The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is widely seen to be a significantly flawed exercise. It has targeted the poor minorities of Assam, mostly Muslims, who are easily stereotyped as Bangladeshis, and Bengali Hindus. To counter this, a section of the local Muslims started Modern Miya poetry in 2016, when the president of the Char Sapori Sahitya Parishad, Hafiz Ahmed, wrote a poem about the NRC and posted it on his Facebook page. On July 18, a programme was organised at the Press Club of India to discuss and celebrate these poets and their poetic form of protest.
Co-published with Newsclick.
