Assam Woman furnished 15 documents but fails to prove her citizenship

February 19: A 50-year-old woman living in a village in Assam failed to prove her Indian citizenship despite of producing 15 documents in support of her claim. The Gauhati High Court has dismissed citizenship claims of Jabeda Begum, who produced as many as 15 documents.

On February 12, the Gauhati High Court dismissed the writ petition filed by one Jabeda Begum, alias Jabeda Khatun, to prove her citizenship. The order was delivered by Justices Manojit Bhuyan and Parthivjyoti Saikia. Jabeda, who lives in the remote Baksa district of Assam, had been declared a foreigner from Bangladesh by a Foreigners Tribunal in May 2019.

Reportedly, Jabeda submitted her father Jabed Ali’s NRC clearance of 1951 along with four voter lists from 1966, 1970, 1997, and 2015. She produced two certificates from the village Gaon Bura (village head), one identifying her as the daughter of Jabed and wife of Rejak Ali. She also produced a ration card, four land revenue paying receipts, bank passbook, PAN Card, and another bank document.

The HC, however, dismissed Jabeda’s plea arguing that she couldn’t substantiate her linkage to her “projected” parents. The court cited a previous ruling to establish that PAN card and bank documents are not proof of citizenship. Further, the court held that land revenue paying receipts aren’t proof of citizenship either. The court also said that Gaon Buras are not entitled to issue citizenship certificates.

Jabeda Begum has already sold three bighas of land they had to pay then legal fees. Now she works on others’ land for Rs.150 a day. Such an instance of Jabeda Begum has sent chills of horror for the 19 lakh plus people whose names were not featured in the final NRC declared on 31 August, 2019.