Skip to main content

Deepak Debnath: 30th person to commit suicide on being branded "foreigner" in Assam

By A Representative
Deepak Debnath of Udalgiri district, Assam, has become the 30th person who committed suicide by hanging himself in a grove near his house after being accused of being a ‘foreigner’. Reporting on the suicide death, Sabrang India, a human rights site, said, Debnath’s name appeared in the first draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), published on December,31, 2017 but had been struck off the NRC final draft released on July 30 this year.
The site underlined, "The reason listed for rejection was a 'Pending case in Foreigners Tribunal’ case that the Border Police has mysteriously foisted on him in the intervening months. In a cruel twist of fate, his ‘legacy’ data, that establishes him as a bonafide Indian citizen as his name in the 1971 voter list."
It added, "The humiliation of being labelled a ‘foreigner’ in his own land, fearful of what the future holds for him and his family, especially in the light of rampant fearmongering by right-Wing politicians and regional supremacist groups, Debnath chose to kill himself."

Comments

TRENDING

Shrinking settlements, fading schools: The Tibetan exile crisis in India

By Tseten Lhundup*  Since the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959, the Tibetan exile community in Dharamsala has established the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) as the guardian of Tibetan culture and identity. Once admired for its democratic governance , educational system , and religious vitality , the exile community now faces an alarming demographic and institutional decline. 

To Sonam Wangchuk: 'Will undertake 70 hour solidarity fast in Gujarat'

By Martin Macwan *  Dear Colleague Sonam Wangchuk, I have never met you personally. I wrote a short article at the time of your arrest. Your work correctly introduces you. There is truth in your words. You have embarked on a fast, following the footsteps of Gandhiji. Your intention is to make people think. Your demand is reasonable; I believe that the resignation of a single education minister will not improve the state of education in India. However, the question you have raised is extremely important for the future generation of the marginalized. Education is the key to power, development, and progress, which empowers a citizen.

Gujarat police SOP sparks questions over communal profiling

By Shabnam Hashmi*  The Gujarat government must be held accountable for what appears to be a deeply disturbing instance of state-sponsored communal profiling. Ahmedabad resident Sahal Qureshi recently shared with me an official document , which I translated with the help of AI before forwarding it to several media organisations and political leaders.