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The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a register of all Indian citizens whose creation is mandated by the 2003 amendment of the Citizenship Act, 1955. Its purpose is to document all the legal citizens of India so that the illegal immigrants can be identified and deported.Ravi Agrawal, Kathryn Salam
India Is Betraying Its Founding Fathers
Foreign Policy, 17 December 2019.
It has been implemented for the state of Assam starting in 2013–2014. The
Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
announced plans to implement it for the rest of the country in 2021, but it has not yet been implemented.


Background

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
, being a border state with unique problems of illegal immigration, had a register of citizens created for it in 1951 based on the 1951 census data. However, it was not maintained afterwards. The
Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act, 1983 The Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) (IMDT) Act was an Act of the Parliament of India enacted in 1983 by the Indira Gandhi government. It was struck down by the Supreme Court of India in 2005 in ''Sarbananda Sonowal v. Union of Ind ...
was then passed by the Parliament, creating a separate tribunal process for identifying illegal migrants in Assam. The
Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...
struck it down as unconstitutional in 2005, after which the Government of India agreed to update the Assam NRC. Following unsatisfactory progress on the process of updating the Assam NRC for over a decade, the Supreme Court started directing and monitoring the process in 2013. The final updated NRC for Assam, published on 31 August 2019, contained 31 million (3.1 crore) names out of its population of 33 million (3.3 crore), leaving out 1.9 million (19 lakh) applicants, rendering them potentially stateless. The ruling
Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the List of ruling p ...
(BJP), which has championed the NRC exercise, did not find the results meeting its expectations. It believes that several legitimate citizens were excluded while many illegal migrants were included. The BJP has promised to implement the NRC for all of India in its election manifesto for the
2019 Indian general election General elections were held in India in seven phases from 11 April to 19 May 2019 to elect the members of the 17th Lok Sabha. Votes were counted and the result was declared on 23 May. Around 912 million people were eligible to vote, and voter ...
. On 19 November 2019, Home minister
Amit Shah Amit Anil Chandra Shah (born 22 October 1964) is an Indian politician currently serving as the Minister of Home Affairs since 2019 and the first Minister of Co-operation of India since 2021. He served as the President of the Bharatiya Janata P ...
declared in the
Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...
of the Indian parliament that the NRC would be implemented throughout the country. According to the Citizenship Rules, 2003, the central government can issue an order to prepare the National Population Register (NPR) and create the NRC based on the data gathered in it. The 2003 amendment further states that the local officials would then decide if the person's name will be added to the NRC or not, thereby deciding their citizenship status. No new rules or laws are needed to conduct this exercise in the whole of India.


Legal and regulatory provisions

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003 (numbered "Act 6 of 2004") added the following clause to the Citizenship Act, 1955: The Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003, formulated under the Act specify: As explained by the Ministry of Home Affairs in December 2018, "The Citizenship Act of 1955 provides for compulsory registration of every citizen of India and issuance of National Identity Card to him. The Citizenship Rules of 2003, framed under the Citizenship Act of 1955, prescribe the manner of preparation of the National Register of Citizens. There is a special provision under the Rules to prepare the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam which is application-based and distinct from the rest of India where the process is enumeration-based."


National Population Register

The National Population Register (NPR) is a list of all the people residing in India and includes both the citizens and the non-citizens. This definition was stated by the then Minister of State for Home Affairs,
Kiren Rijiju Kiren Rijiju (born 19 November 1971) is an Indian politician from Arunachal Pradesh who serves as the Cabinet Minister of Law and Justice in the Government of India. Early life Rijiju was born on 19 November 1971 at Nakhu near Nafra in West K ...
, as a response in the
Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...
, that was released on 26 November 2014 by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. It stated that "the NPR is the first step towards creation of National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC) by verifying the citizenship status of every usual residents." Residents of a locality living there for at least six months with plans to continue their residence for another six months or more are included into the list of NPR. It is prepared as per the provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955, and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003 (passed by the BJP government under Vajpayee). The listing is done at the local (village/sub-town), sub-district, district, state and national level. Every "usual resident of India" is required to register in the NPR. According to the Citizenship Rules, 2003, the centre can issue an order to prepare the NPR and create the NRC based on the data gathered in the NPR. As per the 2003 Citizenship rules, the local officials would then decide if the person's name will be added to the NRC or not, thereby deciding his citizenship status. No new rules or laws are needed to conduct this exercise in the whole of India. On 18 June 2014, then Home Minister
Rajnath Singh Rajnath Singh (; born 10 July 1951) is an Indian politician serving as the Defence Minister of India. He is currently the Deputy Leader of the House Lok Sabha. He is the former President of Bharatiya Janata Party. He has previously served as ...
had given instructions "to take NPR project to its logical conclusion which is creation of National Register of Indian Citizens". Since 2014, the government has stated in the Parliament several times that the National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC) or NRC is based on the data collected under the NPR, after the verification of the citizenship status of every individual. In 2010, the NPR was created for the first time with the names of 119 crore residents of India. This data further was updated in 2015 by linking with biometric information from
Aadhaar Aadhaar ( hi, आधार, ādhār, lit=base, foundation, bn, আধার) is a 12-digit unique identity number that can be obtained voluntarily by the citizens of India and resident foreign nationals who have spent over 182 days in twelve ...
database. The NPR planned for 2020 will also include more details such as the place of birth of the parents, last place of residence and the serial number for official documents. Critics believe the Indian government will use the list to mark people as doubtful citizens after which they would be asked to prove their citizenship.


