Harkumar Goswami, an Assamese Brahmin, has received a notice objecting to his name being included in the complete draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) as a genuine citizen.
The 58-year-old social activist and entrepreneur, who hails from Sarbhog in Barpeta district and resides in Guwahati, felt hurt and insulted as he stood in line for NRC claims and objections hearing at Barpeta Road on Tuesday.
He alleged a deep-rooted conspiracy to “target” him through the NRC objections process by people who want to disrupt the state’s communal harmony. He said the objection has been filed by two individuals he doesn’t even know — Dhonmoni Kakoty from Bojali in Barpeta district and Rahul Sutradhar from another village of the district.
“These two persons don’t have any application receipt number (ARN), address or phone number. One individual has stated his district as Barpeta, circle as Bojali and village as Bojali. The other stated Barpeta as his district, circle and village. There are discrepancies in what they have filed. They don’t even have an identity. They should be found by the district administration and questioned,” Goswami said.
Harkumar Goswami A Telegraph picture
“More than a week ago, a paper was sent to my ancestral home. The village headman received the notice and handed it over to the caretaker of our house there who then sent it to me. I received the paper on Sunday. That my citizenship has been questioned is insulting. It hurts my pride. I will consult my lawyers once I reach Guwahati,” he said.
The experience has made Goswami emphatic towards all those who have to prove their citizenship despite being born and brought up in Assam. He blamed the BJP for creating chaos surrounding the NRC and accused it of creating a dystopian system.
Sambidhan Sevak, a lower Assam-based rights group formed by human rights activist Harsh Mander to work towards awareness of the Constitution and citizenship rights, is rooting for Goswami’s cause.
“It is distressing that a social worker who works for citizenship rights has to stand in line for an NRC hearing. If he takes the legal course, he should make the Barpeta district administration, which has been made a party against Goswami in the case, and the NRC authorities liable. They should find the two individuals. We are with him. This is a deep-rooted conspiracy,” a member of the group, Ashraful Hussein, said.
The objection filed against Goswami says his documents are not valid and his forefathers’ testaments and documents are inaccurate.
Rampur, from where Goswami hails, is a very old village mostly inhabited by Assamese people.
Shajahan Ali Ahmed, general secretary of the Association for Protection of Indian Citizenship Rights, a lower Assam-based rights group, said, “It is unfortunate that an Assamese man had to stand in line for an NRC hearing. This itself shows how fake objections are made against genuine citizens.”
