Moved the nation in 2017, Not an Indian citizen in 2018

Remember the viral picture from last year's Independence Day where a few young kids and their teachers hoisted the Indian tricolor amid chest deep flood water in Assam's Dhubri district?

The picture did not take much time to go viral and grabbed national attention as the kids took the patriotism chills to another level. Yes, a nation was moved by this gesture and respect for the tricolor at No.1185 Naskara lower primary school.

One of the kids was, now 10-years old, Hayder Khan. That very feel of patriotism has been eluded from the kid as he now finds himself not being an Indian citizen. Surprisingly, Hayder doesn't find his name in the final draft of National Register of Citizens (NRC) published on July 30 while rest of his family does.

This Independence Day, the kid holds the same respect and patriotism for the tricolor but fails to understand why is he not an Indian citizen anymore. "I don't understand anything about the NRC. I will do whatever the learned people in our area say", Hayder was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.

Describing the devastating flood scenario from last year and the will to see the tricolor flying high, hayder said, "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".