'Would Hide if a Police Van Passed': Assam Woman's Horrors of Citizenship Battle
Shefali Rani Das was declared a 'citizen of India' by a Foreigners’ Tribunal following Gauhati HC's intervention.
advertisement
Video Editor: Abhishek Sharma
"When I was declared a foreigner, I started hiding so that police would not arrest me," said 41-year-old Shefali Rani Das, sitting outside her house in Assam's Cachar district, something she hadn't been able to do so peacefully in a while.
Das was recently declared a 'citizen of India' by a Foreigners’ Tribunal (FT) in Assam’s s Silchar following the intervention of the Gauhati High Court.
Das was declared a foreigner in September 2017 by the same tribunal after she failed to appear for five hearings.
Shefali Rani Das
(Photo: Biswa Kalyan Purkayastha/The Quint)
'Lack of Proper Legal Advice'
Das claimed that the family had submitted as many documents as they could, but ended up missing hearings due to inadequate legal advice.
Shefali Rani Das
(Photo: Biswa Kalyan Purkayastha/The Quint)
"One day when my husband went to the market, my younger son rushed home and informed me that the police had served me a notice. I asked: what notice? He said that there is a case. I have never even fought with anyone, how can there be a case against me? Later that night, I talked to my husband and told him that we have received a paper regarding some case in Sonai police station. We were called to the police station. They asked us why weren't we coming and later transferred the case to Silchar," she said.
"The lawyer said that we should submit all our documents or else we'll be called 'Bangladeshi.' A notice each was served to me and my husband," Das added.
'Emotional Turmoil'
Das said that the case against her forced her to live in fear for years.
"When I was declared a foreigner, I started hiding so that police would not arrest me. Whenever a police vehicle would cross the area, I would be so horrified that my children would ask me to go somewhere I felt safe. I would hide all day and come back home at night. I was very scared," she said.
Shefali Rani Das
(Photo: Biswa Kalyan Purkayastha/The Quint)
Das' daughter Supriya said that she wanted her mother around, but did not understand why she wasn't.
"I was young, didn't understand what was happening in our family. My mother used to stay away all day and I used to be angry at her. Everyone's mother takes care of her children, why not mine? My elder brothers used to take care of me," she said.
Shefali Rani Das
(Photo: Biswa Kalyan Purkayastha/The Quint)
'Case Derailed Children's Education'
Das said that her husband is differently abled and worked at a brick factory to make ends meet.
"Every time we went to the court, they asked for more documents. After several dates, we thought we didn't have any more documents to show, so what do we tell them? I cried but my husband took a loan, and we gave money to the police and others. There was a time we felt nothing more will happen," she said.
Das said that the case has pushed her family into more financial crisis.
"Just after appearing for his class 10 exams, my son started working in a brick kiln. He saved money and gave it to me on the dates of my hearing. We spent around Rs 1.5 lakh, even in this condition. We also had to give some money to the lawyer. I used to clean other people’s houses. The entire family started earning, and we took three loans from the Bandhan Group of Rs 20,000 each," she said.
"My sons are still working. They work more and get less salary because of a lack of education," Das added.
Shefali Rani Das
(Photo: Biswa Kalyan Purkayastha/The Quint)
In July 2021, the Gauhati HC set aside the previous FT order. The tribunal court again heard Das' case on 17 January 2022. She was declared an 'Indian' on the basis of her grandfather's and father's documents, her school certificate, and her birth certificate.
"When my lawyer informed me that I was declared an 'Indian,' I didn't believe him. It wasn't normal in our area but when my name appeared in a newspaper, I believed him. Somehow, I am still not convinced that the episode is over. It was a big episode of betrayal; my children couldn't study because of it," Das said.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)