1. Introduction

There is no escape from the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam and every resident of Assam must mandatorily participate if they seek to be identified as citizens of India. The State Coordinator of the NRC, Assam under the supervision of the Supreme Court of India has been preparing the controversial NRC with the aim to identify foreigners i.e. those who had allegedly migrated to the State after 24^th March 1971 as part of the implementation of the 2005 tripartite agreement signed by the Government of India, Assam Government and the All Assam Students Union (AASU) to implement the Assam Accord of 1985.

Exclusion from the final NRC to be published on 31.08.2019 effectively means declaration as foreigners with draconian consequences, ranging from imprisonment for indefinite period to deportation or remaining stateless forever with direct impact on the descendants.

As 26 June 2019, a total of 41,10,169 persons stood excluded from the draft NRC i.e. 40,007,707 persons excluded from the draft NRC on 30 July 2018  and another 1,02,462 persons excluded on 26 June 2019. Thousands of others have further been issued notices after 26 June 2019 and the exact number of notices issued remain unknown. Those excluded from the draft NRC have no option except repeatedly running into the NRC centres.

2. Economic cost of draft NRC: Excluded people made to spend about Rs 7,836 crores

To find out the economic costs on the people who were excluded from the draft NRC, the Rights & Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) conducted a survey of those excluded from the NRC in Baksa, Goalpara and Kamrup (Rural) districts of Assam from 17-20 July 2019 to find out the amount spent by each excluded person.  

RRAG interviewed 91 persons excluded from the NRC. Of these, 62 respondents were able to quantify their expenditure incurred for attending hearings before the NRC authorities while 29 others could not quantify the amount spent for the NRC alone as they also had to attending hearings related to their cases in the Foreigners Tribunals (FTs) which also included lawyers’ fees.

The 62 respondents who were able to quantify their expenditure incurred for attending hearings before the NRC authorities claimed to have spent a total of Rs 11,82,000 (see Annexure -1) which means that on an average, each person excluded had spent about Rs 19,065 to attend NRC hearings.

If Rs 19,065 has been spent by each person excluded from the NRC on an average, it implies that a total of Rs 78,360,371,985 spent by 41,10,169 persons excluded from the draft NRC at present.

The per capita income of Assam during 2018 was Rs 67,620 much lower than the all India average of Rs 1,03,870 as per the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

If Rs 19,065 has been spent for the NRC hearings by each excluded person, it implies that their per capita income had been reduced to Rs 48,555 or about US$ 700 which is at par with Central African Republic, the civil war ridden country with the lowest per capita income in the world, just above Somalia.

The World Bank in its report, “Assam: Poverty, Growth & Inequality” of 20 June 2017 stated that Assam not only lagged behind most Indian states in economic growth but “poverty reduction has been the slowest in Assam after 2005 and that the incidence of poverty in Assam remained higher than the national average, with poverty levels being very high in some parts of the State”.

The NRC has made 41,10,169 persons who constitute about 13% of the 31 million population of the State and are overwhelmingly below the poverty line extremely poor. Many had to mortgage agricultural lands, sell their cattle/livestock, and agricultural products like betel nuts/ paddy/ betel nut gardens/ jackfruit garden, sell their only means of income like auto rickshaw, while many took loans to meet the expenses for the NRC hearings.

On 17 July 2019, Adhir Arjya, President of the All Assam Bengali Youth Students Federation told RRAG that the excluded people, large majority of who were very poor, have been required to attend 5 to 10 hearings repeatedly at far off places. For example, residents of Baksa district had to attend hearings at far away districts of Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Dhubri, Kokrajhar to prove pre-1971 legacy or residence.

Majority of those who shall be excluded from the final NRC to be published on 31.08.2019 have been economically crippled and will not be in a position to defend themselves before the Foreigners’ Tribunals which requires representation by lawyers and costs between Rs 100,000 to Rs 150,000. If they do not have the capacity to defend before the FTs, the question of approaching the High Court and the Supreme Court does not arise.

Hundreds of thousands of people are staring at extreme poverty, hunger and imprisonment in the detention centres as each person shall have to file appeal before the designated Foreigners’ Tribunal constituted under the Foreigners’ (Tribunals) Order, 1964 and be imprisoned once they lose the appeal is lost before the Foreigners’ Tribunal and unable to challenge before the High Court.

