. The reason listed for rejection was a ‘Pending case in Foreigners Tribunal’ case that the Border Police has mysteriously foisted in him in the intervening months. In a cruel twist of fate, his ‘legacy’ data, that establishes him as a bonafide Indian citizen as his name in the 1971 voter list.

The humiliation of being labelled a ‘foreigner’ in his own land, fearful of what the future holds for him and his family, especially in the light of rampant fearmongering by right-Wing politicians and regional supremacist groups, Deepak Debnath chose to kill himself today morning. Watch Sabrangindia’s exclusive reportage here.

In our efforts to bring national focus to the tragedies unfolding in Assam, Sabrangindia has been reporting on the entire process. The
ramifications of this curiously exclusionary process are far-reaching especially for persons who hail from marginalised communities and have little access to the laborious criminal justice system. The combination of a callous bureaucracy and a politically motivated process, skewed by the current RSS-BJP ruled dispensation has converted, the entire process of the compilation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) into a maccabre tragedy.

This is even as the Supreme Court monitors the process and the ‘mainstream media’ selectively reports on this hug process underway in Assam.

Assam: Deepak Debnath’s ‘legacy’ data was his name in the 1971 voter list. It establishes him as a bonafide Indian citizen

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