Wise men advise against jumping to conclusions without considering issues in their totality. Half-knowledge is always a dangerous thing. But it seems that west Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is simply unaware about such a valuable advice. Long before the NRC draft was published, she had alleged that it was an attempt to drive out the Bengalis from Assam and after the draft was published the chief minister went a couple of steps further: Talking about bloodbath and even civil war if the draft was not withdrawn.
Ignorance about Northeast is no crime. As well as being beautiful, the region is equally complex. It is not possible for any outsider to know about the nuances of the region unless one has observed it for a considerable period of time. Infiltration is not a new phenomenon in the Northeast. Outsiders have always been attracted to the region as it is rich in natural resources. People rushed into the area from all corners of the globe to earn their livelihood. But after years of adopting the outsiders with open hands, the region started feeling overburdened because of the abnormal increase in population. Job opportunities, health and education facilities, and land started shrinking. Such a situation made the youths of Assam feel the burden from the presence of outsiders; it began forcing the youths to take to the streets. Unrest gripped Assam as agitation against outsiders reached its peak. To restore normalcy the then central government led by late Rajiv Gandhi signed an accord with the youths which agreed to the NRC with August 15th, 1971 as the cut-off date.
It was not an easy task to upgrade the NRC, which was first published in 1951. Even before the upgrade began, protests were lodged from various quarters. Finally when the matter reached the legal authorities, the Supreme Court ordered that it should be done with a definite timeframe. Accordingly the draft was published on the last day of the previous month. It was expected that many names would be missing from the draft. But to assure those whose names will not be in the draft, a person none other than Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh himself stated that no action would be taken on the basis of the draft. Rather everyone would be given enough opportunity to include their names in the final register. The procedures for it were also announced. More, after the draft was published, the apex court categorically asked the authorities not to take any action against those whose names are not in the draft. Besides, the Election Commission also announced that people whose names are not in the draft would be able to vote if their names are already in the electoral roll. So the allegation that the NRC draft is just a conspiracy to declare 40 lakh people foreigners is totally unfounded. On the other hand those raising the issue are indulging in unrest, to say the least. Unfortunately Mamata Banerjee, who has emerged as the face of the opposition in recent times leads the pack.