3. Why the NRC hearings have been expensive  

The NRC hearings are indeed expensive given the cumbersome procedures to establish one’s citizenship based on legacy data.

Every person excluded from the draft NRC had to spend more money because when a person from the family is excluded from the draft NRC, it is not only the excluded person who has to attend the NRC hearings but all the adult members of the family or blood relatives who are otherwise included in the draft NRC have to accompany the excluded member as witnesses before the NRC authorities. The expenses multiply because the excluded person has to be present himself or herself along with witnesses for multiple times before the NRC Seva Kendra. Further, many excluded persons received notices from the NRC Seva Kendra in another district to establish the legacy data of their parents or grandparents in that place.

In an interview on 18 July 2019, Nurul Alam Siddiqui, s/o Ramjan Ali Miah of Village Kharmuza in Goalpara District told RRAG that out of four members in his family, his wife and two kids have been included while he was left out despite submitting the legacy data of his father based on which his two sisters and three brothers and their kids have been included in the draft NRC. Nurul Alam Siddiqui, a teacher in a government school, stated that he has attended four hearings of the NRC but without success. He said all his three brothers and two sisters who are all adult had to accompany him to the NRC hearing on three occasions to testify that he is their real brother. He claimed to have spent at least Rs.50,000/- on hiring cabs, buying foods, obtaining certified copies of documents, photocopying etc in the NRC process while he has suffered loss of at least 15 valuable working days.

The process becomes more expensive if the cases are referred to the Foreigners Tribunals. Those who are identified as D-voters or case pending in the Foreigners Tribunals have been excluded from the NRC. Many of the interviewees stated that the family members had to go to far off places to attend hearings in the Foreigners Tribunals. If one family member has a case in a FT, the main members of the family also required to accompany him/her as witnesses. In many cases, family members have to go to the places of their parents or grandparents in search of legacy documents. This has cost a lot of monetary hardships and had led to pauperisation of the already impoverished families.

Inability to bear the costs of lawyers before the FT forced people to commit suicide. On 8 September 2016, Aklima Bewa, aged 62 years, committed suicide near her house in Dankinamari village under Bongaigaon police station in Bongaigaon district allegedly due to depression after her youngest daughter was declared a D-Voter. She was a widow and worked as a daily wage labourer. Her youngest daughter Moriam Begum (33 years), who was married, was facing a trial before the Foreigner’s Tribunal in Bongaigaon to prove her nationality. According to reports, the family hired a lawyer in Bongaigaon and was asked to show up at the FT once or twice every month. Moriam had appeared before the FT at least 25 times with valid documents and on average the family spent around Rs 1,000 a day on these trips, including the lawyer’s fees. Aklima used to accompany her daughter Moriam on these trips.

4. Testimonies of the interviews who participated in the survey

The testimonies given by those interviewed about the money spent for the NRC hearings are given below:

Case 1: Testimony of Sushil Das, S/o Lt. Gurucharan Das, R/o village Kumarikata under PS Tamulpur in Baksa district

Sushil Das, aged about 55, lives at Kumarikata market along with his family. He is a highly respected person among the Hindu Bengali community in Tamulpur area. He is an Adviser to All Assam Bengali Youth Students Federation (AABYSF) and formerly he had served as President of the organization. 

Sushil Das and his family members have been included in the NRC. Yet, he is concerned that large section of Bengali Hindu population across has been left out despite having all requisite documents to probe pre-1971 residence in Assam.

