Final Assam NRC Released, Excludes 19.07 Lakh Applicants

Over 19 lakh people have been left out of the final list of National Register of Citizens (NRC) of Assam, which was released on Saturday morning. Some 19,06,677 people have been excluded from the final list, which names 3,11,21,004 people as Indian citizens.

The NRC has immense significance for the people of Assam as the state witnessed a six-year-long movement between 1979 to 1985 seeking detection and deportation of illegal Bangladeshis.

The process of updation of NRC is being carried out by the Registrar General of India, and is being monitored by the Supreme Court.

The draft NRC, which was published last year, excluded names of 40,07,707 people from the document due to some discrepancies in their documents. Over 36 lakh of them applied afresh to get their names included in the final NRC.

The government has assured that the people left out of the final NRC will not be detained and they can appeal against their exclusion in the Foreigners' Tribunals (FT) and subsequently move higher courts.

The Assam government will establish 400 Foreigners' Tribunals in the state to deal with such appeals.