The Assam government has directed district officials and members of foreigners tribunals to drop all cases against people from six religious communities — Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Parsis — who came to the state on or before December 31, 2014. The decision was made under the provisions of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which offers a path to Indian citizenship for non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who arrived in India before that date.
A meeting was held on July 17 by the state’s home and political department to discuss how the CAA affects ongoing cases in the foreigners tribunals. The meeting took place following orders from Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. “As per the amendments made to the Citizenship Act, the FTs are not supposed to pursue cases of foreigners belonging to the six specified communities who had entered into Assam on or prior to 31.12.2014,” read the minutes of the meeting, signed by Additional Chief Secretary Ajay Tiwari.
Officials were instructed to review all such cases immediately, meet with tribunal members, and submit reports on the actions taken. The state also encouraged those eligible under the CAA to apply for Indian citizenship. The government made it clear that cases filed against members of the Gorkha and Koch-Rajbongshi communities should also be withdrawn “forthwith”.
Back in July 2024, the Assam government had already told the border police not to send any more cases of non-Muslims who entered before 2014 to the tribunals. Instead, such individuals were to be guided to apply for citizenship through the CAA portal, where the Union government would decide on their status.
However, this move has drawn criticism from many quarters. Critics argue that the CAA goes against the Assam Accord of 1985, which states that anyone who entered the state after March 24, 1971, regardless of religion, should be detected and deported. Assamese nationalist groups see all undocumented migrants — Hindu or Muslim — as a threat to the state’s identity and resources.
The CAA sparked large protests across Assam and the rest of India when it was passed in 2019. Many in Assam feared it would allow a large number of Bengali Hindus to gain citizenship, thereby changing the region’s demographics. But the law was welcomed by many Bengali Hindus in the state.
In August 2019, Assam published its National Register of Citizens (NRC), which aimed to identify illegal immigrants. Over 19 lakh people were left out of the final list, including both Hindus and Muslims. In March 2024, Chief Minister Sarma claimed that five lakh Bengali Hindus, two lakh Assamese Hindus from groups like Koch-Rajbongshi and Kalita, and 1.5 lakh Gorkhas were excluded from the NRC. He also said that about seven lakh Muslims were among those left out.
The BJP has argued that Hindus excluded from the NRC can still become Indian citizens under the CAA, while Muslims cannot — a move that has raised serious concerns about religious discrimination.
