India has published a list which effectively strips some four million people in the north-eastern state of Assam of their citizenship.

The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a list of people who cannot prove they came to the state before 24 March 1971, when Bangladesh was created.

India says the process is to root out hordes of illegal Bangladeshi migrants.

But it has sparked fears of a witch hunt against ethnic minorities in Assam.

Fearing violence, officials say that no-one will face immediate deportation.

However, they say that a lengthy appeal process will be available to all – even if it means millions of families will live in limbo until they get a final decision on their legal status.

But this did not reassure Hasitun Nissa, who spoke to the BBC’s Joe Miller days before the list was published. She has never known a home outside the floodplains of Assam.

BBC