They braved enemy bullets for the country under sub-zero temperatures at an altitude of 15,000 feet. Pakistan's shells and terrorists' AK-47s failed to break their hearts and patriotic spirit for years. But a bombshell christened 'NRC,' dropped by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government on July 30, shattered their hearts and left a mortal wound on their soul that they will never get over.
Even as the ex-servicemen celebrated the first Independence Day after the NDA government released the final draft of the NRC in Assam, Onmanorama profiles three of them who were not included in the list, which will decide if they will continue to live in their present 'homeland.' We ask them what 'freedom' means to them. The first attempt to prepare the NRC for Assam was made by Congress's Tarun Gogoi in 2009 but the pilot project was abandoned after riots broke out in Barpeta district.
Onmanorama tracked down Sergeant Samsul Haque (retired) of Barpeta and found that he is yet to recover from the 'NRC shock.'
He won Kargil war, lost battle at home
"Patriotism and love for the country is in my DNA," vouches Sergeant Samsul Haque (retired) from Assam's Barpeta, a district infamous for its communal divide and riots. He had fought the Kargil war before he retired from the Indian Air Force (IAF) after 25 years of service. He loves to celebrate every Independence Day in a big way.
However, this I-Day, 59-year-old Samsul is busy preparing documents to prove that his children and he are Indian citizens. After making several trips to NRC seva kendras in the past few days, he now feels that winning Kargil war against Pakistan in 1999 was easier than proving his credentials as an Indian before the NRC authorities. "Now this is the way our nation honors its soldiers," Samsul told Onmanorama.
Samsul and his two children have been excluded from the NRC draft list for reasons known to none in his area. Everybody was shocked to know that a Kargil fighter and his children were dropped from the list.
"I can't forget the Independence Day of 1999. I was surprised that I was still alive after the Kargil war. I served in the borders of Jammu and Kashmir all day and night, hoping to meet my family after the war. I have never missed a single I-Day celebration," says Samsul.
He had headed one of the wireless communication co-ordination wings during the Kargil war. "There were endless days and nights when my colleagues and I doubted whether we would be able to make it to our home alive. But that fear was nothing compared to the fright of losing your citizenship," reveals the ex-serviceman.
Samsul's son Salimul and daughter Yazmin, both work in the United States, are also not on the list.
He took voluntary retirement when he was 47 and joined a central school in Barpeta. "My wife was a teacher in a local school and I was jealous of her peaceful life. I also wanted to motivate young children, so I joined a school," he said.
For Samsul, freedom is a never-ending struggle. "I used to think that freedom is a one-time achievement which is not. Freedom is a great responsibility. Gaining it makes you restless. You keep checking whether you are losing it somewhere. Look at me, I have been so conscious about my freedom and now I am hardly a citizen of India to claim it," laments Samsul.
Father freedom-fighter, son in NDA, retired Army officer's family not in NRC
His father was a freedom-fighter, he is a retired Army officer and his son is all set to join Army after completing his National Defence Academy (NDA) course. But Mohammed Azmal Haque, who retired as a junior commissioned officer after 30 years of service, is not a citizen of India now, if you go by the recently released draft NRC document.
Names of Mohammed from northern Guwahati; his wife, Mumtaz; son Ilyaz and daughter Sayeeda; are missing from the NRC draft list. Ilyaz, 18, joined the NDA last year.
"Ilyaz is disappointed about his NRC status. He has been passionate about joining the army and serving the nation right from his childhood. Now, Ilyaz's citizenship is questioned and he is worried whether he would have to leave NDA. No nation should do this to its citizens," says Mohammed.
Even though he is yet to recover from the shock, Mohammed continues to encourage youngsters to join Indian army. One of his nephews will also appear for the army entrance examination this year. His eight-year-old daughter is studying in an army school.
His father Mudgul Hussain had taken part in the farmers' uprising against British rule in Assam during the freedom movement. "My father had met Mahatma Gandhi when he visited Assam. I belong to a patriotic family and it is that legacy which motivated me to join the Army. But my country now disowns me. I can't answer my son when he asks me why I wasted 30 years of my life for a country that hesitates to acknowledge me as a citizen," says Mohammed.
