Events and Advocacy
At Parichay, we organise public events and talks to initiate conversations on citizenship law in India.
Previous Events
Challenges of Documentation
Our first event was a panel discussion held on 21st November 2020 with Ms. Taniya Laskar (Foreigners Tribunal Lawyer and Secretary, Barak Human Rights Protection Committee) and Mr. Mukhlesar Rahman (Advocate, Kokrajhar District). The discussion pertained to the challenges to admissibility of different documents and their evidentiary value before the Foreigners’ Tribunals. In an extensive discussion moderated by Rupali Samuel, Ms. Laskar spoke about Gaon Burah Certificates and Electoral Rolls, while Mr. Rahman discussed Jamabandi Certificates, School Certificates and Ration Cards.
Future of the NRC
On 19th March 2021, a panel discussion was held with Tripti Poddar (Constitutional Lawyer at the Supreme Court), Debarshi Das (Associate Professor, Department of Humanities & Social Sciences, IIT Guwahati) and Arunabh Saikia (Journalist, Scroll.in), moderated by Darshana Mitra. The speakers discussed the key developments related to Assam’s NRC since it was published on 31 August 2019, while focusing on the kind of impact it has had on the people of the state, and what the future may hold for it.
Interview with Abhishek Saha on his book, ‘No Land’s People: The Untold Story of Assam's NRC Crisis
In an interview, Mr. Abhishek Saha (Principal Correspondent for the Indian Express in Assam, and Author) extensively discussed his book 'No Land's People: The Untold Story of Assam's NRC Crisis' on 17th April, 2021. Mr. Saha talked to Darshana Mitra about his book where he has written about the NRC’s expansive and complex narrative spanning history, law, politics, society, bureaucracy, and human rights.
CAA Revisited
On the 27th of August, Parichay organized a panel discussion on the May 2021 order of the Ministry of Home Affairs, which significantly relaxes the citizenship process for minority communities from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The panel focused on migration across India’s Western border and the making of the identities of the refugee and citizen, exploring the legal and social journeys of recognition and assimilation, the structural impediments in the legal regime and the possibility of an alternative system. The speakers were Dr. Farhana Ibrahim (Professor of Sociology and Social Anthropology at IIT Delhi), Prof. Natasha Raheja (Anthropologist and Assistant Professor at Cornell University ) and Ms. Darshana Mitra (Advocate, Parichay) and the panel was moderated by Prof. Mohsin Alam Bhat.
Ask Us Anything - NRC in Assam
On 1st December 2021, to mark the second year of Parichay’s inception, an Ask us Anything session on the NRC, was conducted virtually. Darshana, Rupali and Shardul entertained several wide-ranging questions from the very legal basis of the register, its current status/standing as well as the societal costs of this mammoth exercise. It emerged that the social consequences arising out of the NRC are yet to be documented on a large scale which has made it difficult to ascertain what the on-ground effects have been like. The speakers comprehensively clarified doubts raised by audience members regarding the practical implications of being excluded from the NRC and also dived into the matter of detention centres - their statutory premise, operation and more. A recording of this session can be found on YouTube.