Kumulipara, Nov. 11: They mourn the loss of their near and dear ones but are ready to sacrifice more of their own if the need arose to protect their community from being labelled illegal migrants, which they think will happen when the National Register of Citizens, 1951, is updated.

Rahon Malla, 50, runs a bicycle repairing shop in front of the Jame Masjid at Howli. He remembers Allah and prays for his son, Maidul, whenever the azan wafts in from the mosque. Maidul, 25, was killed during clashes between activists of the All Assam Minorities Students’ Union, residents and police at Barpeta Road in 2010.

The clashes took place after the AAMSU took out a rally in protest against the NRC update pilot project in Barpeta district.

“My son was studying at Janapriya College at Garemari. The AAMSU took him to the rally on July 21. If he had not participated in the rally, Maidul would have become a graduate by this time and worked to support the family. But I have no regrets because my son had died for a cause of my community,” Malla told this correspondent.

Even after losing his young son, Malla is ready to sacrifice his two other sons if the need arose.

Malla is not alone in this village, 10km from Barpeta town. For Noor Begum, who lost her husband, Majam Ali, 55, in the same clash, life has been one tough journey.

“I do not have any children. So I have to do everything on my own to survive. But I will continue to do so and even join any AAMSU movement on the NRC update issue in the future,” Noor said.

Mohd Ali, 57, lost his 21-year old year son, Motlab, and Lal Banu, 65, of neighbouring Baniyarapara, her son Siraj Ali, 28, but both have no regrets as their sons died for a “cause” just like the other two.

For the residents of these remote and underdeveloped villages, update of the NRC is an issue close to their hearts, sentiments and emotions. It is not difficult to understand the mood of the villagers when one sees long pucca roads here named Swahid Majam Ali path and Swahid Motlab Ali path.

“For us, all those who died in the July 21, 2010, violence are martyrs. They have sacrificed their lives for the sake of our better tomorrow. If they had not died, the government would have gone ahead with the pilot project and many poor people would not have seen their names in the document. Many of us would have been branded foreigners staying illegally in this country,” Abdul Ali, a college student here, said.

As a college-goer, Abdul may be more emotional about the issue but elderly villagers like Ainul Haq, 60, here, too, are scared about Dispur’s “way” of updating such an important document.

“There is a widespread fear psychosis among the villagers that they would be harassed during the NRC update process. In 2010, the same kind of fear led to the protests and clashes that took four lives. We do not want a repeat of 2010. Whenever the NRC issue comes up, villagers suffer from insecurity that they would be branded illegal migrants just because they are Bengali-speaking Muslims,” Haq said.

To be continued