Not So Incredible India

 William Shakespeare wrote, 'What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.' 

This quote critiques the superficiality that a name carries and rather values the inherent quality of one’s existence. This does not hold true when your name sends you to detention camps, deems you a foreigner in a nation where you were born, bred and cared for all your life. Assam, given its strategic position with neighboring Bangladesh, has always been in turmoil regarding the status of citizenship. The NRC process has amplified this turbulence, revealing the grim face of humanity and the hollow reality of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam that this nation often preaches.

I have admired various bureaucrats for their timely service and integrity that has transformed many lives. But the bureaucratic system as a whole lacks empathy and is embroiled in ineffectiveness, delays, inaccuracies, corruption, and more. The irony is that this system demands people provide long-drawn records to prove their identity. A mere spelling error has stripped various people in Assam of their families. If we ponder, the error might have been the result of bureaucratic carelessness.

When soldiers risk their lives for the country, they least expect their own people to harm their dignity, let alone strip them of their citizenship. This was the case of Mohammad Sanaullah, a Kargil war veteran who had to fight to prove his citizenship, and recently the Gauhati High Court restored it to him.

 He says, 'Without having been in the Army, I would not have had the will and determination to establish my citizenship before the high court.' This is not the case for many illiterate, marginalized people of Assam. Poor people who are daily wagers and earn meager incomes are running from pillar to post to ascertain their citizenship. This, coupled with being Muslim, further disadvantages their already precarious situation.

Recently, Assam withdrew 28,000 cases pending in tribunals against the Koch Rajbongshis. However, Desi Muslims, who are considered natives of Lower Assam, continue to face citizenship trials. They trace their roots to the kingdom of Kamrup and local tribal communities, reports Rokibuz Zaman, a journalist who substantially covers issues of North-East, especially those pertaining to Assam’s NRC.

Today’s India treats Muslims as second-class citizens, and the bigotry among Hindu fundamentalists is evident throughout the country. The NRC is no exception to this. It has actually amplified the division and hatred. This is a blot on the plural and secular structure that India was once proud of. Every story from the detention camps is terrifying, and the ordeals faced by these ordinary people cannot be fathomed. The authorities are belligerent and lack empathy in handling these cases. A negligent officer’s mistake cost the life of Sabaruddin, who fought an arduous legal battle only to get justice after he passed away. He died with the false label of a foreigner. Many people took their lives in detention camps, unable to bear the uncertainty of the future. There are two yards of justice in treating Muslims and other suspected foreigners. This prejudiced atmosphere is proliferating the injustice happening to the Muslim community. History will judge India terribly for having inflicted these pains on the minorities. Sooner, the nation reclaims its soul, it's better for the fabric of plurality that defines the concept of India.