An image causes a posible deportation
The image, which went viral, was widely shared on social networks as an example of Indian pride and resistance. A child who starred in an iconic photo last year waving to his national flag with half a body sunk in the water during a flood in India could now be deported by the Indian government, reports the Guardian.
The image, in which Haider Ali Khan, aged nine, appeared with his teacher and two other children, was taken in the state of Assam on the 70th anniversary of the country's independence day. Published in numerous media and widely shared on social networks, it was presented as an example of resistance and national pride.However, a year later, Khan struggles to prove he is Indian and avoid his deportation to Bangladesh. The 9-year-old child is at risk after his name did not appear on a preliminary list of citizens published on June 30 by the authorities of Assam, which asks all residents of the state to present identity documents to be included in this . The measure is part of a four-decade anti-illegal immigration campaign.
The state of Assam shares a 270-km border with Bangladesh and it is believed that hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshis crossed into Indian territory and settled there since the 1948 UN partition plan.
Khan's teacher, Tajen Sikdar, explained this week that the boy had presented documents proving his citizenship, but while his mother, brother and other relatives were included in the list, Khan's request was rejected. Now you must file an appeal against the decision through a special court.
In spite of everything, it is not clear if the Indian Government would have the capacity to deport such a significant number of people, since it has no signed repatriation agreement with Bangladesh, while Dhaka insists that everything is an internal matter of India.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International released a joint statement earlier this month in which they said the process "raises concerns about the possibility of arbitrary arrests and many left stateless. Assam has long sought to preserve its ethnic identity, but leaving millions of people without nationality is not the answer," said Meenakshi Ganguly, director of HRW for South Asia.
