Guwahati: Some members of the microscopic Anglo-Indian community in Assam are worried after they found their names missing from the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), which was released on July 30.

Allen Brooks, a former member of Assam State Commission for Minorities and spokesperson for the Assam Christian Forum, told The Telegraph that he has been advising members of the Anglo-Indian community whose names were not in the draft NRC.

"I have spoken to around 10 people from the community whose names were not in the final draft NRC. They are really worried. Ever since the final draft was published, I have been in contact with them. I have been advising them on what to do and how to file their claims and rectify possible errors in their applications for inclusion in the register," he said.

There are less than 5,000 Anglo-Indians in Assam and around 25 such families in Guwahati, according to Brooks.

The microscopic community, whose roots can be traced to the arrival of the British in the Northeast, have contributed immensely to the society in terms of education, defence, railways, sports and social work, among others.

The Constitution under Article 366 (2) defines an Anglo-Indian as a person whose father or male progenitor of the line was of European descent but who is domiciled in India.

"Those whose names were excluded from the draft NRC are apprehensive to talk to the media, fearing a backlash. I explained to them that this issue needs to be highlighted but they expressed wariness," said Brooks, whose British grandfather married a Khasi woman.

Union claim

The Hajong Students' Union, Assam, the student body of Hajong community, an indigenous tribal community of the region, on Saturday said many persons of their community have been excluded from the final draft NRC published on July 30.

"Many Hajong people were excluded from final draft NRC. Until now, we have not assessed the number. In most cases, two to three people of a family excluded in the draft, despite inclusion of other members of the same family," Sanjib Hajong, the president of the student body, said.

"Not only Hajong, even persons from Karbi and Dimasa communities were excluded from the final draft NRC. They are indigenous people. We are now waiting for starting the claim and objection process," he added. "In many cases, the pronunciation and spelling of our names differ. Therefore, during census, lots of spelling mistakes crept in and it may be one of the reasons of exclusion from NRC final draft. But there may be some other reason too," Sanjib he added.

In Dhemaji district, a delegation of the student body met the deputy commissioner after publication of final draft NRC. The official said as most of the Hajong people migrated from Meghalaya to various part of Assam, their legacy documents has been sent to the state but these are yet to be returned by the Meghalaya government, he added.

The community comprises 1.2 lakh people and its literacy rate is below 50 per cent, Hajong said. They are scattered in Dhemaji, Nagaon, Lakhimpur, Goalpara, Hailakandi, Dhubri, South Salmara, Chirang, Sonitpur, Darang, Baksa, Odalguri, Hojai, Cachar, Karbi Anglong, Dima Hasao and Kamrup districts.

Additional reporting by Manash Pratim Dutta