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Expressing concerns over the <keyword id="301436" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="NRC">NRC</keyword> exercise in <keyword id="6354915" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="assam">Assam</keyword>, the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (<keyword id="1279363" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="USCIRF">USCIRF</keyword>) has said that close to two million long-time residents of the northeastern state in India may soon be deemed stateless and alleged that they are being stripped of their citizenship "without a fair, transparent, and well-regulated" process. The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a register containing names of all genuine Indian citizens.The process to update the register in Assam began following a Supreme Court order in 2013, with the state's nearly 33 million people having to prove that they were Indian nationals prior to March 24, 1971. The updated final NRC was released on August 31, with over 1.9 million applicants failing to make it to the list. In a report on the religious freedom implications of the NRC, the USCIRF noted that 1.9 million names of residents of Assam have been left off the updated list and expressed concerns about how the exercise is being used to target and disenfranchise the Muslim population. "Close to two million long-time residents of Assam may soon be deemed stateless. They are being stripped of their citizenship without a fair, transparent, and well-regulated NRC process," USCIRF commissioner Anurima Bhargava said on Tuesday. "Worse yet is that Indian political officials have repeatedly conveyed their intent to direct and use the NRC process to isolate and push out Muslims in Assam. And now, across India, political leaders are seeking to expand the NRC and implement different citizenship standards for Muslims altogether," said Bhargava, who testified before a congressional commission on the issue last week. USCIRF chair Tony Perkins said the updated NRC and subsequent actions of the Indian government are essentially creating "a religious test for citizenship" to target the vulnerable Muslim community, and urged the Indian government to protect the rights of all of its religious minorities as enshrined in the Constitution. In its 2019 Annual Report, the USCIRF classified India as a "Tier 2" country for engaging in or tolerating religious freedom violations that meet at least one of the elements of the "systematic, ongoing, egregious" standard for designation as a "country of particular concern," or CPC, under the International Religious Freedom Act. The India chapter of the report expressed concern that the NRC is "an intentional effort to discriminate and/or has the effect of discriminating against Muslims." Assam has seen a huge influx from other places, particularly Bangladesh, since the early 20th century. It did not stop even after Independence, with a large number of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, both Hindus and Muslims, settling there. Updating of NRC is a statutory, transparent, legal process mandated by the Supreme Court of India. This is not an executive-driven process, the Ministry of External Affairs has said in response to questions on the NRC. "The process is being monitored by the Supreme Court directly and the government is acting in accordance with the directives issued by the court. The apex court of the land has itself set the deadlines for all steps that have been taken so far," it said in a detailed statement in September. The statement also said that the NRC is a fair process based on scientific methods. "It is a non-discriminatory process, which leaves no room for bias and injustice. As can be seen from the application form for data entry in NRC, there was no column in the application asking for religion of the applicant," the statement said, adding that anyone excluded from the list has a right to file an appeal within 120 days of receiving a notification exclusion, to the designated Tribunal.

