MHA appointed committee recommends 1951 cut-off for defining Assam’s indigenous people & Inner Line Permit

Union Home Ministry headed by Amit Shah appointed panel to recommend implementation of the Clause 6 of the Assam Accord has finalized the report on “Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards, protection and promotion of the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people.” A per the Clause 6 of the accord which ended Assam agitation against foreigners, “Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards, as may be appropriate, shall be provided to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people.” Former Assam chief minister Prafulla Mahanta, who, as a representative of the AASU, was one of the signatories to  the accord, said recently that Clause 6 was supposed to act as a safeguard against the effect of migration between 1951 and 1971 on Assam’s demography and the state’s cultural heritage .The scenario however has changed following CAA. The committee chaired by retired justice Biplab Kumar Sarma has suggested 1951 as the cut-off date for defining the state’s indigenous people and introduction of Inner Line Permit. The ruling BJP heading the NDA government is reportedly opposed to ILP after abolishing Article 370 from Jammu & Kashmir. The BJP will have a Herculean task to convince people and political parties about justification of introducing ILP in the NE state. Indians from other parts of the country are required to obtain ILP to visit the state and cannot own or purchase land and property in ILP area as prevalent in most of the North-eastern region. The committee has also proposed job reservation for the natives of the state. The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) members in the committee demanded cent per cent reservation whereas other members recommend 67 per cent reservation in addition to the existing reservations for the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes taking the total reservation to 80 per cent. The reservation quota is not possible for the Centre to implement. Such job reservation quota may create a pan India problem and may be challenged in the Supreme Court of India by affected people, say some analysts. Introduction of Inner Line Permit system in the entire State of Assam and protection of land rights of the indigenous people once introduced, the NE state will be out of the domain of the CAA. BJP apprehends that such a move will impact Bengali Hindus across the country. The Assam Tribune says Union Home Minister Amit Shah had recently told a visiting delegation that introduction of ILP in Assam is not possible because the State is considered as a gateway to Southeast Asia and will play an important role in India’s Act East Policy. Besides, the Centre has reservation about accepting 1951 as the cut-off for identifying indigenous people apprehending several complications, added The Assam Tribune quoting sources as saying.