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The Hindu
25-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
How Assam's Pushback Politics is Weaponising Citizenship
Published : Jun 25, 2025 08:58 IST - 14 MINS READ In a special one-day session of the Assam Assembly on June 9, 2025, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma invoked an old 1950 Act to declare that his government would henceforth push back into Bangladesh anyone who had illegally entered Assam after March 24, 1971, and had been identified as a foreigner if her/his case was not pending before a court. He said it would be done under the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, without involving the Foreigners Tribunals (FTs). (The special Assembly session had been convened to adopt a resolution to rename Dibrugarh Airport after the Assamese music legend Bhupen Hazarika.) Sarma said that while his BJP-led government would also pursue cases pending before the FTs, it would simultaneously intensify the 'pushbacks'. Sarma justified his decision to bypass the FTs by referring to the Supreme Court's October 2024 judgment delivered by a five-member Constitutional Bench headed by the then Chief Justice of India, D.Y. Chandrachud, in which the majority verdict upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, which makes March 24, 1971, the cut-off date for citizenship in Assam. By this judgment, he claimed, the court had given the Assam government 'sweeping power'. It meant, he asserted, that the government need not go to FTs for expulsion of foreigners and, instead, District Commissioners could be empowered to evict anyone who was prima facie found to be a 'foreigner'. The June 9 announcement came in the face of a pushback attempt in May that went awry when a batch of people were stranded in no man's land along the international boundary, sparking tensions between the border forces of both countries. Subsequently, some of them were brought back to India after their families submitted documents of their cases pending in the Supreme Court and the Gauhati High Court. The cases challenged the FT verdicts that had declared them foreigners. Also Read | Legal yet lawless: Assam's new wave of deportations follows a long tradition of expulsion politics In the special session, Sarma claimed that 330 'foreigners' had been 'pushed back' into Bangladesh in the past couple of weeks and none of them had returned, and another 35 people would be pushed back soon. He, however, admitted that a few individuals whose cases were pending in courts had been wrongly evicted but later brought back through diplomatic channels. The Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act authorises District Commissioners to order the direct expulsion of an individual or a class of people from India or Assam, bypassing the tribunal process, if they are suspected to be foreigners who have entered illegally. Sarma said that the Act exempts those people who have entered Assam to escape religious persecution. 'Provided that nothing in this section shall apply to any person who on account of civil disturbances or the fear of such disturbances in any area now forming part of Pakistan has been displaced from or has left his place of residence in such area and who has been subsequently residing in Assam,' the Act says. Sarma's reference to this clause presumably implies that Hindu migrants from Bangladesh will be left alone regardless of the legality of their entry. Indeed, on July 5, 2024, Sarma's government issued instructions to the Border Police wing of the Assam Police not to refer cases of Hindu and other non-Muslim 'illegal migrants' who entered India before December 31, 2014, to FTs. A separate register was to be maintained for this category. There were also instructions that such people may be advised to apply online for Indian citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019. A video of the group of 14 people who had been declared foreigners by FTs and stranded in no man's land on the Bangladesh border surfaced in social media in May. This drew public attention to the way the police in Assam were picking up, apparently at random, people whose citizenship cases were pending in court. While the Border Security Force (BSF) pushed them to the zero line on the international border, the Border Guards of Bangladesh (BGB) prevented them from crossing it. Khairul Islam, who was part of the group, narrated to media outlets the ordeal of spending a whole day under the scorching sun in a paddy field. He said they were taken to a BGB camp in Kurigram district of Bangladesh on the evening of May 24. It was when his wife came across the video clip that she approached the police in Morigaon with documents to prove that his case was pending before the Supreme Court. The police assured her that he would be brought back. Islam, a former teacher of a government school, had moved the Supreme Court challenging the Gauhati High Court order that upheld the FT opinion declaring him a foreigner in 