National Social Registry

The National Social Registry will either be a single, searchable
Aadhaar Aadhaar ( hi, आधार, ādhār, lit=base, foundation, bn, আধার) is a 12-digit unique identity number that can be obtained voluntarily by the citizens of India and resident foreign nationals who have spent over 182 days in twelve ...
-seeded database, or “a cluster of multiple databases” that use Aadhaar numbers to integrate religion, caste, income, property, education, Civil status, or marital status, employment, disability and family-tree data of each single citizen. it'll automatically update itself in real-time.


Implementation

On 24 December 2019, the
Union Cabinet The Union Council of Ministers Article 58 of the ''Constitution of India'' is the principal executive organ of the Government of India, which is responsible for being the senior decision making body of the executive branch. It is chaired by t ...
approved for updating the NPR, marking one of the first steps in implementing the NRC. The NPR is scheduled to take place in April 2020 throughout India (except Assam).
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...
on 22 December 2019 stated that "there has been no discussion on NRC anywhere... we only had to implement it in Assam to follow Supreme Court directives." The
CPI(M) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxist–Leninist communist political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in terms of membership and electoral seats and one of the na ...
leader
Prakash Karat Prakash Karat (born 7 February 1948) is an Indian Communist politician. He was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) from 2005 to 2015. Education and early career Prakash Karat was born in Letpadan, Burma on 7 Februar ...
alleged it to be"disinformation" by the government. Karat clarified that the NPR was the first step of the NRC process. On 31 July 2019, the Registrar General of Citizen Registration had issued the notification to prepare and update the NPR. The timeline for this was announced to be between 1 April 2020 and 30 September 2020. As per the NPR exercise, an enumeration will be carried out throughout the country (except Assam) by visiting every house for "collection of information relating to all persons who are usually residing within the jurisdiction of the Local Registrar". According to the procedure announced through the "Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules 2003", the list of NPR will undergo due verification and it will form the basis of the local register of Indian citizens.


