Pride and prejudices have worsened affairs in the troubled state of Assam

The mammoth exercise that resulted in the recent update of the NRC in Assam has left no one happy. Ritwik Sharma explains why it's important to acknowledge a long-festering identity crisis

Permit me to begin with a confession. I am an Assamese who grew up with an aversion for people from Bangladesh. In my defence: It was a widespread sentiment, especially in the Eighties which witnessed the Assam Movement, a six-year popular agitation seeking to rid the state of “foreigners”.

The movement ended in 1985 with the signing of the Assam Accord between the state leadership and the Union government. One of the promises made under the accord was the updating of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), which was first prepared in Assam in 1951. The final list of the updated