The other citizens: Searching for root of Assam's NRC problem as row erupts

As the political arena heats up with the unveiling of National Register of Citizens, a look into the history of the issue of illegal Bangladeshis

Remember the excitement around Y2K? Dire predictions were made about what would happen on the midnight of December 31, 1999, ranging from an apocalypse to a Dali-esque meltdown of all computing devices.

In fact, nothing of the sort happened. January 1, 2000, dawned just like another day and although anxieties persisted, no major disruption was reported from any corner of the globe.

Much the same applies to the National Register of Citizens (NRC), the Supreme Court-ordered determination of who is an Indian citizen in Assam and who is not. The draft of the NRC was unveiled on July 31. Amid