Photo Courtesy: nenow
Guwahati: Assam government data shows a trickle of applicants for Indian citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act. Just 70 people applied for the status. Only six received it.
Officials released these numbers during the Assembly budget session on Monday. The figures come as the state continues its crackdown on illegal migration. Authorities have identified 172,673 foreigners in Assam. They deported 31,786 of them.
The state also sent 1,572 migrants back to Bangladesh under the Immigrants Expulsion from Assam Act since May of last year. Police intercepted 68 of these individuals on trains before pushing them back across the border. Sribhumi and Cachar districts saw the highest volume of these returns.
The federal government triggered the CAA rules in March 2024. The law fast tracks citizenship for religious minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh who arrived before 2015. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently addressed the status of the local population. He stated that the "number of doubtful voters among Bengali Hindus in Assam is below one lakh" and noted that none remain in detention centers.
Critics worry the law shifts the state demographic balance. The move violates the long-standing Assam Accord for many locals. Past protests against the law turned violent and resulted in several deaths across the region.
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