NPR and NRC, What’s the difference!

It has been over a month since BJP government has proposed CAB (Citizenship Amendment Bill) and enacted it as CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act). This Amendment has brought out both supporters and protesters on the streets. However, the protesters have massively destroyed the public properties and peace of the nation. They became so violent and destructive; hence, they started bringing up their issues on the road with rallies and slogans about secularism. Not only have they been damaging vehicles, shops, and buildings. They are also throwing stones and using sticks on the administration trying to control the protesting.

Ironically, people are protesting without even knowing what they are protesting for, just they are getting paid for being on the road or some designated places like Shaheen Baug or so across the nation. Mainly, Muslim ladies have come out of the houses and protesting in Shaheen Baugh on behalf of some set of people. However, these tactics of bringing down the morale of the ruling party are driven by some opposition leaders.

One question that lingers around, people of India are so adaptable and used to copying western culture blindly, why they are not ready to welcome NRC or CAA? These acts are in the same format as the United States Citizenship rules. 

Let's understand the difference between NPR, NRC, and CAA and help to make a new India.

NPR: National Population Register is not new in India. It was first collected in 2010 by the UPA (Congress) government. It was supported by the opposition party (BJP) and news channels at that time, but those same channels are opposing for CAA and NRC currently.

NPR was brought out to collect all the personal information of people in India. A resident is someone who has lived in an area for the last six months at-least OR going to stay for another six months or more. The objective of NPR is to create a comprehensive identity database of every individual residing in India so we could have a headcount of the population by registering them.

According to the government, you don't have to give proof or biometric particulars, for registering in NPR.

This is similar to the Census which brings out personal info of a resident like a name, sex, date of birth, relation to head of the house, father, mother, marital status, spouse, birth-place, nationality, permanent address, education, and occupation.

NPR will be prepared at local, sub-district, district, state, and national levels under the provisions of the Citizenship Act,1955 and Citizenship(Registration of Citizens and issue the National Identity Card)rule,2003.

NRC: National Register of Citizens of India was brought first in Assam to have a headcount of citizens of India and stop illegal immigrants from entering the country. Since Assam is the easiest route for all illegal immigrants (Rohingyas) from Bangladesh, an irrational number of immigrants are entering the Indian border and settling down in Assam. Because of immigrants, our people are not being able to get all the benefits from sarkar yojana or benefits.  Because of these immigrants, the Assam state was facing major problems. With all the consideration NRC was brought in action in Assam back in 1951 after the census was done.

In NRC, residents of Assam locals are eligible to register their names with proper documents that were issued up to midnight on 24th March 1971 as proof of holding ancestral history in India which was registered in 1951 to make sure that they have roots in India. To find illegal immigrants, NRC was being updated by The Supreme Court in 2013.

Recently, The list of NRC for Assam came out on 31August, 2019, which causes controversies among residing people regarding citizenship. People, who have not registered themselves before, started panicking. The government has taken the decision that people who are not on the list of NRC or registered with NRC will be laid off from voting rights in elections.

On November 20, 2019, the Home Minister Amit Shah has announced that NRC will be extended to all the states of India to keep the record of Citizens of India. It will help in recognizing outsiders or illegal immigrants that way we can control the numbers of illegal immigrants from neighboring countries. CAA will be a strong step towards controlling the Rohingyas and Muslims population coming from Muslim Majority Countries.

CAA is to help people of religion other than Islam who have been tortured and tormented since partition in those Islamic countries. Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Christians are living in those countries as refugees for decades and have been discriminated since then. They have no rights, no freedom and been forced to get converted into Islam.

However, few individuals of India are spreading malicious information about CAA and spreading rumors about taking away citizenship on behalf of CAA. These activities are creating a fuss in the country.

Meanwhile, the government is trying to settle down the issue and trying to edify about CAA to those, who are protesting without even knowing what they are protesting for, by social media or news channels.

These efforts of government would make India functional at a high level and India would be in the list of developed countries soon if we all support such efforts. We all want to see our country at the top and become super-power then we need to acquire changes and help our premiers to bring out the best for the country.