As many 1.9 million Assamese might turn stateless says US-based agency

<ul class="summary-list"><li>People across India are protesting two controversial citizenship laws that critics say target Muslims.</li><li>The two acts, known as the NRC and the CAA, would provide a path to citizenship for several minority groups and foreigners in India, but exclude Muslims.</li><li>India's deeply religious roots are now at odds with its secular constitution.</li><li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/BusinessInsiderToday/">View more episodes of Business Insider Today on Facebook.</a></li></ul>Following is a transcript of an episode of Business Insider Today. Watch the full episode <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BusinessInsiderToday/videos/1344754715706477">here</a>.In this coastal town in India, workers split bamboo stalks with a machete. They cut and shape them to make fences, homes, and baskets.Ala Uddin was born and raised in the northeastern state of Assam, but after the government implemented a citizenship list, he found himself fighting to prove his identity as an Indian national.Ala Uddin, bamboo worker: "The people are frightened. They feel scared that they might be sent to the detention camps."Ala Uddin is one of the lucky ones. His family is on the registry. But there are still 1.9 million people living in Assam whose <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-politics-citizenship/india-leaves-nearly-two-million-people-off-citizens-list-fate-uncertain-idUSKCN1VL04W">citizenship remains in limbo</a>.In recent months, protests have erupted across India due to two controversial laws that critics say target Muslim immigrants, and even those born here.At odds are the country's deeply religious roots and its secular constitution.Ala Uddin travels from his small island to the town of Dhubri, making on average 250 rupees, or $3.50 a day, to provide for his mother, wife, and four children.But when the National Register of Citizens, or NRC, was enforced, things changed.Uddin: "When I heard about NRC I was shocked. I was completely shocked. Even though the paperwork was there, I had to leave my job and run around to get the paperwork ready."In a country like India, not everyone has their documents in order, says Milan Vaishnav, an expert on South Asian politics.Milan Vaishnav, director and senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: "India is a very poor country. Even today, only about 70% of births happen with an official birth certificate. So a lot of people cannot prove their citizenship status. They're worried that this essentially is going to disenfranchise a bunch of genuine citizens who simply are either too poor or come from the wrong community to be able to justify their existence."Uddin: "I was trying to trace my ancestors and relatives, trying to trace my grandfather and my uncles. Trying to figure it out was very stressful.""The hearings were held at rather far-off places. Per person one had to spend 500 rupees to travel one way, so it's 1,000 rupees worth of commuting both ways in a day."The Indian government has <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-citizenship-explainer/explainer-why-indias-new-citizenship-plans-are-stirring-protests-idUSKBN1YR0WL">discussed the possibility</a> of rolling out NRC in the entire country by 2021.On top of that, parliament passed the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-citizenship-explainer/explainer-why-indias-new-citizenship-plans-are-stirring-protests-idUSKBN1YR0WL">Citizenship Amendment Act</a>, or CAA, which gives minorities originally from neighboring countries a faster path to citizenship - but it excludes Muslims.Vaishnav: "If India were to carry out a nationwide citizens register, and there are people who are deemed to be illegal migrants, illegal residents, not genuine citizens, if you are a Muslim, you will essentially will be deemed perhaps a stateless person, and your citizenship, your voting rights would be taken away."People who are not considered citizens <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-49520593">fear being sent to detention centers</a>, even though Prime Minister Narendra Modi has denied the camps exist.Across the country, Indians of all faiths have been <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-citizenship-explainer/explainer-why-indias-new-citizenship-plans-are-stirring-protests-idUSKBN1YR0WL">protesting for months</a>. They claim these laws go against the constitution by deciding citizenship on the basis of religion.Demonstrator: "This bill is unconstitutional, it is communal."Demonstrator: "I got this Indian flag painted because I need to prove that I am Indian."But in some areas the demonstrations turned violent. Twenty-seven people have been killed since the government passed the citizenship act in December.During the unrest, the government shut off internet and phone networks in large areas of the country.Critics say the NRC and CAA laws are just the latest in a series of moves by Modi that are driving India toward being a Hindu nationalist country.Vaishnav: "This is an ideology which has been present going back to the 19th century. This is not a new phenomenon. At the time of India's founding in the 1940s, there was a debate about should India be an avowedly, explicitly Hindu country?"Even though India chose a secular path, today Hindus <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/04/21/by-2050-india-to-have-worlds-largest-populations-of-hindus-and-muslims/">make up the majority</a> at roughly 80% of the population, while Muslims account for 15%.And now many fear that the minority voice is being muffled by Modi's laws.Last month, India's Supreme Court <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/01/india-supreme-court-refuses-stay-citizenship-law-200122061532294.html">refused to put a hold</a> on the CAA. Instead it will hear arguments from the government in favor of the law. Meanwhile, several Indian states have said they will not cooperate.In the weeks and months to come, Muslims fear that life in their homeland may get increasingly harder if they can't prove Hindustan is home.

Why Indians are protesting 2 controversial laws that could leave millions of Muslims stateless