RRAG researchers met and interviewed him on 17.7.2019 at Kumarikata, PS Tamulpur to get on-the-spot assessment of the ground situation arising out of the NRC process. Sushil Das stated that the common people especially the poor and marginalized section among the Bengali speaking Hindus and Muslims have been made to suffer due to contradictions between the Election Commission of India and the Foreigners Tribunal. He said the judicial process is being abused and misused to systematically target the Bengal speaking Hindus on the suspicion that they are illegal migrants from Bangladesh. He said that large majority of the excluded population are Indian citizens by birth and are registered voters and they have been casting votes as late as the recently concluded Parliamentary Elections 2019. But, they have been rendered as foreigners overnight whimsically by the NRC official and are being harassed to the brink of committing suicide. He said in majority of the cases of exclusion among the Bengali Hindu population, the NRC officials have cited the reason such as (i) Pending F.T. Case or (ii) Doubtful voters or (iii) Declared Foreigner. However, when the excluded people went to the Foreigners Tribunal in their respective areas, they never found any case registered against them. He said many people, especially poor and low income group have died by committing suicide after being either branded as a “Doubtful voter” or as foreigner or exclusion from NRC. He said people living on daily wages @ Rs. 200 or Rs.300 cannot manage Rs. 1 lakh or 2 lakh need in litigation to defend their rights before the FTs.

He squarely assailed demand by the NRC officials for mandatory production of birth certificate to probe linkage with the legacy data holder. Sushil Das told RRAG researchers that the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 came into force in Assam from 1978, about 41 years ago. He therefore reason that anyone who were born before 1978 or whose age is above 41 years should not be expected to produce birth certificates as there was provision for it during the time of their birth. He said however, in large majority cases, people belonging to his community have been excluded from NRC or declared foreigners or branded as doubtful voter mainly on the ground of inability to produce birth certificates.

Case 2: Testimony of Adhir Arjya (40), President, Baksa district, All Assam Bengali Youth Students Federation

As president of the All Assam Bengali Youth Students Federation, Adhir Arjya is well aware with the situation of the Bengali Hindu people vis-à-vis the NRC process in Baksa district. By virtue of his work and position, he is a highly respected person in his community.

During their visit to Tamulpur area, RRAG researchers interviewed him at NK Angarkata village under PS Tamulpur in Baksa district on 17.7.2019. He presented a first-hand assessment of the hardships that his community people are being subjected to during the ongoing NRC process in Assam. He claimed that despite having all requisite documents to prove pre-1971 residence in Assam, his community people are being targeted under a deep rooted conspiracy to exclude them from the NRC. He alleged that names of Bengali speaking Hindus who have been included in the 1^st Draft NRC have been excluded from the NRC by whimsically citing reasons as (i) Pending F.T. Case or (ii) Doubtful voter or (ii) Declared foreigners in the “Reason column”.

When asked if he has taken up the issue of summary rejection claims with the senior State government or NRC officials, Adhir said the matter was taken up with Additional Deputy Commissioner and District Coordinator of NRC and pursuant that the excluded persons have been given opportunity of hearing. But, he stated that none of those hearings have done properly as NRC officials did not either take the documents into account or they did not apply their minds while re-hearing the claims of pre-1971 residence by the claims as on date. Based on what he calls discriminatory treatment by the NRC officials, he said they are now forced to arrive at the conclusion that the Bengali speaking Hindus are being systematically discriminated to exclude them from the NRC by branding them foreigners or doubtful voters.

On request to explain the type of hardships being faced by the excluded people, Adhir stated that the excluded people, large majority of them very poor, have been required to attend 5 – 10 hearings repeatedly at far off places, e.g. residents of Baksa district had to attend hearings at far away districts of Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Dhubri, Kokrajhar to probe pre-1971 legacy or residence. As majority of the excluded people are below the poverty line they have been mortgaging agricultural lands, household goods and livestock to fund their NRC hearings. Apart from waste of money, the excluded families have losing valuable productive time. Adhir said but these people have no options than appearing at the hearings. He said out of desperation and extreme level of anxiety, many have succumbed to depression and at least 5 people who have either been excluded from NRC or declared as doubtful voter committed suicide in Baksa district. He warned about large scale suicide among his community in the event of summary exclusion from NRC despite people submitting documents to probe pre-1971 residence. He said the Assam government and NRC State Coordinator Pratik Hajela should be held responsible for such a situation.

Case 3: Testimony of Bharat Mandal, S/o Lt. Chandi Mandal, R/o Haulitari, P.S. Boko, Distt Kamrup (Rural), Assam

RRAG representatives interviewed Bharat Mandal, S/o Lt. Chandi Mandal on 20 July 2019 at Chamaria under Boko PS in Kamrup (Rural). Despite submitting legal documents, he has been excluded from the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

He told RRAG that he was a carpenter and earned very little to sustain his family. Yet, he had to spend about Rs. 30,000 to engage a lawyer as well as to attend hearings for NRC. He further stated that he had suffered economic loss of about Rs. 1500 while attending the NRC and FT Court hearings for 5 days. He said he took loans from friends and relatives to engage lawyer and to meet other expenses pertaining to NRC hearing.

