19-Nov-2020
When the final National Register of Citizens (NRC) was published on August 31, 2019, Zabbar Ali’s name was missing from it. A resident of Mazabar village in flood-prone the Char area alongside the Brahmaputra in Barpeta, Zabbar Ali was devastated at the exclusion from the coveted list. Ali’s father Jalil Uddin Sheikh’s name not only…
01-Feb-2020
In yet another instance of what are being dubbed institutional murders, 42 year old Fayjal Hoque allegedly took his life, unable to cope with anxiety and anguish related to the National Register of Citizens. Hoque was an urban labourer and was found dead at his home in Kodomtola in Barpeta district. He had allegedly committed…
01-Nov-2019
The family of 65 Dulal Chandra Paul have finally accepted his body for performing his last rites, almost 10 days after he breathed his last at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMHC). Paul, who had been declared foreigner and had been incarcerated at the Tezpur Detention Camp reportedly suffered from diabetes and a heart…
31-Oct-2019
The implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam has sounded a death knell for many across the state. Now, the government of India is planning to extend this exercise across the country, with no set procedures in place, unlike Assam, citizens groups across the country are turning to CJP to understand the…
30-Oct-2019
Indian Citizens in Assam are shattered by the NRC process. In spite of having valid documents, Gopal Das and his entire family were excluded from the NRC. Anima Dey lost her son Subrata Dey mysteriously in a detention camp. After that, her family has been living hand to mouth by selling cloth bags. Her teenaged…
24-Oct-2019
CJP along with People’s Union for Civil Liberties – PUCL & other organisations, held a public meeting in solidarity with the Assam NRC affected in Mumbai. Here’s a look at some of the discussions in the meeting. Related: In solidarity with Assam Poverty haunts family of Subrata Dey I would have attempted suicide again had…
02-Sep-2019
A suicide survivor who CJP had counselled and assisted during the application process, has now been included in the final NRC. In March 2019, Hasan Ali, a resident on Hans Chara village, had tried to take his own life after his name was excluded from the NRC final draft. Ali was saved when his friends cut the…
20-Jul-2019
In the last few years, the Kafkaesque process of determining citizenship has created unprecedented stress and apprehension in millions of people in Assam. From the state election commission marking D-voter arbitrarily, to possible incarceration in Detention Camps, non transparent working of Foreigner Tribunals and political and bureaucratic meddling in the NRC process, the crisis of…
18-Jul-2019
In Assam, nearly 60 people have lost their lives and their deaths are connected to citizenship related issues. While some have allegedly committed suicide due to frustration, anxiety and helplessness related to the National Register of Citizens (NRC), some allegedly took their own lives fearing incarceration in detention camps. There are also some people who…
27-May-2019
In a heartbreaking instance of man succumbing to hopelessness, Ashrab Ali, a 93 year old man, was found dead in Assam’s Kamrup district after someone filed an objection application against the inclusion of his name in the National Register of Citizens (NRC). His family alleges he committed suicide by consuming poison. “His name was…