UN refugee chief: Ensure no one in Assam is left stateless

People check their names in the final list of the National Register of Citizens at a centre in Buraburi Gaon, Morigaon, Assam. File pic/PTI

The top UN refugee official has urged India to ensure that no one is left stateless with the exclusion of nearly 2 million people from a citizenship list in Assam.

Filippo Grandi, the UN high commissioner for refugees, voiced his concern in a statement issued Sunday in Geneva. He said "any process that could leave large numbers of people without a nationality would be an enormous blow to global efforts to eradicate statelessness."

He urged India to ensure no one ends up stateless, "including by ensuring adequate access to information, legal aid, and legal recourse in accordance with the highest standards of due process." About 31.1 million people were included on the list, according to a government statement, leaving out 1.9 million.

The Assam government on Saturday claimed that those left out of the NRC do not need to panic as they have an option to appeal in the Foreigners Tribunal (FT).

Ex-Prez's 4 family members not on list

Four members of the family of former President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed have been excluded from the final list of the National Register of Citizens. "We belong to such a renowned family, yet our names were excluded from the NRC. We feel humiliated," Sajid Ali Ahmed, a grandnephew of the fifth President, said.

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