Over 30,000 illegal foreigners have so far been deported from Assam based on the Assam Accord, the Assembly was informed on Monday, 19 September.
PTI quoted Assam Accord Implementation Minister Atul Bora as saying 1,48,022 illegal foreigners have been detected in the state till 31 August this year as per provisions of the accord.
Out of the 1,48,022 illegal foreigners, 31,953 were infiltrators who had entered the country before 1971, and 1,16,069 had come in the post-1971 period, he said. Bora added that 30,067 illegal migrants have been deported on the basis of the Accord till 31 August this year.
The Relation Between NRC, CAA and Assam Accord
According to the Assam Accord signed on 15 August 1985, anyone entering the state on or after 25 March 1971 will be deemed a foreigner and will be deported from the state.
The same cut-off was used in updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Clause 6 of the Assam Accord guarantees "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."
The implementation of NRC in the northeastern state, however, immediately led to calls for its implementation in other Indian states as well.
The demands, which were supported by several BJP leaders, led to protests across the country which turned violent, especially There were fears that the NRC would be used in collusion with the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, passed in the same year, which sought make to illegal immigrants who were Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and entered India on or before 31 December 2014, legal citizens. The Act, however, left out Muslims.
Who is An Assamese?
Under NRC, any person who has entered Assam after 1971 will be deported as an illegal immigrant, according to Outlook.
To prove themselves as citizens of Assam, residents need to have their names on the NRC 1951 list, or in any of the electoral rolls up to 24 March 1971.
Descendants of such persons will be allowed granted citizenship as well. The NRC also granted citizens to "original" inhabitants of Assam as well as those who entered between 1966 and 1971. The complex rules and the documents needed to establish oneself as an Assamese citizen led to many protests.
(With inputs from Outlook and PTI. )
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