Assam Crisis: Controversial tribunals to dispose appeals

As many as 200 additional foreigners tribunals will be operational in Assam from Monday where bona fide citizens, whose names do not figure in the final NRC, can approach to challenge their exclusion, officials said on Friday.

Though the 200 additional foreigners tribunals will be formed but the past activities show how controversial the history was.

These tribunals are being set up by the Assam government with the Centre's assistance.

"As of now, 100 foreigners tribunals are functioning. From September 1, a total of 200 additional foreigners tribunals will start functioning across Assam," a senior Home Ministry official said.

The tribunals will be required after the publication of the final National Register of Citizens, a list of Assam's residents, on Saturday.

People who may be excluded from the final NRC can approach any one of these tribunals for inclusion of their names, the official said.

The Centre has already extended the time period for appeal in a foreigners tribunal from 60 days to 120 days.

The home ministry had planned to set up a total of 1,000 foreigners tribunal in phases.

When the draft NRC was published on July 30 last year, there was a huge controversy over the exclusion of 40.7 lakh people from it.

The draft included names of 2.9 crore people out of 3.29 crore applicants. In addition to those excluded, the names of over a lakh people were also left out in a list published last month.

The Supreme Court-monitored NRC exercise, aimed at identifying illegal immigrants, mostly from Bangladesh, was carried out only in Assam, which has been facing influx of people from the neighbouring country since the early 20th century.

The Controversial History:

Since 1951, it is for the first time that the NRC is being updated in Assam to identify Bonafide residents and deport illegal immigrants. 

At that time, two other states in the northeast; Manipur and Tripura were also given grants by the Centre to create their own NRCs, but it never happened. Assam is the only state in India to have an NRC.

The special courts were first set up in 1964 since then they have declared more than 100,000 people as foreigners. 

As foreigners to be deported, they regularly identify as doubtful voters or illegal infiltrators.

Currently, there are more than 200 such courts in Assam and their numbers are expected to go up to 1,000 by October. (The majority of these tribunals have been set up after the ruling Hindu nationalist BJP came to power in 2014), reports BBC.

The courts have been accused of bias and their workings have been opaque with inconsistencies. 

Timeline:

NRC, unique to Assam, first published in 1951.

The Act was repealed in 1957.

Mar 24, 1971 is the cut-off date for making legitimate claim to Indian citizenship.

SC ordered updating the NRC in 2013.

Updating exercise began in February, 2015.

Part publication of draft NRC on Dec 31, 2017.