After 1947, in post-Independence India, the country had witnessed the first ultra-nationalism euphoria in Assam state. The leaders had openly argued about the presence of refugees from East Pakistan in the state. An occasional flare up on the immigrant’s and migrant people feared their lives, particularly refugees who had lost everything in East Pakistan due to the partition. The distraught refugees and the original settlers witnessed the ire of a section of the Assamese people. There were occasional killings, loot and human rights violations on the refugees. At the end of the 70s, things gone awry with massive human rights violations took place. Large scale violence on refugees and migrant’s people, with slaughtering, loot and destruction of property. The civil unrest of nearly five years destabilised the state. The gruesome killings at Neelie of the 1500 Muslim people and the 900 Hindus at Silapathar, was a testament to the horrific situation of the state. The active participation of ULFA, an ultra-nationalistic outfit, is known for its chauvinistic feeling towards the refugee and migrant’s people. AASU, ULFA and other nationalistic sympathisers demanded that refugees and migrants who are illegal immigrants will be deported to Bangladesh. In 1985, the State and the Indian Government mutually agreed with the AASU for a peace talk. The AASU, a student’s outfit, forced the governments to introduce the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to detect illegal immigrants. The agreement had a dire effect on the Citizenship Act and amendments to the existing citizenship policy. The change of the Act and the NRC had paved the way for a chauvinistic policy in the state.

 

In the past, the NRC policy gathered dust only in 2015, when the right-winged BJP government formed in Assam. The policy had numbed the refugee, and migrant people, ultimately surrender to the draconian policy. In October 2018, ULFA (I) had killed five young people to spread fear among the refugees to move out of the state. The Government formed a committee about the killings whereas no findings to date were reported. By 31st August 2019, nearly two million people lost their Indian citizenship, is now stateless. It made many people who are in various detention centres in the state. Out of fear of deportation, people committed suicides. In gross violation of human rights issue, the Indian Government hasn’t replied to the enquiry made twice by the United Nations. The state government now has more aggression while challenging the outcomes of the NRC. Recently, in August 2021, they had announced the land of the state only belongs to the Assamese people. The refugees who owned the land allotted during the repatriation from East Pakistan will lose their ownership. Consequences of the role of the NRC, the Indian Government wants to implement it nationwide, to destabilise a section of people with fear and citizenship, easy to rule with their Hindutva policy.