Case 4: Testimony of Nurul Alam Siddiqui, S/o Ramjan Ali Miah, R/o Village: Kharmuza, Circle Balijan, Distt Goalpara

Nurul Alam Siddiqui is a teacher in a government school in Assam. Out of four members of his family including himself, his wife and two kids have been included while he was left out from draft NRC despite submitting the legacy documents.

On 18.7.2019, he told RRAG researchers that till date he has attended four hearings of the NRC. Every time all his three brothers and two sisters who are all adult had to accompany him to the NRC hearing to testify that he is their real brother. He said he has spent at least Rs.50,000/- on hiring cabs, buying foods, obtaining certified copies of documents, photocopying etc in the NRC process while he has suffered loss of at 15 valuable working days.

Case 5: Testimony of Lalchand Ali (34), S/o Lt. Montaz Ali, R/o Village: Govindapur, Circle Balijan in Goalpara district

RRAG researchers met Lalchand Ali, bicycle mechanic by profession, at Goalpara on 18.72019. He informed that out of 20 family members including his three brothers and two sisters all have been included in draft NRC except him. Initially his wife was also excluded.

Mr. Ali told RRAG that ever since his and his wife’s name were excluded from the draft NRC, he has been running from pillar to post. He said he spent at least Rs. 60,000/- for travel, to obtain certified copies of various documents, attend NRC hearing and lost several working days since the first NRC list was published. He told RRAG that he took loans on high rate of interest to meet the said expenses. He was clueless as to how he will repay the loans.

Case 6: Testimony of Karuna Das, S/o Lt. Kalachand Nama Das, R/o Village Rangapani, P.S. Tamulpur, Distt Baksa

Karuna Das, aged 55 years, is a shopkeeper at the village market in Rangapani in Baksa District. He is the head of his family comprising himself, his wife, one and daughther-in-law and a grand kid.

On 17 July 2019, Karuna told RRAG researchers at Garoghutu Anganwadi Centre that he, his son and daughter had to travel to Dhemaji twice to appear at NRC hearings. He said he spent above Rs. 10,000/- during these visits and wasted as many as 10 working days. This led to his pauperization due to the NRC, he told RRAG.

Case 7: Testimony of Jaydeb Das (50), S/o Lt. Jogendra Kumar Das, R/o Village: Rangapani, P.S. Tamulpur, Distt Baksa

Jaydeb Das, aged 50, is a marginal farmer at Rangapani village under Tamulpur PS in Baksa district of Assam. He heads his family of five members, including his wife Sandhya Das, two sons and one daughter. He said he belongs to the Scheduled Caste community of Namasudra. None of his family members have been included in the NRC exercise.

On 17.7.2019, Jaydeb Das told RRAG that despite being a marginal farmer, somehow meeting both ends, he had to spend about Rs. 10,000/- as he had to hire cab for his entire family to appear at the NRC at least times so far. He told his family has lost at least four working days leading to loss of at least Rs. 20,000/-. He stated that the government was taking away his livelihood through the NRC.

Case 8: Testimony of Sangita Das, w/o Prashanta Das, R/o Rangapani village under Tamulpur circle in Baksa district

Sangita Das, aged 29, housewife, has been excluded from the NRC although her has the legacy data code 180-3009-7317 of her grandfather Lt. Raghunath Das.

On 17 July 2019, Sangita told RRAG researchers in an interview that she had attended two hearings at places above 120 km away from her village and spent at least Rs. 5,000/- to hire a cab and food on both occasions. She said it took her and husband the whole day for each hearing because the number of excluded persons attending hearing was huge.

Case 9: Testimony of Banamali Das, S/o Lt. Jyotish Chandra Das, R/o Village Garoghutu, PS Tamulpur, Distt. Baksa

Banamali Das, aged 56 years, is a marginal farmer residing with his family at Garoghutu village under Tamulpur PS in Baksa district of Assam. Altogether 18 members of his family including his children, two brothers and their children and one sister have been excluded from NRC despite having all requisite proofs of pre-1971 residence in Assam.

