Continuing with its attempt to build a grassroots movement against NRC, CJP reached out to the women of Mumbra and received an overwhelming response to its call for Mohalla Volunteers. Organised by Awaaz-E-Niswaan (Women’s Voice), the meeting was attended by about a hundred women who had a number of questions about documents and the proposed NRC.
Now that the final NRC has been published, and 19,06,657 people have been excluded from the final list, CJP’s campaign has become even more focused. Our objective now, is to help these excluded people defend their citizenship before Foreigners’ Tribunals. For this we have already started conducting a series of workshops to train paralegals to assist people at FTs. We will also be publishing a multi-media training manual containing simplified aspects of legal procedure, evidentiary rules, and judicial precedents that will ensure the appeals filed against the NRC exclusions in the FTs are comprehensive and sound, both in fact and in law. This will assist our paralegals, lawyers and the wider community in Assam to negotiate this tortuous process. For this we need your continued support. Please donate now to help us help Assam.
CJP secretary Teesta Setalvad sought to allay fears and asked those present to raise their voices against NRC-NPR-CAB. She requested them to question their elected representatives about the modalities to be followed for NRC-NPR. She also said that CAB was a ploy to legitimise religious nationalism and violates the secular principle of the Indian constitution. She drew attention to the fact that NRC in Assam was proposed as a solution to a long standing conflict marred by violence and questioned the need for India need to go through this painful, divisive process.
On her call for Mohalla Volunteers who will take CJP’s message against NRC-NPR-CAB to their own communities, a large number of women came forward expressing their keenness to help us.
A follow up meeting has been scheduled to train these women and decide on a plan of action.
Watch the video here:
