Independence Day 2018: Kid whose picture standing in flood water and saluting Tricolour on 15th August went viral; out of Assam NRC draft
Independence Day 2018: Kid whose picture standing in flood water and saluting Tricolour on 15th August went viral; out of Assam NRC draft
Remember the kids from the 15th August, from the Assam school, standing in chest-deep flood water and saluting the Indian flag on the eve of Independence Day in Assam's Dhubri district whose photo was widely viral and gave us goosebumps and warmed the heart of a nation. Yes, there in the pic were two school kids and two of their teachers in the frame. Now, now a year after the same pics has returned to haunt us. You will be shocked to know, nine-year-old Haydor Khan, on the left side of the photo has been left out from the Assam's NRC final draft list.
The Class 4 school kid, whose patriotism for his country and its flag in the age of nine left our eyes-mouth open, has failed to find a place in the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). However, rest all have managed to get listed in the NRC final draft. They are head teacher Tazen Sikder, in the blue shirt; and, assistant teacher Nripen Rabha.
This doesn't end here, even every member of Haydor's family have got into the Assam NRC draft; Joy on Khatun, his mother who works as a domestic help; his 12-year-old brother and six-year-old sister; and, even his grandfather Alom Khan. However, Haydor’s father, Rupnal Khan, was killed in a clash in Kokrajhar in 2011.
This Independence Day, Haydor’s voice betrays the tension within. “I don’t understand anything about the NRC… I will do whatever the learned people in our area say,” said to The Indian Express. “Everything was under water. The other children were scared to swim to the point where the national flag was being hoisted in our school. But Jiarul and I swam up to the spot, stood there and saluted our flag,” says Haydor, a Class 4 student.
Haydor is among the over 40 lakh people from Assam who were excluded from the NRC's final draft published last month.