India to update citizens' register

Reflecting the seriousness it attaches to the issue of illegal migration from Bangladesh, the BJP-led government plans a special push to updating National Register of Citizens (NRC), a project launched in the northeastern state of Assam to take stock of the influx of Bangladeshis into the state.
The issue had figured during a three-hour meeting Indian new Home Minister Rajnath Singh had with senior officials of the ministry on Thursday when he took charge of the portfolio.
The federal Indian government had recently released Rs 260 crore to the state of Assam for the project with a two-year deadline for completion.
The project had been approved in 2005 and launched as a pilot four years ago, but ran into rough weather due to violence and protests in Barpeta district of the state by All Assam Minority Students' Union (AAMSU).  
“The process of the formulation of new guidelines for the project is complete, and money has been released to the state government which has to implement the project. It is being seen as a priority at the moment," according to a senior home ministry official.
The NRC, which was being updated earlier based on the 1951 electoral rolls, will now include names present in the  electoral rolls of 1966 and 1971 as well. The NRC is an exercise to maintain a record of state's residents and the degree of influx from Bangladesh.
Illegal immigration from Bangladesh has been a major polls issue for Bharatiya Janata Party and figured prominently in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speeches during electioneering in Assam and West Bengal.
Assam government had earlier started a pilot project to update the NRC in Kamrup and Barpeta districts in 2010. But this was put on hold as the AAMSU activists staged violent protests in Barpeta district following the death of its four supporters in police firing.
The state government in 2011 constituted a cabinet sub-committee to look into the issue and give recommendations on the guidelines and procedure to be followed for updating the NRC.
After this, the guidelines for updating the NRC were changed. However, the process of updating the NRC was delayed because the state government had not replied to some queries of the Registrar General of India (RGI).
The federal Indian government's present guidelines say the NRC will be updated to include names present in the 1951 NRC and in the electoral rolls of 1966 and 1971.     
However, of the 27 districts in the state, only six districts of Dhubri, Goalpara, Nagaon, Sonitpur, Karimganj and Hailakandi have the complete records of the 1951 NRC and electoral rolls of 1966 and 1971.
In many districts, the NRC is partly available, while in others, all the three documents are only partly available.