The history of immigration in Assam

Section 6A grants citizenship to anyone who entered Assam from Bangladesh earlier January 1, 1966 (Section 6A(2)). It besides recognises those who arrived betwixt January 1, 1966, and March 24, 1971, arsenic Indian citizens, but without voting rights for 10 years (Section 6A(3)). Only immigrants who entered illegally aft March 25, 1971, are considered amerciable and ineligible for citizenship.

Some organisations successful Assam person called for a repeal of this section, arguing that it unfairly legitimises the presumption of amerciable immigrants from 1950 to 1971, treating Assam otherwise from the remainder of India.

The important influx of migrants has raised longstanding concerns astir demographic changes successful Assam, nonaccomplishment of livelihood opportunities, and erosion of indigenous culture. This discourse prompts a person introspection of 20^th-century migration successful Assam and the rationale for designating 1971 arsenic the cut-off date.

A humanities perspective

While past Hindu texts, including the Mahabharata and the Puranas, supply fragmentary grounds of migratory activities successful Assam, 1 of the earliest recorded instances of colonisation question successful the authorities occurred during the Ahom penetration successful 1228 A.D. The Ahoms, an taste radical that archetypal settled successful Assam’s Brahmaputra valley, ruled the portion until 1838 erstwhile it was formally annexed by the British Empire.

The Treaty of Yandabo successful 1826 marked the opening of British regularisation successful Assam, opening the portion to neighbouring districts and the wider subcontinent. The British viewed Assam arsenic a frontier and encouraged large-scale immigration. Policies successful the 19^th and 20^th centuries aimed to boost productivity, attracting labourers to the beverage manufacture from places similar Banaras, Bihar, and Chota Nagpur. The planetary jute commercialized prompted traders to question onshore arsenic Bengal lacked capable abstraction for jute production. The Assam-Bengal Railway further facilitated the influx of thousands of immigrants into little Assam.

Scholar Nripendra Kumar Dhar, successful his 1981 doctoral thesis ‘Impacts of Immigration successful Assam (1872-1947)’, identified Bengalis arsenic the archetypal migrant radical successful assemblage Assam. “A fig of Bengalees from the neighbouring districts of Bengal….Sylhet, Daca, Rangpur, Pabna (now successful Bangladesh) …already conversant successful the creation of Government came to this State connected assorted duty to service the interests of the British Administration,” Dhar stated.

The 20^th century saw a important emergence successful the influx of people, starring to sizeable hostility successful the region. Scholars person identified 4 large migrant groups, with the largest being plantation labourers from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, and Madhya Pradesh who came to Assam betwixt 1891 and 1921.

The 2nd question included peasant migrants from overpopulated districts of East Bengal, numbering astir 3 lakhs successful 1921, 5 lakhs successful 1931, and 8 lakhs successful 1951, according to Census records and authoritative documents cited by Dhar.

In the 1931 Census Report, C S Mullan from the Indian Civil Services noted, “an lawsuit which seems apt to change permanently the full aboriginal of Assam and destruct much surely than did the Burmese invaders of 1820, the full operation of Assamese civilization and civilisation has been the penetration of a immense horde of land-hungry Bengali immigrants mostly Muslims from the districts of Eastern Bengal.”

Though initially muted, anti-immigration sentiments soon escalated. To easiness tensions, assemblage territory officials successful Nowgong (now Nagaon) introduced the Line System successful 1916, implemented successful 1920. This strategy created 3 designated lines: the Immigrant Line, the Assamese Line, and the Mixed Line, aiming to mitigate conflicts successful areas populated by indigenous Assamese, peculiarly astir Nagaon and Morigaon. However, it was a analyzable strategy that yet proved ineffective.

Syed Muhammed Saadulah, the archetypal Prime Minister of Assam successful British India who led the conjugation ministry 3 times betwixt 1937 and 1946, faced challenges successful managing the influx of immigrants. During the 1943 Bengal Famine, his authorities initiated the ‘Grow More Food’ campaign, which attracted thousands of cultivators from Mymensingh (now successful Bangladesh). These newcomers were settled successful Assam with generous onshore grants from wood reserves, and grazing reserves, further escalating tensions surrounding immigration.

“Throughout this period, Nepali banal breeders and cultivators from Nepal and Darjeeling person besides travel successful thousands arsenic settlers successful Assam,” Dhar’s thesis stated, adding that astir 57,000 radical arrived successful the authorities by 1951. He further noted that Assam’s migrant colonisation accrued by 138% from 1901 to 1951, the highest recorded summation successful immoderate state during that period.

After Independence, a caller radical of migrants emerged: Hindu families displaced from East Pakistan, numbering 2,74,000, according to the 1951 Census. The contented peaked successful 1971 during the Bangladesh Liberation War, erstwhile astatine slightest 10 cardinal Bangladeshis crossed into India—especially into Assam and West Bengal—illegally seeking refuge from wide unit and genocide.

Anti-foreigners’ agitation

The large-scale migration implicit the years led to important unrest betwixt section communities and ‘outsiders’, culminating successful the Assam Movement from 1979 to 1985. The Assamese feared a important influx of amerciable Bengali Muslim settlers from Bangladesh, believing this could trim their colonisation to a minority. Economic issues, specified arsenic wide poorness and unemployment, further fuelled tensions, arsenic resources similar oil, tea, and ember appeared to payment outsiders alternatively than section residents.

In 1979, AASU, a non-partisan pupil group, spearheaded an anti-foreigner movement. This question opposed amerciable migration, the dominance of Bengalis and different outsiders, and flawed elector registries that included galore immigrants. The AASU demanded the deportation of each outsiders who had entered Assam aft 1951. Although the agitation agreed assorted segments of Assamese society, it was marked by tragic unit and nonaccomplishment of beingness and property.

After six years of agitations, the then-Rajiv Gandhi-led authorities astatine the Centre reached an statement with AASU leaders successful 1985. The accord established March 25, 1971, arsenic the cutoff day for identifying and deporting foreigners who migrated during and aft the Bangladesh Liberation War (from March 26 to December 16, 1971). However, galore successful Assam were dissatisfied, peculiarly since the Centre had initially projected 1965, portion the remainder of India utilized 1951 arsenic their benchmark.

The Supreme Court verdict

A five-judge Constitution seat led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud upheld the validity of Section 6A with a 4:1 majority. The Chief Justice clarified that Section 6A was designed to negociate the influx of migrants portion addressing the presumption of those already settled successful India. He characterised the Assam Accord arsenic a governmental solution to the contented of amerciable migration, with Section 6A serving arsenic its legislative counterpart. “Legislative nonsubjective of Section 6A was to equilibrium the humanitarian needs of migrants of Indian root and the interaction of the migration connected the economical and taste needs of Indian States,” said CJI Chandrachud.

The tribunal besides gave justification for singling retired Assam among the states bordering Bangladesh. The Chief Justice pointed retired that the interaction of 40 lakh migrants successful Assam could beryllium much important than that of 57 lakh migrants successful West Bengal, fixed Assam’s smaller colonisation and onshore area. He further affirmed that the March 25, 1971, cut-off day was tenable arsenic it coincided with the extremity of the Bangladesh Liberation War, categorising migrants arriving aft this day arsenic migrants of warfare alternatively than those resulting from the Partition.