India leaves 4 million people on Assam's citizens list, triggering fear

MUMBAI – More than four million people were excluded from a draft list of citizens released Monday by a head of the state census of Assam, in the northeast of India.

The resource-rich Assam, bordering the Muslim-majority Bangladesh, is beset by social and community tension as residents campaign against illegal immigrants, a fight backed by the Hindu nationalist government of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Of more than 32 million people have submitted documents to prove their citizenship, the names of 4,007,707 were missing, said Sailesh, the general manager of the registration and census commissioner of India, when of a televised press point in Guwahati. The government said in a statement that the complete project is being published,

. the state where thousands of Bengali speaking Muslims worry about being sent to detention centers or deportees.

Soldiers stand guard at government offices, where thousands of people wait for their names on the National Register of Citizens. Reuters representatives said:

The list has been posted on a government website, but many in remote areas of Assam, which lack Internet connectivity, have visited government newsstands for determine their status. Said Habibur Rahman, in Sonitpur District, about 200 km east of Guwahati.

"I had submitted all the required documents," he said. "I'm surprised to see that the names of our family members were not there."

Critics view the citizenship test as a measure supported by Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) aimed at driving out minority Muslims. To isolate the Muslims, the number that came out is high and it's surprising, "said Ripun Bora, the opposition party's state party leader who married the cause of minorities. "We are going to fight."

The BJP denies any bias, saying that it opposes a policy of appeasement of any community.The BJP spokesman has not immediately available for comment, but the Indian Minister of the Interior, Rajnath Singh, called the process of registration impartial. For years, residents, including tribal groups, have faced each other. Hindu and Muslim settlers, whom they accuse of plundering resources and taking jobs away.

Dozens of people were prosecuted and killed by rioters armed with machetes in 1983.

There was no need to panic, Singh said on Monday, adding that those who were missing in the draft list for would have to submit their papers again.

"Some people are trying unnecessarily to create an atmosphere of fear," the interior minister told parliament. "I want to badure everyone that there is no need for apprehension or fear."

To be recognized as citizens, all residents of Assam were required to produce documents proving that they or their families were living in India prior to March 24, 1971. [196599004] Sailesh, the clerk, who uses a name, did not dismantle those who had not made the draft list, adding: "On the basis of this project, there is no question of being taken into detention centers or foreign courts. "

The Government stated that missing persons on the list would have the possibility of resubmitting documents between 30 August and 28 September and that they would be able to appeal to the Aliens Court.

"Although we have been told once again that our names are on the citizenship list, we are worried about our future," said Nur Banu, a 45-year-old woman from Darrang, whose family of six was absent.

The first draft, released on December 31, confirmed that 19 million people were citizens, but NRC said this month at the highest level of government. India that it would remove 150,000 people from this list – one-third of whom were married – mainly because they had provided false information or inadmissible documents.

Some Hindus were not on the list Monday 19659004] The names of Samir Das, a Hindu Bengali-speaking business man in the eastern city of Assam, Hojai, and his family have disappeared, he told the TV reporters

. "he said. "We will apply again and submit all the documents required to prove our citizenship."