Citizenship Debate over NRC and CAA: Assam and the Politics of History

Contents: Foreword by Rajen Saikia. Preface. 1. Introduction: Assamese Nationality and the ‘Politics of History’. 2. Muslim League: Pipe Dream of Pakistan. 3. NRC: Quagmire of Competing Claims. 4. CAA-2019: Unresolved Legacy of Partition. 5. Citizenship Politics and Hindu Refugees. 6. Hindu-Muslim Question. 7. Conclusion: Political Hindutva, CAA-NRC and Ethnic Identity. Index.

This book argues that citizenship debate over NRC and CAA in India is a legacy of partition, and not a crisis of secularism.

Citizenship Debate over NRC and CAA: Assam and the Politics of History investigates Assamese nationality-formation process and analyses the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) within their historical context. The book looks into the massive immigration process in the beginning of the century, the reaction of Assamese leaders towards it and the ensuing debates in state legislative councils and assemblies. It raises Assam’s pertinent question on land, language and culture as the centrality of the Assamese identity and the evolving identity politics to show how the state has been negotiating with it while accommodating the interests of other communities. It further explores the role played by the Muslim League and its leaders in Assam. The book deviates largely from the earlier academic discourses on this subject by bringing in and unfolding several political dynamics, debates and questions in the discussion.