India, Sept. 9 -- Around 40 lakh people those who are illegal migrants in Assam have been left out of a draft list of citizens; they are bound to face deportation if they cannot prove their citizenship. The state's National Register of Citizens or NRC has been updated for the first time since 1951 to account for illegal migration from neighbouring Bangladesh. Releasing the updated list, officials highlighted that no one would be deported or arrested. The recount is seen by critics as a move to target Assam's Muslim population on the pretext of weeding out Bangladeshi migrants. This was just a draft and not the final list.

India's geostrategic location, its relatively sound economic position vis-a-vis its neighbours, and its liberal democ...