NRC more important than life?

At a time when Morigaon is one of the worst flood hit districts of Assam and houses being washed away, land being eroded and all valuables lost, at the same time, people are seen safeguarding their NRC documents more than anything else.

NDRF teams are rescuing people from being washed away by the strong currents. Out of those rescued, a person named Samsul Alam is thankful to the NDRF team members for saving him and his family, but more importantly he is thankful that he has been able to save his NRC documents.

NDTV in its report, quoted 65 year old Alam saying that they somehow survived, afloat a banana trunk and without food for two days. He is glad that they are alive.

Further, he added that the flood has taken away their home, their land and his livelihood but he is happy that he has the most precious with him – his mother, wife and children and NRC document. Without which he says he would have been stateless.

Such is the threat of being declared a foreigner that people are now more worried about their NRC documents than anything else.

The rescuers said that when they rescue people, they are often seen carrying several documents, which is nothing but the NRC documents. These flood affected are ready to let go anything but not those NRC papers.

One of the NDRF team also recollected that the fear of losing their documents is such that the team had to send a diver inside a flooded hut in Laharighat to recover a man's NRC papers.