2016. He spent two years in Tezpur Central Jail after the High Court upheld the FT opinion and was subsequently released in 2020. The BGB handed over Islam and six others to the BSF on May 25. Islam was taken to the Matia Transit Camp in Assam's Goalpara district, the country's largest detention centre, from where, he alleges, he was forcibly picked up along with the others for the pushback exercise. Move to facilitate arming of 'indigenous' people Meanwhile, in a move that has drawn strong objections from the opposition, Sarma's government decided at a Cabinet meeting on May 28, 2025, to grant arms licences to 'original inhabitants and indigenous Indian citizens' living in vulnerable and remote areas where they are in a 'minority'. At a press conference following the meeting, Sarma said that in districts such as Dhubri, Morigaon, Nagaon, Barpeta, and South Salmara-Mankachar, Muslims whose origins could be traced back to the erstwhile East Bengal now constituted the majority. He clarified that the arms licence policy would not be applicable in areas along inter-State boundaries. Assam shares boundaries with Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Manipur, and West Bengal. Ironically, the social reality in the areas mentioned by Sarma is that the majority of the so-called migrant Muslims identified by the Chief Minister have consistently reported Assamese as their mother tongue in successive census records, and their children are mostly educated in Assamese-medium government schools. The legal question of who is an 'indigenous' person in Assam for the purpose of ascertaining constitutional safeguards, land rights, and reservation in accordance with the Assam Accord is yet to be settled for want of consensus on the definition of the term and the reference period. The State government's latest moves to tackle the foreigners' issue has drawn sharp criticism from the opposition. The Congress' Debabrata Saikia, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, wrote to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on May 30 seeking intervention by the Central government 'to immediately halt these unconstitutional actions, ensure proper nationality verification before any deportation, release all wrongly detained Indian citizens, and make detainee information publicly available'. He wrote: 'Pushing Indian citizens into no man's land without verification is unconstitutional and fundamentally inhumane. The repatriation during the pendency of a Supreme Court case constitutes a grave breach of the judicial process. This further violates international human rights standards.' A release issued by Saikia's office said the letter noted with concern that these operations appeared to target Muslim communities, undermining India's secular fabric. The letter also alleged that the Assam Police had arbitrarily detained hundreds of Indian citizens not involved in any citizenship-related legal proceedings. 'While most detainees were eventually released, their wrongful apprehension itself points to serious procedural lapses. Families remain uninformed about the whereabouts of detainees, violating basic transparency norms,' it said. Saikia reminded the External Affairs Minister that such action directly contradicted India's stated position on deportation, quoting Jaishankar's own statement in Parliament emphasising the necessity of 'unambiguous verification of nationality' before any repatriation. Opposition parties have also vehemently opposed the decision to grant arms licences to 'original inhabitants' and 'indigenous people'. Calling it a 'dangerous step towards lawlessness and jungle raj', Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Gaurav Gogoi said on his X handle on May 29: 'People of Assam deserve jobs, affordable healthcare, quality education, not guns. Instead of strengthening police and border forces, the government is intent on distributing arms among BJP-RSS sympathisers and local criminal syndicates. This will lead to gang violence and crimes based on personal vendetta. Local business and traders are bound to be harassed.' Gogoi is Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and represents the Jorhat constituency. Saikia has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah appealing for immediate reversal of the decision. He has called for strengthening professional law enforcement mechanisms instead of promoting the arming of civilians. He has asserted that Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees all citizens equal protection under law and said community-specific arms distribution is fundamentally discriminatory. He has expressed grave concern that this decision comes when Assam has finally achieved relative stability after decades of insurgency and conflict. He has warned about dangerous demographic implications and said selective arming of people can deepen existing social divides and potentially create new armed factions. Himanta Biswa Sarma confident of his strategy Sarma, however, is sticking to his position