Skip to content Skip to navigation

Withdraw Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016

Appeal to withdraw the proposed Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016.

From: Dr. Kamal Kumar Tanti <kamaltanti@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Sep 22, 2016 at 12:44 PM
Subject: Request for Withdrawal of proposed Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016
To: jccab-lss@sansad.nic.in

To,

Satyapal Singh, MP
Chairman
Select Committee on Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016
Lok Sabha Secretariat,
New Delhi

Subject: Views and Suggestions on Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016

Sir,

As citizens of this country we register our deep anxiety and distress at the proposed amendment of the Citizenship Act under consideration of the Joint Select Committee of Parliament. Whatever humanitarian consideration prompted the proposed amendment granting citizenship to persons belonging to minority communities namely Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, it is going to be highly inimical to the indigenous people of Assam and to the federal structure of the state.

At the moment, based on Assam Accord, at the intervention of the Supreme Court of India and on the instruction of the Central government, the Government of Assam is engaged in intensive updating of the National Register for Citizens (NRC) to include people permanently residing in the state till 24th March 1971 and to treat them alone as genuine citizens of the country.

The present attempt of the Central Government to extend citizenship beyond the cutoff date of 24th March, 1971 is not acceptable to the people of Assam. The state of Assam is already overburdened with high influx of foreign nationals from Bangladesh, causing serious economic and social distress and identity crisis for the indigenous communities of Assam. Under these circumstances, the proposed amendment poses an existential threat to the existing indigenous communities. 

In view of the above, we request you to withdraw the proposed amendment, or at the very least to exempt the state of Assam from the purview of the proposed amendment to the Citizenship Act.

Further, we request you to permit the people of Assam to submit their views in their own mother language in view of the fact that neither English nor Hindi is widely known among the indigenous communities of Assam.

Thanking you,

Yours faithfully,

Dr. Kamal Kumar Tanti.
Guwahati, Assam.

Comments

Rajib Bora's picture

To The ChairmanJoint Parliamentary Comitteeon Citizenship (Amendment) Bill , 2016 Sub: Opposition of Citizenship (Amendment) Bill , 2016 Sir,As citizens of this country we register our deep anxiety and distress at the proposed amendment of the Citizenship Act under consideration of the Joint Select Committee of Parliament. Whatever humanitarian consideration prompted the proposed amendment granting citizenship to persons belonging to minority communities namely Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, it is going to be highly inimical to the indigenous people of Assam and to the federal structure of the state.  At the moment, based on Assam Accord, at the intervention of the Supreme Court of India and on the instruction of the Central government, the Government of Assam is engaged in intensive updating of the National Register for Citizens (NRC) to include people permanently residing in the state till 24th March 1971 and to treat them alone as genuine citizens of the country.  The present attempt of the Central Government to extend citizenship beyond the cutoff date of 24th March, 1971 is not acceptable to the people of Assam. The state of Assam is already overburdened with high influx of foreign nationals from Bangladesh, causing serious economic and social distress and identity crisis for the indigenous communities of Assam. Under these circumstances, the proposed amendment poses an existential threat to the existing indigenous communities.  In view of the above, I request you to withdraw the proposed amendment, or at the very least to exempt the state of Assam from the purview of the proposed amendment to the Citizenship Act. Thanking you, Yours faithfullyRajib BoraDibrugarh, Assam - 3

Pages

Add new comment

Assamese Translator

Assam Times seeks English to Assamese translators!
Join our volunteer team.
Email editor@assamtimes.org.

Random Stories

Horticulture college in Nalbari

16 Feb 2014 - 5:04pm | AT News
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Sunday laid the foundation stone of the state’s first ever horticulture college in at a function in Nalbari.In his address at the function presided over by agriculture...

APCC cancells executive meet

26 May 2014 - 4:29pm | AT News
In yet another major development, APCC has cancelled its extended executive body meeting slated for May 29 in Guwahati. According to sources, APCC wil hold the meeting of the district Congress...

Jorhat teachers demand CBI probe

22 Oct 2014 - 7:16am | AT News
The Assam State Primary Teachers’ Association demands CBI probe into the killing of Dijendra Nath Gogoi at the school premises in Jorhat apart from giving 48 hours deadline to nab the miscreant.In a...

Election postponed in 6 constituencies of Tiwa Autonomous Council

28 May 2010 - 11:51am | sankal
Keeping in view the the agitational programmes launched by the Amri-Karbi's for the last few days, the Assam Government, on Thursday, has declared it's decision to postponed elections in greater...