Detention Centres

According to the Section 3(2)(c) of The Foreigners Act, 1946, the central government can deport people of foreign countries who are staying illegally in India. In anticipation of the possible requirement to house a large number of illegal foreigners, who may be declared as such by the final NRC of India and the Foreigners' Tribunals, the government is in the process of building several detention camps throughout India. One of the first detention centres had come up in Assam during the tenure of the
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
government in 2008. In 2014, the Centre had told all the states to set up at least one detention centre for illegal immigrants so as not to mix them up with jail inmates. In 2018, activists filed a petition in the Supreme Court of India and brought to its notice the condition of the families separated from each other and locked separately in the six existing detention centres of Assam. On 9 January 2019, the Union government released a '2019 Model Detention Manual', which stated that every city or district, having a major immigration check post, must have a detention centre. The guidelines suggest detention centres with 10 feet high boundary walls covered with barbed wires. It also clarified the difference between a prison and a detention centre. * Delhi Detention Centre is spread over three locations in
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
to hold foreigners waiting for deportation. One of the centres at Lampur is being operated under the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO). The Special Branch of
Delhi Police The Delhi Police (DP) is the law enforcement agency for the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). Delhi Police comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India. In 2015, sanctioned strength of Delhi ...
supervises the ward holding the Pakistanis, while people of other nationalities are under the watch of the FRRO. FRRO and Delhi police both work under the Central Home Ministry. * Goa Detention Centre at
Mapusa Mapusa (म्हापशें) is a town in North Goa, India. It is situated 13 km north of the capital Panaji. The town is the headquarters of Bardez Taluka. It is located on the main highway NH-17, linking Mumbai to Kochi. In Portugu ...
was opened for foreigners in May 2019. * Karnataka Detention Centre is under construction at Sondekoppa in
Nelamangala Nelamangala is a town in India. Its headquarters is taluk, which is located in the Bangalore Rural district of Karnataka state in India. Nelamangala is situated near the junction point of two National Highways, NH-75(48) (Bangalore - Mangalore) ...
, located 40 km from
Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
. It is planned to be operational from 1 January 2020. The centre has 10-feet high walls, barbed wires with watchtowers in two corners of the compound. * Maharashtra Detention Centre is being constructed at
Nerul Nerul (Pronunciation: eɾuːɭ is an upmarket residential and commercial node in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Nerul is located in the Harbour Line, Trans-Harbour Lines and Nerul-Uran Line of Mumbai local train network where Kharghar ...
in
Navi Mumbai Navi Mumbai (), is a planned city situated on the west coast of the Indian subcontinent, located in the Konkan division of Maharashtra state, on the mainland of India. Navi Mumbai is part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The city ...
,
Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...
in a plot of land. * Punjab Detention Centre is currently being built in
Goindwal Sahib Goindwal ( pa, ਗੋਇੰਦਵਾਲ, meaning ‘City of Govind’, an epithet of God), also known as Goindwal Sahib and alternatively transliterated as Goindval, is located in Taran Taran district in the Majha region of the state of Punjab ...
in Tarn Taran district and is planned for completion in May 2020. AS of 2019, the foreigners are kept in a separate enclosure at Central Jail in
Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha ...
. * Rajasthan Detention Centre is located in the campus of the Central Jail in
Alwar Alwar (Pronunciation: �lʋəɾ is a city located in India's National Capital Region and the administrative headquarters of Alwar District in the state of Rajasthan. It is located 150 km south of Delhi and 150 km north of Jaipur. ...
. In December 2019, it was reported that the detention centres planned in
West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
and
Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...
had been put on hold.


Assam Detention Centre

The first detention centre in Assam came up in 2008, when the Congress was in power in the state, under orders of the court. In 2011, the Congress government built three more camps in the region. The Government of the state of Assam is constructing ten more detention camps besides six already in place. The first such new exclusive detention camp is under construction in the district of
Goalpara Goalpara, Pron: ) is the district headquarters of Goalpara district, Assam, India. It is situated to the west of Guwahati. Etymology The name Goalpara is said to have originated from the word "Gwaltippika" meaning Guwali village, or The villa ...
in lower Assam at the cost of around and a capacity to hold 3000 people. The detention center covers approximately square feet (about the size of seven football grounds) and was planned to have fifteen storeys. It was planned to be ready by December 2019.


CAA and NRC protests

CAA and NRC protests are a series of protests in India against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which was enacted into law on December 12, 2019, and against the nationwide implementation of the NRC. Protesters in all regions are concerned that the upcoming compilation of the National Register of Citizens might be used to deprive Muslims of Indian citizenship. As of 12 January 2020, activists have continued to protest the act on the streets, with a lot of individuals carrying placards criticizing the act as well as the government.


See also

*
Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 was passed by the Parliament of India on 11 December 2019. It amended the Citizenship Act, 1955 by providing a pathway to Indian citizenship for persecuted religious minorities from Afghanistan, Banglade ...
*
Citizenship Amendment Act protests The Citizenship Amendment Act (Bill) protests, also known as the CAA Protest, CAB Protest or CAA and NRC protests, occurred after the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was enacted by the Government of India on 12 December 2019. The move sparked ...
* No NRC Movement


References


Bibliography

* * * * *


Further reading

* * Shoaib Daniyal
Red tape is being weaponised in India to declare millions stateless
The Guardian, 15 August 2019.

CNBC-TV18, 16 December 2019. * 'Chanakya',

Hindustan Times, 9 December 2019. * Angshuman Choudhury and Suraj Gogoi,

Firstpost, 17 December 2019. * ttps://scroll.in/article/947116/scroll-investigation-amit-shahs-all-india-nrc-has-already-begun-with-the-npr Scroll Investigation: Amit Shah’s all-India NRC has already begun – with the NPR Scroll.in, 17 December 2019.


External links


G.S.R.937(E) Notification - Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003
Ministry of Home Affairs, 10 December 2003. * ( Rohini Mohan, 19 November 2019) {{Citizenship Amendment Act protests Indian nationality law Society of India Illegal immigration to India Citizenship Amendment Act protests