and insists that grant of arms licence has been a long-pending demand of indigenous Assamese people since the anti-foreigner agitation of 1979-85. The policy, he says, is in line with the BJP's commitment to protect jati (nationality), mati (land), and bheti (foundation) of indigenous people. A Cabinet note on the policy stated: 'The scheme will act as deterrent to unlawful threats and enhance the personal security and confidence of such individual and communities.' Sarma says the decision should have been taken in 1985 (the year of the Assam Accord) and many indigenous people would not have been forced to leave places where they had lived for long if it had been done. The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), which formed the first regional party government in 1985, is a junior partner in the BJP-led government headed by Sarma, as it was in the Sarbananda Sonowal government. The AGP could not complete its first five-year term. President's Rule was imposed on November 27, 1990, on the grounds of deterioration in law and order following a spurt in insurgent activities by the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA). Governor D.D. Thakur wrote to the President on November 26, 1990, seeking President's Rule. His letter said that 'about 1,600 firing weapons which had been ordered to be deposited with the D.M. [District Magistrate] by the licence holders, were snatched away by ULFA activists' (Peoples Union for Human Rights v. Union of India (UoI) And Ors on 20 March, 1991. Equivalent citations: AIR1992GAU23, AIR 1992 GAUHATI 23, (1991) 2 GAU LR 1, source Sarma's term in office has been consistently marked by aggressive posturing on the issue of 'foreigners' displacing indigenous Assamese people. Speaking on various occasions and platforms, he has been trying to make an emotive pitch by saying 'Assamese people have to take a non-compromising stance' to protect themselves. 'Modiji is saying 'pushback', but Assamese people are questioning why pushback is happening. Modiji is willing to lend all help, but he alone cannot protect us,' he said on one occasion. Sarma says pushbacks will act as a deterrent against infiltration from Bangladesh. The 'White Paper on Foreigners' Issue' brought out by the Tarun Gogoi–led Congress government in 2012 explains the difference between 'pushback' and 'deportation' thus: 'In case of Push Back there is no need for acceptance of the person concerned by the BGB. In case of Deportation, on the other hand, there is flag meeting between BSF and BGB and the deportation takes place only when the BGB accepts the foreigner. If BGB refuses to accept the foreigner, BSF is left with no option and such person becomes stateless.' 'Pushbacks' are not exactly novel Between 1961 and 1964, the then Bimala Prasad Chaliha-led Congress government pushed back over 1.78 lakh 'infiltrators' to erstwhile East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). The White Paper states that the Registrar General of Census in his report on the 1961 Census assessed that 2,20,691 'infiltrants' had entered Assam. 'In the light of this report of Census 1961 coupled with intelligence reports, police launched a drive in 1962-1964 to detect and deport such infiltrators. By mid-1964, the State government had also set up four tribunals through an executive order to cover those cases of suspected infiltrants who claimed to be Indian. These tribunals were headed by special officers with judicial background who were appointed to scrutinise cases of infiltrants before issuing Quit India notices.' The document further states: 'During the period 1961-1966 approximately, 1,78,952 infiltrants were either deported or had voluntarily left the country, but an estimated 40,000 did not leave India. The police drive, which commenced in mid-1962 against infiltrators, continued but invited criticism from some leaders of Assam. Pakistan also threatened to drag the issue to the United Nations.' Kamal Nayan Choudhury, an expert on the Constitution, believes illegal immigrants are not entitled to due legal process: 'When it comes to detecting illegal migrants, why are the police making a reference to tribunals? Is it necessary? No. Persons whose entry into a country is illegal are called 'alien at will' and they are not entitled to due process of law under international law.' He argued that only people who had overstayed but had originally entered legally should be referred to tribunals. According to him, those who entered Assam illegally should be dealt with under the Act of 1950. Choudhury believes the promulgation of the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964, has hindered the process of identifying foreigners. 