New Delhi, Apr 7 () The Supreme Court Tuesday sought response from the Centre and the Assam government on a plea seeking release of persons kept in overcrowded detention Centres, after being declared as foreigners, in view of coronavirus pandemic.A bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justice L Nageswara Rao issued notice and sought response from Assam and the Centre by April 13 on the plea of the woman whose husband has been declared as a foreigner and is lodged in detention centre for around two years, awaiting deportation. Advocate Mohit Chaudhary, appearing for petitioner Rajubala Das, said the man cannot be deported as the government has no proof that he is a citizen of another country due to which his present category is of a "stateless" person, who would have to languish indefinitely unless released. He said the extreme urgency in the matter is that the lives of such detenues is at risk in light of coronavirus or COVID-19 due to densely populated detention camps. Chaudhary said that on May 10 last year, the top court had ordered that illegal foreigners in Assam who have completed more than three years in detention may be released after they provide biometric details in a secured database. The bench said it would take up the matter next Monday. The plea filed by Das also sought direction to the Assam government not to detain any person declared as foreigner by the foreigners tribunals until it can show proof of possible deportation in the foreseeable future. It said as per the information provided by Minister of State for Home in Rajya Sabha on March 11, there are 802 persons living in the detention centres of Assam and most of those detained are those against whom an order has been passed by the Foreigners Tribunal holding them to be foreigners. "The petitioner's husband is a declared foreigner against whom an ex-parte order was passed. His children too were declared foreigners in the same case even though there had not been any reference made against them."The petitioner's husband had initially appeared in the Foreigners Tribunal but thereafter remained unrepresented due to financial inability," it said.There are many others who have contested their case but are still held to be foreigners, the plea sid, adding that they cannot possibly be deported because the Centre has no proof to show they are citizens of any other country and thereby no foreign country will be willing to accept these people. "Detention of such persons indefinitely where there is no possibility of their deportation amounts to arbitrary detention and is thereby a violation of the personal liberty of the detained persons guaranteed as a fundamental right to all persons in the territory of India by Article 21 of the Constitution of India," it said. MNL ABA SJK SA

SC seeks reply from Centre, Assam on release of foreigners in detention Centres

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">REUTERS/Amit DaveActivists of Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) shout slogans during a protest against what they say is the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the northeastern state of Assam, in Ahmedabad, India, September 5, 2019.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>India has begun constructing a large scale detention center in the northeastern state of Assam. </li><li>According to Reuters, the expansive project in the Goalpara district includes a school, hospital, and recreation area and is meant to hold at least 3,000 detainees. </li><li><keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">News</keyword> of the construction of the detention facilities follows a crackdown on residents in Assam that the government now considers to be stateless. </li><li>1.9 million people were excluded from the state's register, and the country has not yet outlined what fate lies ahead for them.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>India has begun construction on a mass detention center for illegal immigrants in the Goalpara district of the northeastern state of Assam, one month after the country stripped almost two million people of citizenship.According to <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFKCN1VT00S">Reuters</a>, which interviewed workers and contractors at the site, an area the size of seven soccer fields has been cleared to make space for the expansive project said to include a school, hospital, and recreation area. Layout plans reviewed by Reuters also show quarters for guards, a high boundary wall, and watchtower, it said.The detention center visited by Reuters is the first of at least 10 others planned in Assam. It is meant to hold at least 3,000 detainees.Government guidelines released this year indicate that detention centers should have a boundary wall at least 10-feet high lined with barbed wire, Reuters said, citing local media.The Goalpara camp has a red boundary wall and two large watchtowers. Men and women will have separate living areas, workers and contractors told Reuters. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">REUTERS/Anuwar HazarikaA security tower inside an under-construction detention centre for illegal immigrants is pictured at a village in Goalpara district in the northeastern state of Assam, India, September 1, 2019. Picture taken September 1, 2019.</div></div></div>One contractor told Reuters that the rooms in the center would be around 350 square-feet each, with each unit housing 24 rooms. <h2>India made 1.9 million people effectively stateless last month </h2>News of the detention facilities in Assam follows a crackdown on 1.9 million residents that the government now considers to be stateless. Last month, the government <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/assam-final-nrc-list-out-over-19-lakh-people-excluded-1593769-2019-08-31">put out a final list</a> of all the residents in Assam considered to be Indian citizens called the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Around 33 million people submitted documents for consideration by the state, though the final list only contains 31.1 million names. According to <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/assam-final-nrc-list-out-over-19-lakh-people-excluded-1593769-2019-08-31">India Today</a>, the NRC is used to verify citizenship in India and is used by the government to identify anyone who immigrated from neighboring Bangladesh after March 25, 1971.Residents need to prove their citizenship by showing that either they or their ancestors were born in Assam before the cutoff date - which corresponds to the beginning of the Bangladesh War of Independence that saw hundreds of thousands of people flee the country as it split from Pakistan. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">REUTERS/Anuwar Hazarika Laborers work at a construction site of a detention centre for illegal immigrants at a village in Goalpara district in the northeastern state of Assam, India, September 1, 2019. Picture taken September 1, 2019. </div></div></div>Those excluded from the NRC have 120 days to prove their citizenship. The Assam government has previously said those not included in the register will not be detained until they are declared foreigners by a special tribunal, according to India Today. According to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-politics-citizenship/india-leaves-nearly-two-million-people-off-citizens-list-fate-uncertain-idUSKCN1VL04W">Reuters</a>, state officials have not outlined what fate lies ahead for those deemed foreigners, and neighboring Bangladesh has not agreed to accept the potential influx of stateless people.<h2>Critics say the move is bringing the region to the brink of a crisis </h2>The move has faced backlash from critics who accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his allies of stoking racial tensions in one of India's poorest regions, which is also home to a large Muslim population. Amit Shah, the country's home affairs minister, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/09/not-a-single-illegal-immigrant-will-stay-says-india-after-register-excludes-millions">said on Sunday</a> that the government "will not allow a single illegal immigrant to stay." He also previously encouraged the country to take action against "infiltrators who were eating the country like termites," according to the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/09/not-a-single-illegal-immigrant-will-stay-says-india-after-register-excludes-millions">Guardian</a>. "Our intention is to expel illegal immigrants from the entire country and not just Assam," he <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/intend-to-expel-illegal-immigrants-from-entire-country-shah/articleshow/71047249.cms">said</a>.<a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/71047249.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&amp;utm_medium=text&amp;utm_campaign=cppst"></a>Read more:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kashmir-india-controlling-srinagar-razor-wire-2019-8"> India is controlling people in Kashmir with an elaborate maze of razor wire that changes configuration several times a day</a><a href="https://amnesty.org.in/news-update/uncertain-destiny-for-millions-in-assam-post-nrc/">Amnesty International</a> has criticized the NRC and says it leaves the futures of millions of people in the region uncertain."Many Indians, especially those belonging to poor and marginalized communities, do not have certified copies of identity documents or are unable to produce it on time to prove their citizenship," said Aakar Patel, Head of Amnesty International India. "Assam is on the brink of a crisis which would not only lead to a loss of nationality and liberty of a large group of people but also erosion of their basic rights - severely affecting the lives of generations to come."<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kashmir-india-revoke-article-370-quasi-independence-internet-tourists-2019-8">Earlier this month</a>, India also revoked part of its constitution which gave the disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir a special status and quasi-independence. The state, which is home to a significant Muslim population, was cut off from communication and is now directly under the control of India's federal government in New Delhi. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-us-marines-respond-to-natural-disasters-hurricane-2019-8">We rode along with US Marines to see how troops respond during a hurricane</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

