08-19-2012, 07:01 PM
Tehelka = According to the officials, the migrants come across the riverine border, at first living on the chars (sandbars on the Brahmaputra), till they establish contact with the already-established Bengali Muslim community. They pay Rs 1,000 for a character certificate of sorts procured from the gaon burah (the village headman), which states they belong to that particular village and that makes them ââ¬ÅAssameseââ¬Â. With one foot in the door, they use the letter to then transform from an ââ¬ÅAssameseââ¬Â to a full-fledged Indian citizen all through forged documents ââ¬â certificate to get a ration card, ration card to get a voter ID, voter ID to get a school certificate and so on.