'The Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, is a special law to deal with expulsion of illegal migrants from Assam, whereas the Foreigners Act, 1946, is a general law dealing with entry, stay, and departure of a foreigner. In the context of the Foreigners Act, 1946, it is incomprehensible how the 1964 order could be framed,' he said. Communal disturbances in Dhubri and Lakhimpur Recent communal disturbances in Assam have lent grist to the Hindutva mill. There was trouble in Dhubri during Eid celebrations on June 7 after a cow's head was apparently found dumped in front of a Hanuman temple. Thirty-eight people were arrested in connection with this incident. On a visit to Dhubri on June 14 to review the law and order situation, Sarma issued shoot-at-sight orders against anyone trying to create trouble. He told the media that three posters by an outfit called 'Nabin Bangla' had been found in the town and these indicated an agenda of 'annexing' Dhubri to Bangladesh. Also Read | In Assam, 'indigenous' means many things—until it means Muslim Before the tensions in Dhubri could dissipate, seven people were arrested in Lakhimpur district on June 18, the day after three cattle skulls were found about 30 metres from a naamghar (traditional Assamese prayer hall). Sarma revealed the names of the arrested men—all Muslims—on X. Responding to media questions on the incidents in Dhubri and Lakhimpur, he made a statement that drew widespread criticism: 'My recommendation is that if someone keeps beef, you should keep pork meat. It will make it even then.' On June 10, the Chief Minister shared a video clip on X of his speech made on the occasion of the submission of the report by the Satra Ayog constituted by his government to assess the problem of encroachment on Satra land. He wrote: 'Minorities should respect the traditions and customs of the indigenous people and not try to create a conflict by building Masjids near Satras [Vaishnavite monasteries] and occupying Satra land. Dhubri, Barpeta, etc. are an example of such templates and we should not let this be repeated.' In the video he alleged that cow slaughter, beef consumption, and land grabbing were being used to push away local people from Satra land and announced that his government would constitute a permanent Satra Commission and empower it financially and administratively. With less than a year left for the 2026 Assembly election, Assam is suffering a polarised build-up of emotions. A dangerous discourse is being shaped by an intensified pushback of suspected Bangladeshi Muslims while arming indigenous people and fashioning 'beef weaponisation' and Satra land encroachment narratives as existential threats to Assamese Hindus. Sushanta Talukdar is a senior independent journalist based in Guwahati who has extensively covered the north-eastern region. Formerly a writer with The Hindu, he currently edits a bilingual online magazine called
NDTV
09-06-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
"Assam Pushed Back Over 330 Illegal Infiltrators": Himanta Sarma
Guwahati (Assam): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that the state government was responsible for "pushing back" over 330 illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators in the last few months and intends to speed up the process. Referring to the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act of 1950, Mr Sarma said that the attempt to filter out the illegal infiltrators would continue with the help of a special provision (of the Immigrants Act of 1950) that empowers district commissioners to identify and expel them. "In our vigorous fight against illegal infiltration, we draw strength from a special provision, which empowers DCs to identify and expel infiltrators from Assam. We have pushed back over 330 illegal infiltrators in the last few months, and this operation will be expedited in the coming days," Mr Sarma said while addressing a one-day special session of the Assam Assembly. In a veiled attack against Assam Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi, CM Sarma said that the state government has identified 2,600 accounts on social media that write about "Palestine and Assam", operating from Islamabad and Riyadh, and welcome a particular leader from the state. He said that he would reveal information regarding such accounts to the press in the coming days. "We have found around 2,600 Facebook accounts that write only about Palestine and Assam. They are operated from Islamabad, Riyadh and Saudi Arabia. They don't even welcome Rahul Gandhi, but welcome a particular leader of Assam. I have documents, and within 10-12 days, I will provide some such account information to the press," he said. Moreover, Mr Sarma asserted that his identity as an Assamese comes before his post as the Chief Minister. "I am an Assamese first and Chief Minister later, and all my actions will reflect that. In our journey of safeguarding the interests of Assam, we do not dither in taking inspiration from former CMs," he said. The Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act of 1950 empowers the government to expel illegal immigrants from Assam, specifying procedures to identify and expel them. The act gives the power to order the expulsion of immigrants whose stay in Assam is "detrimental to the interests of the general public."
