An Open Access Journal from The Law Brigade (Publishing) Group 271 While the purported aim of the NPR is the creation of a comprehensive identity database of every resident in the country, it’s connection with the NRC is clear by virtue of Section 14A of the Citizenship Act, 1955 and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003. These provisions state that the nationwide NRC is to be compiled after due verification of a person’s particulars from the NPR. One can see that the enactments, specially the NRC are violative of our Constitutional Principles. The consequences of the combined effect of the CAA with the NPR exercise followed by a nationwide NRC exercise could be disastrous. The Government’s claim that the three are not interlinked is patently false. The simplest response to debunking such a claim is the fact that all the three - CAA, NPR, NRC exist within the framework of the Citizenship Act, 1955v. The combined effects of these enactments further add to the claim that such state action is manifestly arbitrary and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. NRC EXERCISE IN ASSAM The National Register of Citizens is a register maintained by the Government of India containing names & certain relevant information for the identification of Indian citizens. It requires that people prove their presence in Assam or in any part of India on or before 24th March, 1971. Such an exercise is the result of Assam’s unique historical issues with illegal immigration. Thus, there were two requirements for inclusion in updated NRC – 1. Existence of a person’s name in the pre-1971 period 2. Family tree verification with such person. The Government of Assam and the Government of India have developed the modalities for NRC updating jointly in adherence to these statutes. After a rigorous process of applications, filling of appeals at the Foreign tribunals and publication of several drafts, a total of 3,11,21,004 people have been found eligible for inclusion in the final version of the NRC in Assam. This leaves out a total of 19,06,657 people, including those who did not possess the means to submit their claims. This exercise in Assam has proven that this shift of burden on the citizen to prove its right to belong (rather than the state to prove the non –citizenship) has created a lot of issues that underscore the difference between persons with means and those who struggle in poverty. JOURNAL OF LEGAL STUDIES AND RESEARCH Volume 6 Issue 4 – ISSN 2455 2437 August 2020 www.thelawbrigade.com Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3665733