On July 8 this year, 59-year-old Ambar Ali, a daily wage labourer from Sunbari village in Assam, jumped in front of a running train. His 21-year-old son, Hazrat Ali, wife Hazra Ali, and daughter believe that the Indian government is responsible for Ambar's death. "My husband had been running from pillar to post to get our names in the National Register of Citizens (NRC)," rues Hazra. "He couldn't bear the fact that our entire family had been excluded from the draft list that was released in December 2017. So he killed himself," the 55-year-old widow continues, teary-eyed, as she is interviewed for Stateless, a documentary on the NRC.

Produced by the Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO), the 20-minute film is directed by 26-year-old Azharuddin Pilakodan. "Since its inception 36 years ago, SIO India has been working towards highlighting issues related to religious minorities and human rights. We have cadres across the country, and also in Assam; these people know the ground reality and understand the woes of the people. So, they approached us to make this film," says Fawaz Shaheen, the national secretary of SIO India.