India is building a mass detention center for illegal immigrants, less than a month after it effectively stripped 1.9 million people of their citizenship

<ul><li>The Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 is one of the primary issues in the north east states that are going to vote today. </li><li>While the BJP is playing the development card, Congress is stressing how they can stop the bill from becoming a reality. </li><li>It’s an obstacle for BJP since they even reiterate wanting to enact the bill in their election manifesto.</li></ul> As the first phase of India’s general election begins, the north east states of India will be voting against the backdrop of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 and the ongoing <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india-citizenship-bill-assam-protests-rise-conrad-sangma-and-aribam-syam-sharma-join/articleshow/67830987.cms">protests</a> in Assam. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) first introduced this bill in the lower house of parliament — the Lok Sabha — during the winter session, but it is still pending approval from the upper house, the Rajya Sabha. Despite severe opposition, in its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/bjp-manifesto-for-lok-sabha-election-2019-on-data-privacy-and-protection/articleshow/68775987.cms">election manifesto</a>, the BJP <a href="https://www.bjp.org/en/manifesto2019">reiterated</a> its commitment towards the bill saying that it is “for the protection of individuals of religious minority communities from neighbouring countries escaping persecution.” There are two facets to why some people have an issue with the new amendment. First off, Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Bhuddists and Parsis from the neighboring countries of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan will be able to apply for citizenship provided they’ve been in India for seven years. In contrast, the currently provision requires 12 years of residence in India in order to eligible for citizenship. Secondly, it’s in contradiction to the Assam Accord. The Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 wants to grant nationality to non-Muslims who have come into India upto December 31, 2014. But, the Assam Accord dictates that all immigrants to have entered the country illegally after 1971 have to be deported — irrespective of religion. The fear is that in relaxing the norms around citizenship, as many as 20 million Hindus will migrate from Bangladesh to India and wipe out the local communities. Not to mention that the new amendment completely ignores Muslims. Nearly 4 million are, more or less, illegal immigrants since the final draft list of the National Registry of Citizens (NRC) was <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-45082757">released</a> to determine the citizenship of nearly 15 million migrants in north east India. India’s current prime minister and a member of the BJP has repeatedly asserted that illegal Muslim immigrants will be deported. Some feel that Bangladesh is <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-45002670">unlikely</a> to accept such a request, and thus, this may end up being another Rohingya where a large amount of people will be left stateless. Congress has played that card to their advantage backing the voters and assuring them that the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 is a serious threat to their existence. The BJP has cautiously stated that they will “not take any step that hurts the interests of Assamese and other indigenous communities” and has switched gears to focus on development in the north east states highlighting how the Modi government has been able to complete multiple infrastructure projects in the area. Nonetheless, the continuous tensions have had a polarising effect in the north east states. On April 7, a Muslim man was heckled and abused for ‘selling beef’ and also made to eat pork, even though that goes against his religion. Fourteen out of 25 north east’s parliamentary constituencies are going to go to the polls today and the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 is one of the major issues in these states.

