Partha Sengupta
Sons of the Soil ভুমিপুত্র
Peril of Democracy
India’s border of the eastern part was twice redrawn, in 1947, the partition of the country and in 1971, with the emergence of Bangladesh, when millions of refugees resettled their choice to stay in West Bengal, Assam and in other Indian states. The new settlement gave birth to the identity politics in India after independence, particularly in the state of Assam. The seed of discontent is due to Assamese indigenous people’s fear of linguistic, cultural and economic invasion by the immigrants and existing settlers. Gradually, the fear culminated to large scale violence, persecution and civil disobedience movement reigned six years from 1979 to 1985, when thousands of Bengali Hindus and Muslims were executed due to chauvinist policy indigenous people of the state. The mayhem was the reason behind the amendment of citizenship law in India. The far-right nationalistic policy backed by the Government at Delhi in conjunction with the Assam state government to crack down on the peacefully settled Bengali settlers and refugees by notifying them as ‘illegal immigrants’ or ‘foreigners. A new formula was theorized with the introduction of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in 1985 to detect illegal immigrants or foreigners in Assam. The NRC policy was a lull during the last many decades, finally implemented by the new far-right Hindutva policymakers in 2016 with the help of the Indian Government and the Assam state. Pursuant to the order of the Supreme Court of India, the NRC was finally released at Assam in 2015. On the declaration of the final outcome of NRC in August 2019, almost two million people were excluded from the citizenship status of India. The stateless people are inhabitants over the centuries and refugees migrated from East Pakistan when the then Indian Government allowed them to have Indian citizenship.
My visual narratives are an exploration of how a regional chauvinist euphoria has evolved into a national government program in Delhi. The Indian constitution, which clearly specified the secular provision of the state while granting citizenship status to any individuals. The far-right nationalism favours, cast and religious politics fuelling the identity crisis of the migrant and the inhabitants. The state is systematically erasing and denying the history of migration in the country. The divisive politics of the state traumatized the people on religious polarisation, persecution, and statelessness. Ironically, in the pre-partition period, migrant families were part of India, shifting of the border, they became refugees upon return in their own country. The visuals are against the state theory on 'illegal immigrants' or 'foreigners' to be treated with expulsion or in detention centres.
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Nearly 2 million people are stateless and declared as illegal immigrants by the NRC authority in Assam State, as their Indian nationality has been revoked. These individuals need legal assistance to reinstate their citizenship. The state government intentionally delayed the mandatory notification of the NRC order that delayed the judicial inquiry to solve the crisis.
Muslims gathered in great numbers to protest against the new citizenship amendment law in Kolkata. They are threatened by the new law that will deprive them of their citizenship in favour of an immigrant in the state.
Jesmina Khatun is an Indian national, born in Assam and married to Abdul Baten who to an Indian citizen. For any married women, like others, she submitted her legacy proof — a linkage document with her father and husband to the NRC, but her application rejected with no reason by the authority and currently she is stateless.
Nearly 2 million people are stateless and declared as illegal immigrants by the NRC authority in Assam State, as their Indian nationality has been revoked. These individuals need legal assistance to reinstate their citizenship. The state government intentionally delayed the mandatory notification of the NRC order that delayed the judicial inquiry to solve the crisis.