Explained | Defining who is ‘Assamese’: attempts, challenges

What is the News?

The Assam government informed the Assembly that nearly 1.44 lakh illegal foreigners had been identified in the state until January 31 this year based on the 1985 Assam Accord and around 30,000 of them had been deported to their country of origin. 

Who is a foreigner under the Assam Accord?

The Assam Accord was signed in 1985 by the Center and the Assam government with All Assam Student Union (AASU) and All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad, which had spearheaded the 1979-85 Assam Movement against migration from Bangladesh.

The Accord set March 24, 1971, as a cut-off. Anyone who had come to Assam before midnight on that date would be an Indian citizen, while those who had come after would be dealt with as foreigners. The same cut-off was used in updating the National Register of Citizens(NRC).

Why is there an issue with the cut-off date?

The Assam Accord set March 24, 1971, as a cut-off. However, Assam Movement had demanded 1951 as the cut-off. 

This is because the cut-off for the rest of India is 1948. Therefore, many noted that the Assam Accord would grant citizenship to a section of migrants who would be counted as foreigners elsewhere in the country.

Hence, in this backdrop, Clause 6 was seen as a protective provision that would guarantee certain benefits to the Assamese people while excluding some sections among those granted citizenship on the basis of the 1971 cut-off.

What is Clause 6 of the Assam Accord and why expressions have not been defined?

​​Clause 6 of the Assam Accord promises “constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people”.

However, it doesn’t provide clear-cut definitions to identify who would be the “Assamese people”.

For instance, definitions of phrases mentioned in the Accord such as ‘Axomiya janagan’ (Assamese people), ‘khilonjia’ (indigenous) and ‘adi basinda’ (original inhabitants) were yet to be determined.

Why are the definitions difficult?

Assam’s demography has been shaped by decades of migration. Many of the migrants had settled here during the colonial era. 

While they might not be native speakers of an indigenous language, such as Assamese or Bodo or Karbi, the question was whether the definition of “Assamese” could exclude someone, for example, whose family might have lived in Assam for 100 years.

Has any definition been proposed?

A committee in 2019 was set up to define Assamese. This committee recommended the following persons as Assamese:

– All citizens who are part of the Assamese community

– Any person of indigenous tribal community of Assam

– Any other indigenous community of Assam

– Any other citizens of India residing in the territory of Assam on or before January 1, 1951, and

– Descendants of these categories

Note: This definition includes not only the indigenous people but also all other Indian citizens, irrespective of mother tongue, as long as their ancestors were staying in Assam before

Source: This post is based on the article “Explained | Defining who is ‘Assamese’: attempts, challenges” published in Indian Express on 21st Mar 2022.