For him, freedom means liberty to live as a native, serve one's homeland and get recognition for it. "Now, I have been denied every basic freedom my Constitution offers me," adds Mohammed, who was part of crucial missions in places like Srinagar, Leh, Tawang and Kashmir before retiring in 2016. In the Army, he completed all his tasks with flying colours but he is not sure about the result of a latest mission he was forced to take up — proving his citizenship. He proudly says, "I am a fighter, I will fight till I win."
'A big mistake'
"I am Sergeant Sadullah Ahmed," the 49-year-old ex-serviceman gives extra stress on 'Sergeant' when he introduces himself. That is common to all defence personnel, because they are very proud of their stint with the armed forces.
On this Independence Day, Sadullah from Kamyam Nagar in Guwahati is an angry man. The fault lies with the NRC authorities who failed to add his name on the list they released on July 30.
"I wonder why they haven't verified my professional documents before calling me a 'foreigner'? Are the medals I got and the certificates I secured from the IAF worthless? They should have kept a special column for defence personnel in the NRC so that nobody would questioned our credentials. This is a clear case of ignorance and political arrogance," says Sadullah, who retired from IAF after 20 years of service.
He says the problem started when his sister Fathimunnisa married a man from a border village before completing her studies. She failed to produce a marriage certificate before the NRC officials. Following this, she was excluded from the draft list. Same happened to Sadullah and his family members also.
Sadullah's eldest son Saddamul is a graduate from Tezpur Central University and younger son Imran is a class X student at central school, Guwahati. Even though upset over the NRC list, Sadullah is certain that he would be included on the list as he has land possession documents dating back to 1907 and his father's citizenship record of 1967. What provokes him is the need to prove his citizenship even after serving the IAF for 20 years.
"I have always been a proud son of India. A science aspirant, I joined a medical college after my pre-university programme. Later, I dropped my dream to become a doctor and joined the IAF to serve my country. I have always been a responsible citizen. Now they call me a foreigner," fumes Sadullah.
"It is a privilege to serve the country. I have inculcated patriotism in both my children and urged them to join either army or air force," he said.
He believes freedom demands a certain level of responsibility and he has been a responsible citizen. Now, he feels that his freedom has been interrupted and questioned.
Among the numerous ex-servicemen who have been excluded from the NRC draft list are Captain Sana Ullah, Lieutenant Naik Eramul Haque, Sergeant Acharya and Havildar Mohiruddin Ahmed. Each of them has similar stories to narrate. Some of them feel that NRC is BJP government's 'Quit India Movement-Part 2' launched against a particular community. Despite protests, the publication of the NRC’s final draft has not created any law and order problems in Assam.
"Every citizen should be a soldier in her/his heart... (We) should be ready to fight long and hard to keep the Tricolor high... but are all our soldiers citizens yet? Even after fighting for the country over three decades on the border, now I am not a citizen of my country," says Captain Sana Ullah (Retd).
Sana Ullah, who retired from Army after 35 years of service, is all set to lead a march to the NRC seva kendra on this Independence Day to register their protest against the faulty draft list released by the authorities.
Note: In this article, Onmanorama is highlighting the anguish and concerns of a few people left out by the NRC, a product of Assam Accord aimed at addressing the concerns of Bangladeshi immigrants, released on July 30.
The authorities in Assam may have thousands of reasons for dropping the names of around half a crore people from the list but that has hurt the sentiments of some ex-servicemen who believe that their names should be included on the list without asking for any legacy documents. Onmanorama is focusing on that anguish created by some NRC officials' shoddy job.
The central government had mooted an updated NRC in 1999 to tackle the illegal immigration and pilot projects were started in Dhubri and Barpeta districts. However, the project was halted following riots in Barpeta. In 2009, an NGO moved the Supreme Court following which the new NRC exercise was started in 2014 under the apex court's supervision.
Immediately after the final draft was released, the Supreme Court had stated that the process will continue but all those whose names haven't been included on the list must get a fair chance to prove their claims.