Hans India
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Assam CM slams Rahul Gandhi for ‘betraying' nation; praises Owaisi, Tharoor
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday praised several opposition leaders for defending India's stance on international platforms following the country's retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack, while launching a scathing attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of undermining national interests. Speaking during a discussion in the Assam Assembly about the successful 'Operation Sindoor', CM Sarma acknowledged the efforts of opposition figures like Shashi Tharoor, Asaduddin Owaisi and Supriya Sule, commending them for standing up for India on foreign soil. 'I am thankful to Congress and other opposition leaders, especially Shashi Tharoor, who have strongly defended India's position abroad. Leaders like Asaduddin Owaisi and Supriya Sule also upheld the nation's honour outside the country,' CM Sarma said. However, the Chief Minister drew a sharp contrast with Rahul Gandhi, accusing the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha of betraying both the nation and the armed forces. 'Rahul Gandhi did not stand with the country. He betrayed the nation. He betrayed our armed forces,' the Assam CM alleged, criticising Rahul Gandhi for raising questions about India's military losses during the conflict. CM Sarma claimed that while Gandhi repeatedly sought details on India's casualties during the operation, he showed no concern about the damage inflicted on Pakistan. 'There's a difference between questioning losses after a military operation and doing so while it's ongoing. Rahul Gandhi chose the latter — and never once asked what losses Pakistan suffered,' the Chief Minister asserted. Operation Sindoor was launched in response to the deadly Pahalgam terror attack, and the resolution in the Assembly marked a unified acknowledgment of the Indian armed forces' role in the counter-offensive. Earlier on Monday, CM Sarma asserted that the government would speed up the process of deporting illegal immigrants from the state to safeguard the indigenous community. While speaking at the Assembly, CM Sarma said: "The state government is set to use the 1950 law to expel the illegal immigrants here. The apex court of the country has also given a nod regarding this. The administrative machinery will work accordingly to make Assam free from illegal immigrants.' The Chief Minister also pressed for safeguarding the interests of Assamese people. He said, 'I am an Assamese first and a Chief Minister later.' The Assam government has decided to invoke a little-known law from 1950 -- the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Order -- to fast-track the deportation of undocumented immigrants, bypassing the usual judicial process.
News18
09-06-2025
- Politics
- News18
'Creation Of Bangladesh Justified?: Himanta Hits Out At Indira Gandhi Govt Over Illegal Immigrants
Last Updated: While Himanta Biswa Sarma said Indira Gandhi deserves credit for India's 1971 victory over Pakistan, he raised doubts on whether the creation of Bangladesh was justified. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday criticised former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's government in 1971 for 'squandering the opportunity" to reclaim occupied Indian territories, after the Indian Armed Forces 'crushed" the Pakistan Army during the Bangladesh Liberation War, and not dealing with illegal immigration. Speaking in the Assam Assembly, Sarma said, 'In 1971, under the leadership of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, India won the war. The Indian Army achieved victory, and Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister, she rightly deserves credit." 'However, after the victory, 93,000 Pakistani prisoners of war (POWs) captured by India were returned to Pakistan, but we could not secure even nine POWs from Pakistan." Though Indian Forces crushed the Pakistani Army in 1971, the Govt of the day could not secure Indian interests and squandered the opportunity to reclaim back occupied Indian territories. #AssamAssembly — Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) June 9, 2025 He further said, 'Yes, we won the war but what exactly did we achieve. We created Bangladesh. But are we satisfied with that decision today? It's worth asking in 2025: Was the creation of Bangladesh the right move?" He said Indira Gandhi could have at least demanded the return of all illegal migrants in exchange for supporting the creation of Bangladesh. 'Though Indian Forces crushed the Pakistani Army in 1971, the Govt of the day could not secure Indian interests and squandered the opportunity to reclaim back occupied Indian territories," he said. India initially provided humanitarian aid and extended support to the Bengali resistance force, the Mukti Bahini. After Pakistan launched pre-emptive strikes on Indian airbases, India declared a full-scale war and engaged Pakistani forces across land, air and sea. In collaboration with the Mukti Bahini, India defeated Pakistani forces in just 13 days, capturing 93,000 Pakistani soldiers and leading to the creation of Bangladesh. India and Pakistan signed the Simla Agreement in 1972, with both sides agreeing to resolve issues peacefully. India agreed to repatriate Pakistani soldiers in exchange for Pakistan's formal recognition of Bangladesh. However, this move has been criticised by several political leaders, who said India missed an opportunity to reclaim Pakistan-occupied Kashmir without getting adequate concessions. First Published: June 09, 2025, 19:57 IST