Other Contents by Author

Guwahati: Paying tributes to legendary cultural revolutionary Dr Bhupen Hazarika on his 8th death anniversary, an acclaimed feature film titled Chameli Memsaheb will be screened at Guwahati Press Club (GPC) on Saturday (16 November 2019 at 5 pm). Directed by Inder Sen, the 1979 movie (Bengali) has music by Bhupen-da where casts include George Baker, Rakhee Gulzar, Anil Chatterjee, Gita Dey, Abha Dhulia, Tarun Kumar, Chinmoy Roy etc. Bhupen-da along with Hemant Kumar, Asha Bhosle, Usha Mangeshkar, Aarti Mukherji etc lent their voices in different songs. It was a remake of the Assamese movie Chameli Memsaab, which is based on a short story of eminent author-journalist Nirod Choudhury....
We have submitted our proposal on implementation of legal and constitutional safeguards under clause 6 of the Assam Accord to the committee constituted in this regard Our submission is that the safeguards have to be in two stages and two different levels. In the first stage it is necessary to reserve land, employment, trade licence, higher education opportunities for those citizens who were residents in Assam in 1951 or prior there to and their progeny. This will correct the imbalance and injustice to the people of Assam for taking the burden of 23 years of additional migrants, unlike the rest of India and so that the newly granted citizens post 1951 do not enjoy co-equal rights as that of...
The Government of India is expected to place revised Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) in the winter session of the parliament beginning on 18 November 2019 to address the crisis arising out of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) of Assam and its intention to carry out the NRC nation-wide to weed out alleged illegal immigrants. Given the recent vociferous protests against the CAB in the North East, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the ruling BJP have proposed to tweak the CAB to provide that the CAB will not override the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR) of 1873 under which Indian nationals are required to take Inner Line Permit (ILP) for entry into Arunachal Pradesh,...
At what point do we question whether PM Modi shares our values? Kashmiris have been restricted from communicating outside their country for 50+ days. In Assam, almost 2 million people are being asked to prove their citizenship. This is how the Rohingya genocide started. At what point do we question whether PM Modi shares our values?   Kashmiris have been restricted from communicating outside their country for 50+ days. In Assam, almost 2 million people are being asked to prove their citizenship. This is how the Rohingya genocide started. At what point do we question whether PM Modi shares our values? pic.twitter.com/xazzwfiR61 — Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) October...
Guwahati: Journalists' Forum Assam (JFA) has expressed dismay over relentless incidents of killing of scribes in different parts of the country and urged the Union government in New Delhi to formulate special protection laws to safeguard the media personnel and ensure justice to the bereaved families. The latest incident of journo-murder has been reported from Andhra Pradesh, where a young reporter was hacked to death by miscreants. K Satyanarayana, 50, who worked for Telugu daily ‘AndhraJyothy’, was targeted at Annavaram village of East Godavari district on the night of 15 October 2019. “Local scribes revealed that Satyanarayana was targeted in an earlier occasion too and it was...
Foundation for Social Transformation (FST) going to organise 7th conversation on "Urban Lifestyle and Its Impact On Climate Change" on October 22 at its office in Guwahati. The event will bring together students academicians/youth /working professionals and public in general across Northeast under one roof to share, discuss, communicate and learn from each other on the issues relating to climate change and its consequences and solution. Date: October 22, 2019 (Tuesday), Venue: Foundation for Social Transformation office premises from 3 pm onwards.   RSVP: FST House No 1, J N Borooah Lane Jorpukhuri, Guwahati-781001 Ph No: 9435553373 
PTI Dhubri District Correspondent Om Prakash Todi passed away on Thursday evening at 7.30 pm in Dhubri. He had gone for news coverage at 3 pm, complained about chest pain at 4 pm. He was taken for ECG at around 5 pm and then passed away at 7.30 pm, according to his son Ravindra Todi who is also a Journalist. Todi  had contributed news to PTI for over 25 years and was the senior most district correspondent of the news agency. He was in his early 70s when he passed away.
Guwahati: The American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) has honoured Dr Bhabadev Goswami, a leading Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist of northeast India, with its prestigious fellowship. The former head of the Department Gastroenterology in Gauhati Medical College and presently attached to city-based Dispur Hospitals, Dr Goswami becomes the first gastroenterologist from NE to be elected for the fellowship. He is among five gastroenterologists from India this year for the fellowship offered by ACG, which is recognized as one of the largest bodies of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in the world. Enriched with over 14000 members hailing from 46 countries, ACG honours few physicians, who...
Citizens of Guwahati yesterday demanded that the government declare a Climate Emergency and take strong action to deal with the climate crisis. Despite the Durga Puja celebrations, activists draped in reds and ‘Phullam gamusas’ gathered at Shhraddhanjali Kanan and marched peacefully to the Central Mall premises. “The Indian government report at the UNFCCC COP24 had named Assam as the most vulnerable to climate change impacts. Recent studies by IITs and the ICIMOD point to a bleak future for the region with rampant water scarcity and conflicts,” said Rituraj Phukan, Founder of Extinction Rebellion Guwahati and environmental writer with first-hand experience of warming at the polar...
Guwahati: Justice Ajay Lamba was sworn in as the Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court today. Governor Prof. Jagdish Mukhi administered him the oath of office at a solemn function in presence of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal held at Darbur Hall in Raj Bhavan. The Governor administered him the oath of office under article 219 of the Constitution of India. The swearing-in ceremony was attended by judges of Gauhati HC, members from legal fraternity, Chief Secretary, Govt.of Assam Alok Kumar, DGP Kuladhar Saikia and other senior officials of the state govt.