Guwahati: The Pravajan Virodhi Mancha is pushing the Centre to intervene in the Assam Land Revenue Regulation Amendment of 2026. Convenor Upamanyu Hazarika sent a formal memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, the National Commission on Demographic Change, and BJP general secretary B.L. Santosh. The group warns the law's new definition of original inhabitant creates a loophole for illegal migrants.
Hazarika says the law groups indigenous residents with people from Bangladesh and East Bengal. The requirement asks for three generations of continuous residence, with each generation measured at 25 years. This math creates a dangerous gap. It allows families arriving from Bangladesh as late as 1979 to claim indigenous status by 2006. Hazarika stated, "The definition has serious implications as it clubs indigenous persons with those of Bangladesh/East Bengal origin into one category."
This reclassification threatens the integrity of the National Register of Citizens. Hazarika noted that district authorities in Nagaon and Kamrup found widespread abuses of the original inhabitant label in 2021. Those investigators discovered that people without proper documentation gained inclusion. A May 8, 2021 report from the NRC State Coordinator estimated that 25 lakh people made the list with inadequate proof.
The memorandum also tackles the illegal takeover of Satra land. Current state data shows 15,288 bighas, or roughly 5,000 acres, remain under occupation. The BJP campaigned on clearing these encroachers, but little has changed after three assembly wins. While the Assam Land Grabbing Act of 2010 carries a five-year prison sentence, the government has failed to use it. The group suggests the state revise the cut-off date for original inhabitant status to 1901 to stop the influx.
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