On 17.7.2019, Banamali told RRAG that he, his brothers and sister had attended the NRC four times at Baksa district headquarters in Mushalpur, 60 km away from his residence. He said they spent more than Rs. 10,000/- in hiring cabs and food during the NRC hearings. He also estimated to have lost more than 15 days working days by all the brothers together. He said it has become untenable for them to bear the hardships anymore.

Case 10: Testimony of Niranjan Das, S/o Lt. Adhar Chandra Das, R/o Village Garoghutu, PS Tamulpur in Baksa district of Assam

Niranjan Das, age 64, lives at Garoghutu village along with his wife Jyotsna Das, two sons and a daughter-in-law. He and his family’s primary source of livelihood is agriculture.

During an interview with the RRAG on 17.7.2019, Niranjan Das stated that he has thus far spent over Rs. 50,000 in the NRC process attending hearings several times at district headquarters Mushalpur and visiting the NRC Kendra at Tamulpur.

He said some months ago he suffered from stroke as a result of which he became partially paralysed. On asking how he managed that much of money, Niranjan Das said he sold livestock like cattle, goats, chickens etc and also took some loans. He said he his sons also lost at least 15 days of working days in the process.

Case 11: Testimony of Manmohan Das, S/o Jatin Das, R/o Village Garoghutu, PS Tamulpur, Baksa district

Manmohan Das, aged 52, is a resident of Village Garoghutu under Tamulpur PS in Assam’s Baksa district. He works as a mason and lives with his wife and a son. He and his family members have been excluded from the Draft NRC published in January 2018.

On 17 July 2019, he told RRAG that despite his humble income he had spent Rs. 12,000/- to attend NRC hearing repeatedly four times at Mushalpur, which is about 60 km away from his residence and lost around days of work. He said he had to sell domestic livestock to meet the expenses.

Case 12: Testimony of Juran Das, S/o Lt. Biswanath Das, R/o Village Rangapani, PS Tamulpur, Baksa district

Juran Das, aged 63, is a petty businessman. He lives at Rangapani village with his wife, sons and grandchildren. He and his family members have been excluded from the Draft NRC.

During his interview to the researchers of RRAG at Garoghutu Anganwadi Center on 17.7.2019, he stated that his family members had to attend five hearings at district headquarters, 70 km away from his residence. He said the NRC has made a dent in his humble source of livelihood as he has been compelled to spend Rs. 30,000/- to pay cab hiring charges, food bills and miscellaneous expenses during five hearings at Mushalpur. He said his family also lost above 10 days of productive working days because NRC exclusion.

Case 13: Testimony of Arup Sarkar, S/o Late Ananda Sarkar, R/o NK Angarkata village, Baksa District

Arup Sarkar (28 years), son of late Ananda Sarkar, resident of NK Angarkata village in Baksa District of Assam, is a daily wage labourer. All the five members in his family have been excluded from the NRC.

During the interview, Arup Sarkar told RRAG that he earned only Rs 6000 per month as a daily labourer but his family had spent over Rs 1,50,000 fighting the cases in the Tribunals. Hence, his family is no longer in a position to defend his mother’s case before the Foreigners Tribunal.

Case 14: Testimony of Sukumar Sardar, S/o late Lt Phanindar Kumar Sarkar, R/o Kahibari village, PS Boko, Kamrup (Rural) District

Sukumar Sardar (aged 30 years), son of late Lt Phanindar Kumar Sarkar, is an agricultural labourer residing at Kahibari village under Police Station Boko in District Kamrup (Rural), Assam. He has been excluded from the draft NRC despite having requisite documents and legacy data to prove his pre-1971 residence in Assam.

In an interview to the Asian Centre for Human Rights (RRAG) at Kahibari village on 20 July 2019, Sukumar Sardar said he was a marginal agricultural labourer and earned barely Rs 200 per day. He attended hearing at Goraimari once (went by passenger vehicle) and Somoria twice (by cycling) and spent over Rs 20,000 so far. He stated that he took loan from his villagers to meet the expenses. Now, he does not know how to repay the loans.

