The Assam government will continue to deport individuals identified as foreigners, even if their names are included in the National Register of Citizens (NRC), Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has declared. His remarks have reignited the debate over the validity and reliability of the NRC, which has remained a controversial and politically sensitive document since its release in 2019.

Speaking at an event in Darrang district on Wednesday (June 11, 2025), the Chief Minister said, “The way the NRC was carried out in Assam leaves a lot of scope for doubt, and it cannot be the only document for determining a person’s citizenship.”

He added that the state’s current policy is to push back foreigners if authorities are “absolutely convinced” that the individuals are illegal immigrants, irrespective of their inclusion in the NRC.

NRC Update Remains Legally Unnotified

The NRC in Assam, which was conducted under the supervision of the Supreme Court, was published on August 31, 2019. The final list excluded over 19 lakh people, sparking significant concern, legal disputes, and protests across the state. However, despite the high-profile nature of the exercise, the NRC has not been notified by the Registrar General of India (RGI), rendering it legally toothless in its current form.

Mr. Sarma underlined that many names were included in the NRC using unfair means. “Personally, I am not convinced that the presence of a name in the NRC alone is enough to determine that someone is not an illegal migrant,” he said.

Deportation Drives Intensify

Assam has recently stepped up efforts to detect and deport what the government calls “doubtful citizens.” Over the past month, numerous individuals have been picked up across the state during a nationwide verification drive.

Some of these individuals have been pushed back to Bangladesh, the country where Assam authorities believe they originated from. However, in many cases, Bangladesh refused to accept the deportees, resulting in re-entries.

According to Mr. Sarma, the implementation of the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, will form the legal basis for these expulsions. The Act empowers district commissioners to identify and evict illegal immigrants from the state without requiring judicial review, making it a powerful tool for administrative action.

Allegations Against Harsh Mander

In a controversial remark, CM Sarma also accused social activist and author Harsh Mander of manipulating the NRC process during its implementation phase.

He alleged that Mander had camped in Assam for two years, allegedly sent local youths to the US and UK for studies, and influenced them to exploit loopholes in the NRC.

"These matters came to my knowledge after I became the Chief Minister," Mr. Sarma said, without providing any documentary evidence to support the claims.

Harsh Mander, a former bureaucrat and known human rights campaigner, has been critical of the NRC and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and has often called for humane treatment of marginalised groups in Assam and elsewhere.

Legal and Political Ramifications

The National Register of Citizens was intended to be an authoritative list of Indian citizens residing in Assam. Its goal was to identify illegal immigrants, particularly from Bangladesh, and to address the demographic concerns of the indigenous population.

However, the process has been fraught with procedural lapses, accusations of bias, and logistical challenges. Critics argue that the NRC created more confusion than clarity, leaving lakhs of genuine citizens in limbo, while potentially including non-citizens.

Mr. Sarma’s remarks challenge the very foundation of the NRC exercise, and further deepen the uncertainty surrounding the status of those included and excluded from the list.

NRC’s Fate in Limbo

The NRC’s final list, submitted to the Supreme Court in 2019, remains unnotified and hence not a legally binding document. This has allowed state authorities to apply discretion, as in the present case, where inclusion in NRC is no longer considered final proof of citizenship.

The central government, for its part, has been silent on the future of NRC in Assam, despite earlier statements indicating that an all-India NRC might be initiated.

Activists and political opposition have warned that the state's ongoing deportation policy, if based on arbitrary or unverifiable criteria, could violate human rights and lead to statelessness, especially for marginalised communities.

Conclusion

The Assam government's position on the NRC marks a dramatic shift from the initial expectations surrounding the exercise. By disregarding NRC inclusion as definitive, the state is signalling its intent to tighten the net on suspected illegal migrants, based on new and potentially subjective criteria.

As the political, legal and humanitarian implications unfold, the debate around citizenship, identity, and rights in Assam is likely to intensify.

Unless there is transparent communication from both the state and central governments, the uncertainty and fear surrounding the NRC and citizenship verification processes will continue to plague lakhs of residents in one of India’s most diverse and sensitive states.

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