AG百家乐在线官网

By Ajay Nair, news reporter

Four million people have been excluded from a citizenship list documenting Indian people in the northeastern state of Assam - a state usually more famous for vast tea plantations.

However, it means India could be on the brink of being at the centre of a major refugee crisis, the likes of which has been likened to the expulsion of the Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar.

Earlier this year, the Indian government unveiled its list, which looks to identify everyone who can trace their roots back beyond 1971 - the year neighbouring Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan.

Millions fled to Assam during Bangladesh's war of independence. The list seeks to distinguish Indian nationals from illegal immigrants who came from Bangladesh in the following years.

Violent protests against an alleged influx of foreigners sparked the government's decision to update the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

But many in Assam fear the worst with suspected migrants reportedly subjected to indefinite detention in appalling conditions.

Amnesty International in India raised concerns about the register earlier this year, when it was published in July.

Programmes manager Arijit Sen said: "Amnesty International India is concerned that the NRC process in Assam may render a significant number of people stateless.

"It is possible that the process will arbitrarily deprive people, who have lived in India for decades, of their nationality."

He said the fate of those who could lose their nationality was "unclear".

"India does not even have an agreement with other countries, particularly Bangladesh, on deportation," he said. "It is crucial that the government make public their plan for dealing with those at risk of being rendered stateless and ensure that their rights are not violated."

Last month, Amnesty India said the detention of "irregular foreigners" - often indefinitely - had become "routine" in Assam, with children among those living in "inhumane" conditions.

"The government of Assam should remember that the constitutional right to life and personal liberty is available to all persons, including foreigners," said Amnesty India's executive director, Aakar Patel.

"Detention must be an exception, and used only as a last resort, while dealing with irregular migrants."

He said the human rights group found people being detained for "months and even years" without access to parole.

As of 25 September, there were 1,037 people declared foreigners detained in Assam, according to Amnesty India. It says many do not know why they have been held and that 30% were declared foreigners in proceedings they were not aware of.

Speaking of the conditions at detention centres, a former detainee - Kismat Ali - told Amnesty: "The room had a capacity of 40. When we reached there it was filled with around 120 people.

"There was no space. We had to live on top of each other."

The organisation said there had been at least 16 reported suicides in Assam relating to people scared of losing their citizenship.

The anxiety in the state prompted four of the UN's special rapporteurs to write to Sushma Swaraj, India's minister for external affairs.

The room had a capacity of 40. When we reached there it was filled with around 120 people. There was no space. We had to live on top of each other

They raised questions about possible discrimination towards the Bengali Muslim minority.

In their joint letter, they said: "The NRC update has generated increased anxiety and concerns among the Bengali Muslim minority in Assam, who have long been discriminated against due to their perceived status as foreigners, despite possessing the necessary documents to prove their citizenship.

"While it is acknowledged that the updating process is generally committed to retaining Indian citizens on the NRC, concerns have been raised that local authorities in Assam, which are deemed to be particularly hostile towards Muslims and people of Bengali descent, may manipulate the verification system in an attempt to exclude many genuine Indian citizens from the updated NRC."

In an article for Project Syndicate, Shashi Tharoor, a prominent Indian MP and former UN under-secretary general, posed the question: "Is ethnic cleansing coming to India?"

He said tensions in Assam stemmed from refugees and migrants who left Bangladesh for Assam after 1971 not being able to fully assimilate in the Assamese-speaking state unlike their counterparts who moved to the Indian state of West Bengal.

Tensions over land and jobs followed and there were mass protests and violence by the 1980s.

Mr Tharoor suggests there is a political motive behind the NRC update, which would boost the ruling Hindu nationalist BJP party's chances at the next general election in 2019.

The comments come as many draw parallels with the Rohingya crisis, which has seen more than a million people from Myanmar stateless, with its government claiming they are illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh. The UN described it as a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing".

Indian officials have said the registration process is not intended to target Muslims, with the NRC head Prateek Hajela saying it was transparent and that there was an appropriate "grievance addressing mechanism" in place.

Home minister Rajnath Singh told politicians the process would be "fair and transparent", adding "no Indian citizen would be left out" and that there was "no need to worry".

Earlier this month, India's Supreme Court extended a deadline for people left off the register to provide the necessary documents to be included in the list.

However, many do not have the papers they need and only 1.5 million so far have filed counter claims, according to the state government.

Authorities have asked the court for more time as they could not process all the claims before the 15 December deadline. The new deadline is 31 December.

For many battling the stifling uncertainty, it could signal the start of a bleak new year.