Case 15: Testimony of Jogen Mandal, S/o late Roshik Mandal R/o Kahibari, PS Boko, District Kamrup (Rural)

Jogen Mandal (50 years), son of late Roshik Mandal, is a resident of Kahibari, PS Boko, District Kamrup (Rural), Assam. He is a daily wage labourer. All of his 8 family members, including himself, have been excluded from the NRC.

Asian Centre for Human Rights (RRAG) researchers interviewed Jogen Mandal at his village Kahibari on 20 July 2019. He stated that he was illiterate and worked as a daily labourer and earned very little to sustain his family of 8 members. He had to hire a lawyer to defend his case in the foreigners Tribunal and spent more than Rs 30,000.

Case 16: Testimony of Dhiren Mandal, S/o late Roshik Mandal, R/o Kahibari, PS Boko, District Kamrup (Rural)

Dhiren Mandal (60 years), son of late Roshik Mandal, is a resident of Kahibari, PS Boko, District Kamrup (Rural), Assam. He is a daily wage labourer. All of his four family members, including himself, have been excluded from the NRC.

Asian Centre for Human Rights (RRAG) researchers interviewed Dhiren Mandal at his village Kahibari on 20 July 2019. He stated that he was illiterate and worked as a daily labourer and earned about Rs 36,000 per year. His family members who had to hire lawyers to defend their cases in the Foreigners Tribunals and in the process spent a lot of money.

Case 17: Testimony of Nur Nehar Begum, D/o Nur Islam, R/o Govindapur, Goalpara district

Nur Nehar Begum (36 years), daughter of Nur Islam, is a resident of Govindapur in Goalpara district of Assam. She is a housewife. Out of five members in the family only she has been left out of the NRC.

During an interview with the RRAG at Goalpara on 18 July 2019, she stated that there was a pending case against her before the Foreigners Tribunal at Goalpara. She has so far spent over Rs 40,000 for the NRC and the FT case. She informed that she had to sold cattle to meet the legal expenses.

Case 18: Testimony of Krishna Das, S/o Madan Chandar Das, R/o Garo Ghutu village, Tamulpur Circle, Baksa District

Krishna Das (40 years), son of Madan Chandar Das, a resident of Garo Ghutu village under Tamulpur Circle in Baksa District of Assam, is a bike mechanic. Accordingly to him, he hardly earned Rs 40,000 per year.

During his interview with the RRAG researchers at his village on 17 July 2019, Krishna Das stated that out of five members in his family only his wife’s name has been included in the NRC. He told RRAG that his family was forced to sell their auto rickshaw and take loans to meet the expenses of the cases before the Foreigners Tribunal. Now, his family is financially broke.

Case 19: Testimony of Anil Das, S/o Adhar Chandar Das, R/o Garo Ghutu village, Tamulpur Circle, Baksa District

Anil Das, s/o Adhar Chandar Das, a resident of Garo Ghutu village under Tamulpur Circle in Baksa District of Assam, is a tailor.  On 17 July 2019, he told RRAG that his family members had to go to Bhawanipur in Barpeta district by hiring car to the NRC Seva Kendra. Being poor, the family had to sell their jackfruit garden and betel nuts to meet the expenses.

Case 20: Testimony of Bhuli Das, D/o Fanindar Chandar Das, R/o Garo Ghutu village, Tamulpur Circle, Baksa District

Bhuli Das (50 years), daughter of Fanindar Chandar Das, a resident of Garo Ghutu village under Tamulpur Circle in Baksa District of Assam, is an agricultural labourer. On 17 July 2019, in an interview with RRAG she stated that none of her six family members has been included in the NRC despite having requisite legacy documents. She stated that the family had to spend over Rs 10,000 for the NRC process and had sold cattle as well as betel nuts to meet the expenses.

Case 21: Testimony of Radha Saran Mandal, S/o Rang Lal Mandal, R/o Kahibari, PS Boko, District Kamrup (Rural)

Radha Saran Mandal (70 years), s/o Rang Lal Mandal, resident of Kahibari, PS Boko, District Kamrup (Rural), Assam, is a daily wage labourer. On 20 July 2019, he told RRAG that he had to sell cows and paddy and took loan of Rs 30,000 to prove himself as an Indian Citizens. He claimed to have spent Rs 80,000 thus far and now financially broke.

