International academics and scholars to oppose NRC; signing petition

New Delhi, Aug 10: The issue of National Register of Citizenship of India (NRC) has crossed over to the borders of the country when some intellectuals at Cambridge University have raised their voices against it.

They are getting support from professors, writers, filmmakers and academics from all across the world with the argument that people included in NRC are poor people and they would become their voice.

The campaign against NRC was started from the Cambridge University with an online petition that has now been joined by over 700 academics, authors, writers, film maker and even students from several universities. They intend to mobilize people against it. This movement has got the support of a renowned history professor of Michigan University Mrinalini Sinha. As per the petition initiated by these scholars, educationist and activists that none of 40 lakh people that have not been able to make it to NRC are illegal citizens.

Supporting the petition, Professor Nabnipa Bhattacharya of the Sociology department of Delhi University, who belongs to Shilong and worked on its history, demanded that a review petition must be filed on this issue. She said that there was nowhere NRC in the Assam Accord in 1985 which was signed by the central government, the Assam government, AASU and AAGSP while NRC was mentioned first in 2005 while the Supreme Court cancelled this by saying it useless.

Nabanipa quipped that the government has spoiled Rs 1300 crore as if the government cannot send them back to Bangladesh then why did it spent so much money on it. She said that around 40 lakh people will have to face the consequences of the failure of the government. When Bangladesh does not accept them as their citizens how come the Indian government deports them?

Many professors and students too are against the NRC draft and the petition signed by JNU Associate professor of Sociology Tanvir Fazal said that the government had made 40 lakh people stateless by bringing NRC. He said that it has been done by just one state so far if it is done by all the states situation would become dangerous. How these poor people will prove their citizenship? The government is conspiring to take away their voting rights.

Fazal said that this step of the government would harm the economy and unemployment will increase. He said that there was no pact of deportation with the Bangladesh government. In such a situation, how 40 lakh people will be managed. He said that the Congress and BJP are national political parties and instead of getting entangled into trivial issues like this, they must take initiative to solve this problem.

Film maker of Kajaria and Mere Khwabo Me Jo Aaye fame Madhurita Anand too has supported this petition by saying that it is unfortunate and the matter of shame. "We are a country that gives shelter to Dalai Lama but for the political reasons humanity is brushed aside," she said. She further said that she wants to ask a question from politicians that kids begging on streets are not visible to them because they are not vote banks asking at least 4 lakh people must sign this petition to support 40 lakh people. The work on NRC was started in 2015 under the supervision of Supreme Court of India which was ordered on the petition filed by an NGO called Assam Public Works as a Public Interest Litigation.