Assam woman, whose husband died fighting in 1983 clashes, not on NRC list: Report

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A family, whose patriarch had died in Assam's clashes of 1983 that sought to drive out illegal immigrants from the state, found their citizenship in a tenable state.

According to an NDTV report, Sarba Bala Mallick, 71, and her son Paritosh have little to prove that they are citizens of India because their hut in the Dalimbari area of Guwahati was burnt down during the violence that took place in 1983. All that they have now are some mementos and documents that recognise Mallick’s contribution towards fighting off illegal immigrants in the state.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the news.

The report noted that Mallick's husband was one of the 855 persons who were martyred in the clashes that led to the Assam Accord. The report noted that this part of Assam's history laid the groundwork for the NRC as we see it today.

A ray of hope for this family was a document released by the All Assam Students Union (AASU) (one of the key entities that spearheaded the Assam movement to drive out illegal immigrants) that had certified her husband as a “martyr”. However, this document got his surname wrong as it spelt it out as “Sarkar” instead of “Mallick”.

The report noted that one of the only legitimate documents they have is one that certifies that they had sought refuge in India after fleeing from East Pakistan in 1964, and that this is one such document that makes them eligible to be a part of the NRC list.

“My husband went to protest against illegal immigrants. He was hacked to death one day while returning home. Now, we are D voters and suspected Bangladeshis facing trials. What's the point of this life?” said Mallick.

Mallick and her son have made it to the list of “doubtful voters” in Assam and are being tried at the foreigners’ tribunal over suspicions of being illegal immigrants. Such voters and their descendants would not be a part of the list until the tribunal certifies them as Indians.

The updated National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam has been released earlier on August 31, excluding names of 19.07 lakh applicants, NRC State Coordinator's office has said.