COMMENT Five years after the reverberating Hindraf protest of November 2007, the contest for the Indian vote at the 13th general election is headed for a decisive phase on a signal issue - the numbers of stateless residents and what’s to be done about their plight.

On Wednesday, a conjectural number of the stateless and their sympathisers will gather at the National Registration Department (NRD) to demonstrate their concerns and clamour for swift remedy.