By Bhupen Goswami

Guwahati : After the publication of the last National Register of Citizens (NRC), the government has decided to withdraw 100 units of Central Police Force personnel who were deployed prior to the publication of NRC.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the decision was taken as there had never been any violence in Assam since the publication of the final NRC list. A total of 10,000 personnel have been withdrawn. An official said today. The decision was taken because there has never been any violence in Assam, as the validity of the Indian citizens of the northeastern state was confirmed on 31 August. The updated final NRC does not include the names of 19 lakh applicants. A Home Ministry official said that on August 19, a decision was taken to deploy 218 companies of paramilitary forces in Assam for the maintenance of law and order situation before the final NRC publication.

As peace prevails in Assam, the situation in the state was reviewed by the Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday. After review, it has been decided to withdraw 100 companies of paramilitary forces with immediate effect, the official said. Of the 100 companies of paramilitary forces, 50 are BSF, 10 CRPF, 16 ITBP and 24 SSB.

A company of paramilitary forces consists of about 100 employees.

Another officer said that the troops were directed to return to their respective bases before deployment to Assam.

According to the final NRC, out of a total of 3.3 crore applicants, 3.11 crore included in the list and the names of about 19 lakh residents were excluded from it. It may be mentioned that the long-awaited final draft of the National Civil Register (NRC) was released on 31 August.

The Assam NRC will identify bonafide citizens of the state and seal the fate of over 41 lakh people who found their names missing from the final draft of the National Register of Citizens published last year.

The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a list of genuine Indian citizens. The only time the NRC was published was in 1951. It was based on the NRC 1951 census. The National Register of National Citizens of 1951 is now being updated in Assam to identify illegal foreigners residing in the state.

Under the Assam Accord signed in 1985, the Government of India promised to update the NRC. However, the process of updating the NRC remained stagnant for years, until the Supreme Court took up the matter in 2013 and set a deadline for an update to the National Register of Citizens for Assam.