Case 22: Testimony of Ananta Mandal, S/o Hemanta Mandal, R/o Kahibari, PS Boko, District Kamrup (Rural)

Ananta Mandal (60 years), s/o Hemanta Mandal, resident of Kahibari, PS Boko, District Kamrup (Rural), Assam, is a daily wage labourer. On 20 July 2019, he told the RRAG that so far his family has spent over Rs 1 Lakh to fight the case in the Foreigners Tribunal and had to sell cows and took loan of Rs 70,000 to prove himself as Indian citizen. He is clueless as to how he will repay the loan or rebuild his livelihood.

Annexure 1: Responses of the persons who participated in the NRC economic costs survey

SL.NO.	NAME	FATHER’S NAME	ADDRESS	AMOUNT SPENT in RS	MEANS OF RESORUCES
1	Krishna Das	Madan Chandar Das	Village: Garo Ghutu, Circle/Tehsil, Tamulpur, District: Baksa, Assam	1000	Forced to sell autorickshaw and took loan
2	Bimal Das	Nimai Das	Do	25,000	Took loan
3	Naba Kumar Das		Rangapani, Circle: Tamulpur, District Baksa, Assam	13,000
4	Kaman Das	Lakkan Chander Das	Do	5,000
5	Raju Das	Prafulla Das	Do	10,000	Sold land
6	Ajay Das	Amar Das	Do	50,000
7	Rakesh Dhar	Amar Dhar	Do	25,000	Sold cows and goats
8	Utpal Das	Sunil Das	Rangapani, Circle: Tamulpur, District Baksa, Assam	15,000	Took loan
9	Anil Das	Adhar Chandar Das	Village: Garo Ghutu, Circle/Tehsil, Tamulpur, District: Baksa, Assam	5,000	Sold jackfruit garden, betel nuts
10	Bhuli Das	Fanindar Chandar Das	Do	10,000	Sold cattle and betel nut garden
11	Pinku Das	Late Ananda Ram Das	Do	12,000
12	Shanti Das	Raj Kumar Das	Do	40,000
13	Mahendra Das		Do	20,000
14	Badal Dhar	Anukul Dhar	Do	15,000
15	Gita Das		Do	10,000
16	Chanu Dhar		Do	15,000
17	Ratan Lal Ariya	Rebati Ariya	Do	5,000
18	Niranjan Das	Prafulla Chandra Das	Do	8,000
19	Brajabasi Biswas	Kanai Lal Biswas	Do	3,000
20	Ranjit Sarkar	Palan Namu Das	Do	10,000
21	Santosh Namadas	Sri Dam	Do	70,000
22	Kalachan Rajbangshi	Anil Chandar Rajbangshi	Do	8,000
23	Manowara Khatun	Kaku Sheikh	Govindapur, Goalpara district, Assam	20,000
24	Nur Nehar Begum	Nur Islam	Do	40,000	sold cows
25	Samsul Haque	Nurul Islam	Do	3,000
26	Amrul Hussain		Do	40,000
27	Radha Saran Mandal	Rang Lal Mandal	Do	80,000	Sold cows, paddy and took loan of Rs 30,000
28	Jogen Mandal	Lt Roshik Mandal	Do	30,000
29	Sukumar Sardar	Lt Phanindra Kumar Sarkar	Do	20,000	Took loan
30	Golak Mandal	Khuchi Mohan Mandal	Do	20,000
31	RAMESH SARKAR	Khagen Sarkar	Village: Haulitari, P.S Boko, Sub-Division: Kamrup, District Kamrup, Assam	20,000	Took loan
32	GOBINDA SARKAR	Surabala Sarkar	Village: Kahibari, Chamaria, P.S Boko, District Kamrup, Assam	20,000	Took loan
33	BHARAT MANDAL	Chandi Mandal	Village: Haulitari, P.S Boko, Sub-Division: Kamrup, District Kamrup, Assam	10,000	Took loan
