In its recent decision ‘Re: Section 6(a) of Citizenship Act, 1955 (2024)’, the Supreme Court declared Section 6(a) as constitutionally valid.
The region, known today as Assam, has historically been inhabited by diverse ethnic and linguistic communities. Throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, it was predominantly governed by the Ahom political authority, albeit with a brief period of Mughal rule. Subsequently, like numerous other regions across the nation, it came under British colonial administration in 1826.
Prior to the beginning of the British colonial era, several parts of Assam fell under the dominion of the Burmese for a brief duration, during which the region underwent significant changes in its political and economic landscape. This period witnessed a substantial exodus of people from the valley, seeking refuge in the bordering towns of Bengal and other adjacent territories.
However, there was soon a change of hands in terms of control over these regions after the First Anglo–Burmese War. By the middle of the nineteenth century, most of the Brahmaputra valley of Assam had fallen under British rule, and the East India Company assumed control over Assam. In 1874, a distinct province of Assam, administered by a Chief Commissioner, was established by amalgamating Goalpara, Cachar, Garo, Khasi and Jaintia Hills, and Naga Hills, with its capital at Shillong.
Thereafter, in 1905, as part of the British partition of the Bengal Province, Assam became a constituent of the East Bengal region, with Dhaka serving as its capital, which is often regarded as the inception of friction between the Assamese and Bengali communities.
Proposal of Integration to Assam
Initially, during the partition deliberations, Assam was intended to be amalgamated with Bengal. However, this proposal encountered significant opposition from political leaders in Assam, who opposed the integration. They perceived the proposed amalgamation as another attempt to subject Assam to Bengali dominance, resulting in their opposition to the British tendency to treat Assam as an extension of Bengal.
This period also witnessed first-hand, the blending of communities and groups between the two regions. Unlike present-day India, which has linguistically organised states, the then-eastern front of British India witnessed numerous culturally divergent communities living together. The population of Sylhet in modern day Bangladesh, for example, was then comprised of Bengali speaking as well as Assamese-speaking people. This was representative of the fact that unlike the western border, in the eastern border, issues of culture and language were more at play.
After Partition
After this period of unrest, the Nehru-Liaquat Pact of 1950 was signed between India and Pakistan, symbolising their mutual commitment to safeguard minorities and their interests in both nations. This period also denoted the Constitution of India coming into force, which contained a part prescribing different modes of citizenship, as already elucidated in paragraphs 19 and 21. In line with this, the Citizenship Act was enacted, empowering the Central Government to declare law on citizenship or nationality, the details of which have also been dealt with elaborately in the same.
Parallelly, in 1948, a permit system was instituted between West Pakistan and India vide the West Pakistan (Control) Ordinance, and subsequently, in 1952, a formal passport and visa system was introduced along the eastern border. Until then, border traffic was almost entirely unregulated on the eastern borders. The span from 1960 to 1985 was marked by significant political turmoil, civil unrest, and violence in the country’s north-eastern parts.
Amidst these developments, the NRC was initially prepared exclusively for the state of Assam in 1951. It intended to identify illegal immigrants entering the state from Bangladesh, utilizing data from the 1951 Census. However, the scenario changed dramatically on 25.03.1971, when Pakistan initiated ‘Operation Searchlight’ to quell the Bengali nationalist movement in East Pakistan. The following day, on 26.03.1971, Bangladesh declared independence from Pakistan, triggering the Bangladesh Liberation War. Following these developments, in December 1971, India joined the war against Pakistan.
While immigrants from East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) had been migrating to India since 1948, the wars of 1971 led to an influx of immigrants from Bangladesh into the State of Assam and other Indian states. Soon, there was anxiety surrounding the issue of electoral rolls in the Northeast region, fuelled by concerns revolving around the influx of refugees from erstwhile East Bengal into Assam. During this period, the Assam Students Union (AASU) and the All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad (AAGSP) grew in popularity in the region.
Thereafter, in 1979, the draft electoral rolls prepared for the bye-elections in the Lok Sabha Constituency of Mangaldoi in Assam revealed the names of numerous Bangladeshi immigrants. This led the AASU and AAGSP to launch a 6-year-long agitation, now known as the ‘Assam Movement’, fearing that Bangladeshi immigrants would overwhelm the indigenous population of Assam. During this period, political tensions escalated, marked by fierce debates and demonstrations concerning the influx of immigrants into Assam.
Simultaneously, there were counter-demonstrations in Bengal, expressing solidarity with the Bengali-speaking communities in Assam. These events had a detrimental impact on the economy and trade in Assam, and eventually, in 1981, the President’s rule was imposed in the State. In 1983, after more than a year of President’s rule, the Union of India decided to hold elections, despite a breakdown in negotiations over electoral roll revisions and escalating student-led protests.
However, these aspirations came to an end with the occurrence of the Nellie Massacre on 18.02.1983, resulting in a devastating massacre of people with severe casualties. It is believed that factors contributing to the tragedy included administrative failure, warnings of potential clashes being ignored, and underlying land-related tensions. The Nellie Massacre marked a turning point, transforming the once-peaceful student protests into a violent agitation that garnered national and international attention.
Thereafter, in 1984, negotiations between the Centre and AASU stalled, but in January 1985, the then Prime Minister expressed a willingness to resolve Assam’s disputes, leading to the repeal of contentious laws and concessions to calm the agitations. The student-led Assam Movement finally came to an end on 15.08.1985, with the signing of a Memorandum of Settlement known as the ‘Assam Accord’ between the Central Government and the leaders of AASU and AAGSP.
The Assam Accord declared 01.01.1966 as the base date for the detection of illegal immigrants and created three classes of immigrants: first, those who came before 01.01.1966, including those in the electoral list of 1967; second, those who came between 01.01.1966 and 24.03.1971; and third, those who came on or after 25.03.1971.
The first class of persons were to be regularized under the Assam Accord, while those belonging to the second class were to be detected as foreigners, and their names were to be deleted from electoral rolls. It was further provided that their names would be restored after the expiry of ten years from their detection. The third class of persons, i.e., those who came on or after 25.03.1971, were to be detected and expelled as per the Assam Accord.
Subsequently, Section 6A was inserted into the Citizenship Act through an amendment to give effect to the provisions of the Assam Accord.
Source
In Re: Section 6(a) of the citizenship Act, 1955 (2024)