PRABHAKAR TIMBLE
The Constitution of India puts no restraints on free mobility of citizens within the country. However, the threat perception of locals to regional identity and loss of opportunities of business and employment are fomenting anti-migrant sentiments in many states of India. Tendencies to paint migrants as responsible for crime and making daily life unsafe are gaining support from locals. It is well known that poor and underprivileged migrants are engaged in ‘disagreeable’, sweated and unskilled labour. Yet, they are hunted for the dirt and unhygienic conditions. Little we appreciate that without migrant labour, our cities would be a paradise of dirt, filth, disease and squalor. The public infrastructure projects would come to a grinding halt.
Holding that the loyalty of the migrants is to their native region and state of origin, a furore is created when these underprivileged class line up for the electoral cards. The fundamental right to migrate to any part of the country is ineffective without the right to vote. Any citizen who has been living in a place for more than six months can apply for registration as a voter, if not already registered. If registered, the person can apply for revision to the new place of residence. It is immaterial whether a person lives in a shed or pavement or without any roof. Locals eye with suspicion and oscillate with venom when migrants are allotted Aadhar, ration card or any other such document to avail public utilities and services. These prejudices are present not only in small states like Goa but also in bigger states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Assam.
This ‘outsider’ doctrine of treating the otherwise ‘insiders’, all being Indian citizens has no legal and constitutional approval. Even otherwise, it should not gather roots in a civilized and humane society. Political parties, particularly regional outfits and politicians who are self-anointed torch-bearers of nationalism and patriotism surprisingly cling to this doctrine to appease the regional voters. At the same time, they would feign concern for the plight of migrants. This would be well understood if described as flirting. What was despicable was a Goa Minister known for dancing with migrants suddenly declaring a public policy of providing toilets through public funds only for locals and not for migrants. The vociferous Shiv Sena, electoral ally of the BJP in Maharashtra is well known for their physical assault on Indian migrants from UP and Bihar. Chauvinist groups in Karnataka make the life of skilled migrants uncomfortable in their state. Politicians’ game seems to be to keep the migrants in a state of trauma of being illegal ‘citizens’ in their region state and they step in as protectors.
Refugee, human trafficking, contract labour and migration all if these have origins in poverty and displacement due to man-made and natural calamities. If this is properly assimilated then we will not allow the absurdity that is going on in Assam under the National Register of Citizens (NRC). No doubt, it is a fallout of the Assam Accord signed by Rajiv Gandhi in 1985. This was to broker peace with the leaders of the Assam movement demanding identification and deportation of illegal immigrants. The NRC updation as mandated by the Supreme Court in 2013 has resulted in the government cuffing up 1300 crore by engaging 40,000 government employees. This winnowing has identified around 19 lakh illegal immigrants from 3.29 crore applicants. They are unable to produce a satisfactory document that their parents or grandparents were Indian citizens. Almost all the so-termed “illegal” people have spent over four decades scaling the mountainous terrain and swimming in the rivers and waterways. There are quite a number of Biharis, Bengalis, Gorkhas and Assamese left out of NRC. This is the story of the lesser- know, unknown and unorganised people.
From the known, the people not counted are shocking. A 72-year-old retired school teacher. A 62-year-old Assam MLA. The names of the kin of former Indian President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed were missing. These are not stray instances. Initially, 40 lakh were counted as illegal immigrants. It’s now 19 lakh after rounds of screening for multiple years. It has been a turmoil for people and families with no tangible result for the state or nation. It is the aged, women and children who are under stress and in jails or detention camps. People have spent their time and money for documentation making rounds after rounds to the tribunals. Most of those out of the list cannot be expected to appeal in the High Court or the Supreme Court considering their economic condition.
The worse is yet to come. The Chief Minister of UP wants to implement NRC in his state. The Delhi unit chief of BJP is demanding NRC for Delhi. The Haryana CM says, “We will implement NRC”. The Sangh sees NRC as a device to target Muslims all over India. There is a renewed demand for NRC in Christian-dominated Meghalaya, Mizoram and Manipur. A Citizenship Amendment Bill seeks to make illegal migrants who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, eligible for citizenship. The Muslims are excluded probably sending the message that they have no place in India. After drawing flak from the right-wing forces as many Hindus do not figure in the NRC (Assam), the government is floating this so that all Hindus bag the Indian citizenship status and only Muslims are declared illegal. Religion-laced citizenship would be yet another cruel onslaught on the Indian Constitution.
NRC offers no positive benefits to the country. As per 2018 data of Ministry of External Affairs, the number of Indian NRIs and PIOs is 310 lakh. We all revel in the contribution and achievements of overseas Indians. In the 150th birth anniversary year of Mahatma Gandhi, can we not close the NRC chapter to provide security and end the agony of our people? After over forty years, they are ours, aren’t they?