34	SAGAR RAI	Shanta Kumar Rai	Village: Kahibari, Chamaria, P.S Boko, District Kamrup, Assam	10,000	Took loan
35	DIPALI SUTRADHAR	Fatik Sutradhar	Village: Domoni, Khairabari Gram Panchayat, Barpeta Circle, Distt Barpeta	25,000
36	NURUL ALAM SIDDIQUE	Ramjan Ali Miah	Village: Kharmuza, P.O. Kharmuza, P.S. Goalpara, District Goalpara	10,000
37	LAL CHAN ALI	Lt. Montaz Ali	Village: Gobindapur, P.O. Goalpara, Distt Goalpara	60,000	Took loan
38	NARAYAN DAS	Jogendra kumar Das	Village: Rangapani, P.S. Tamulpur, Distt Baksa	15,000
39	JAYDEV DAS	Jogendra kumar Das	Village: Rangapani, P.S. Tamulpur, Distt Baksa	10,000
40	KARUNA DAS	Lt. Kalachan Nama Das	Village: Rangapani, P.S. Tamulpur, Distt Baksa	30,000
41	GANESH DAS	Lt. Kalachan Nama Das	Village: Rangapani, P.S. Tamulpur, Distt Baksa	10,000
42	PRASHANTA DAS	Ganesh Das	Village: Rangapani, P.S. Tamulpur, Distt Baksa	10,000
43	PROMODH CHANDRA DUTTA	Harballav Dutta	Village: Rangapani, P.S. Tamulpur, Distt Baksa	5000
44	JADU MONI DUTTA	Harballav Dutta	Village: Rangapani, P.S. Tamulpur, Distt Baksa	5000
45	NIRMAL DAS	Nitai Chandra Das	Village: Rangapani, P.S. Tamulpur, Distt Baksa	10,000	Mortgage land
46	SHYAMAL DAS	Nitai Chandra Das	Village: Rangapani, P.S. Tamulpur, Distt Baksa	10,000
47	JURAN DAS	Lt. Bishwanath Das	Village: Rangapani, P.S. Tamulpur, Distt Baksa	30000	Mortgage land
48	GANESH DAS	Lt. Bishwanath Das	Village: Rangapani, P.S. Tamulpur, Distt Baksa	25000
49	BABUL DAS	Upendra Chandra Das	Village: Garoghutu, P.S. Tamulpur, Distt Baksa	2000
50	SUJIT DAS	Abhiram Das	Village: Garoghutu, P.S. Tamulpur, Distt Baksa	15,000	Sold livestock
51	NIRANJAN DAS	Adhar Chandra Das	Village: Garoghutu, P.S. Tamulpur, Distt Baksa	60,000	Sold cattle and took loan
52	MANMOHAN DAS	Jatindra Chandra Das	Village: Garoghutu, P.S. Tamulpur, Distt Baksa	10,000	Sold livestock
53	BANAMALI DAS	Jyotish Chandra Das	Village: Garoghutu, P.S. Tamulpur, Distt Baksa	10,000
54	AJIT DAS	Jyotish Chandra Das	Village: Garoghutu, P.S. Tamulpur, Distt Baksa	10,000
55	NISHIKANTA DAS	Jyotish Chandra Das	Village: Garoghutu, P.S. Tamulpur, Distt Baksa	10,000
56	RUPALI DAS	Niranjan Chandra Das	Village: Garoghutu, P.S. Tamulpur, Distt Baksa	10,000
57	BALO RAM DAS	Madan Das	Village: Garoghutu, P.S. Tamulpur, Distt Baksa	1000
58	GOLOK ARYA	Gandharaj Arya	Village: Hatiduba, P.S. Tamulpur, Distt Baksa	52,000
59	MANORANJAN DAS	Ganesh Chandra Das	Natun Basti Angarkata, P.S. Tamulpur, Distt Baksa	40,000
60	JAGAT BISWAS	Gopinath Das	Village: Shantipur, P.S. Tamulpur, Distt Baksa	6,000
61	PHUKAN BISWAS	Gopinath Das	Village: Shantipur, P.S. Tamulpur, Distt Baksa	6,000
62	PARAN DAS	Meghalal Das	Village: N.K. Angarkata, P.S. Tamulpur, Distt Baksa	7,000
	Total			1182000