The north-east of India is voting to decide whether 4 million undocumented people should continue living in India

New Delhi, Dec 27 () A grouping of Indian and Indian-origin professionals working with tech giants like Google, Uber, Amazon and Facebook have written an open letter against the new religion-based citizenship law and the planned national register of citizens, terming them as "fascist".
 They urged business leaders like Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella and Mukesh Ambani to "take a stance and publicly denounce the fascist acts by the Indian government".
 The letter by 'TechAgainstFascism' on online publishing platform Medium also urged the leaders to refuse to shut off the Internet at the "government's whim" and to ensure that content moderation is not skewing pro-government.
 This comes at a time when thousands of Indians across the country are protesting the amended citizenship law and the planned National Register of Citizens (NRC). On several occasions, these protests turned violent and have left around 20 dead and several injured in clashes with the police.
 WhatsApp and social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have played a key role in providing a platform to people to voice their opinion against and in favour of the Citizen Amendment Act.
 "We - engineers, researchers, analysts, and designers - of the technology industry, unflinchingly condemn the fascist Indian government and the brutality it enacts on citizens. The state-sponsored brutality against protestors must stop immediately," the letter said.
 These employees -- who claim to be located across San Francisco, Seattle, London, Israel and Bengaluru -- added that the opinions expressed are their own and do not reflect those of their employers.
 "The CAA, 2019 combined with the NRC, is a deeply anti-Muslim scheme that will create greater statelessness and global disparity for Muslims, growing worse with India's economic decline and climate change," the letter said.
 It pointed out that with record high unemployment levels, plummeting growth, and rising farmer suicides, such "ultra-nationalist and diversionary tactics are attempts by the Indian government to mask over its incompetence" over the biggest socio-economic crises in the country.
 The over 150 signatories argued that Internet -- an open ecosystem that tech workers have worked hard to build and humanity benefits from -- is banned in places like Assam, Delhi and Kashmir.
 "While portraying India as marching towards 'Digital India' and courting tech company business investment, the regressive government views the Internet as a political tool for suppression of citizen dissent, while utilising the same networks to organise and spread fake content," they alleged.
 The employees called upon technology leaders like Sundar Pichai (Alphabet), Satya Nadella (Microsoft), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Jack Dorsey (Twitter), Dara Khosrowshahi (Uber), Mukesh Ambani (Jio), Gopal Vittal (Bharti Airtel), Kalyan Krishnamurthy (Flipkart), and Shantanu Narayen (Adobe) to "take a stance and publicly denounce the fascist acts by the Indian government".
 The employees urged the leaders to use technology as a force for good, to refuse to share user details with the government, refuse to shut off the Internet at the government's whim, provide tools for citizen mobilisation, and ensure that content moderation is not skewing pro-government. SR MBI ANZ ABM
ABM

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As many 1.9 million Assamese might turn stateless says US-based agency

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Why Indians are protesting 2 controversial laws that could leave millions of Muslims stateless

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SC seeks reply from Centre, Assam on release of foreigners in detention Centres

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India is building a mass detention center for illegal immigrants, less than a month after it effectively stripped 1.9 million people of their citizenship

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The north-east of India is voting to decide whether 4 million undocumented people should continue living in India

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Indian techies pen open letter again citizenship bill

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