An analysis of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), published by the Assam State government in India on Saturday, shows that allegation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders regarding the influx of Bangladeshis into that state is not true, experts opined.
"Many (of the BJP's) hard-liners claimed that about five million people, mostly Bangladeshi Muslims, are residing in Assam illegally. But the NRC data shows that only 1.9 million people are excluded from the register, and many of them may be excluded mistakenly," former ambassador Humayun Kabir told the FE.
"Interestingly almost half of these 1.9 million are Hindus, which also proves that the BJP leaders' claim was a political rhetoric."
"Moreover, the exclusion rate is only 6.0 per cent in the regions, which have larger concentration of Bengali-speaking people. But in the areas, dominated by Assamese people, the exclusion rate is above 14 per cent," he pointed out.
Commenting on the issue Foreign Minister Dr A K Abdul Momen said sometimes political leaders say a lot of things out of their political compulsion.
"We should not bother about these sayings. In my meeting with the Indian external affairs minister during his recent Dhaka visit, I raised the NRC issue, saying that Bangladesh is already burdened with 1.1 million Rohingyas. Now, many people here are concerned over the Assam situation."
"The Indian minister categorically told me that it (NRC) is an internal issue of India, and Bangladesh should not have any concern over it. We trust his words," the minister noted.
However, Mr Kabir said the government should keep an eye on the situation, so that whenever required, necessary steps can be taken to address the situation.
The NRC has excluded over 1.9 million people, who now have to fight their case, and prove that they have been in Assam for decades.
The government has said these people will not be declared foreigners immediately, and they will have the option of appealing to the foreigners' tribunals and the courts.
Former foreign secretary Towhid Hossain said at this stage Bangladesh has nothing to do (regarding NRC).
"There is a provision of appeal for those who are excluded. They can go to the tribunals concerned, and then to the higher court. So it will be a long process."
According to Mr Hossain, repeated threats, made by the hard-liner BJP leaders, caused the public apprehension.
"Both the governments of India and Bangladesh consider it as an internal affair of India. But when some BJP leaders say that these illegal immigrants are Muslims from Bangladesh, and they will be forced to go back to Bangladesh, then definitely anxiety is created among people," he opined.
Interestingly, after the final NRC publication, the ruling BJP leaders, who have been vocal in its favour, are now lashing back against its outcome.
They even term the NRC publication as a "conspiracy to keep the Hindus out, and help the Muslims."
As the NRC was released on Saturday, members of the state's ruling BJP lashed out, saying that the list left out many genuine citizens, especially the refugees who migrated from Bangladesh before 1971, reports Indian media.
"The names of many Indian citizens, who migrated from Bangladesh as refugees before 1971, have not been included in the NRC, because the authorities concerned refused to accept refugee certificates," Assamese Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
Meanwhile, after the NRC publication, the BJP has indicated that it will bring the citizenship amendment bill soon.
The BJP MLA Shiladitya Dev alleged that the NRC software was bugged, and the process of preparing the citizens' list was steeped in corruption.
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