New Delhi, Nov 3 (IANS): Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi on Sunday said the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam was a "base document for the future" and "a vital initiative for peaceful co-existence".

Insisting that the Assam NRC was not just a document for the moment, he said it will be helpful in determining future claims. The Chief Justice was speaking at the launch of the a book "Post-Colonial Assam" by Mrinal Talukdar.

"Nineteen lakh or 40 lakh is not the point. But it is a base document for the future. A document on which we can refer to determine future claims. The intrinsic value of the NRC, in my view, is mutual peaceful co-existence. Progressive societies are meant to be inclusive," said Justice Gogoi.

Justice Gogoi said the national discourse on the NRC had seen the emergence of armchair commentators who present a distorted picture.

He also slammed people using the social media to cast aspersions on the NRC. "The social media and its tools have been used by many commentators to double speak on the issue. They launched a motivated tirade at a democratic institution. These commentators and their vile on the initiative (NRC) was far removed from the facts," he said.