CITIZENSHIP AMENDMENT ACT (CAA), 2019 AND ISSUE OF MIGRATION IN ASSAM
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International Journal of Management (IJM)
Volume 11, Issue 11, November 2020, pp. 1713-1718. Article ID: IJM_11_11_163
Available online at http://www.iaeme.com/ijm/issues.asp?JType=IJM&VType=11&IType=11
Journal Impact Factor (2020): 10.1471 (Calculated by GISI) www.jifactor.com
ISSN Print: 0976-6502 and ISSN Online: 0976-6510
DOI: 10.34218/IJM.11.11.2020.163
© IAEME Publication Scopus Indexed
CITIZENSHIP AMENDMENT ACT (CAA), 2019
AND ISSUE OF MIGRATION IN ASSAM
Bonti Hazarika
Faculty of Political Science, North Lakhimpur College (Autonomous), India
ABSTRACT
The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 is another step to redress long standing
migration problem of North-East in general and Assam in particular. The decision of
the introduction of citizenship amendment bill, 2016 in the Lok Sabha led to political
backlash in the state and unrest in society. After the passing of bill in 2019 Dec by the
Parliament and after getting assent of President the bill became as an act i.e.
Citizenship amendment Act, 2019 (CAA) an anarchical environment has occurred
across the state. People have been leading a life of anxiety and panic. All civil society
organization, student union, common people has simultaneously came forward and
started protest against discriminatory bill passed by the parliament. The people of
Assam have fear that with the introduction of CAA Assamese became a minority in
their own soil. And they thought that it also threatened to the Assamese culture and
tradition. Bondhs, demonstration has created a lawlessness environment where
normalized life of common people was stopped. Importantly, the act of 2019 have no
any provision regarding the protection of Assamese indigenous people so that
Assamese people vehemently protested towards the protection of their identity, as the
act has provided additional opportunity to the migrant community to established their
influence in the field of economic and political sector. Therefore the present paper
tries to explore the Citizenship Amendment Act and the issue of migration in Assam
with the help of secondary sources collected from various published and unpublished
reports, articles books etc.
Key words: Act, Amendment, Assam, Bill, Citizenship.
Cite this Article: Bonti Hazarika, Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019 and Issue
of Migration in Assam, International Journal of Management, 11(11), 2020,
pp 1713-1718.
http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/issues.asp?JType=IJM&VType=11&IType=11
1. INTRODUCTION
Just after the passing of Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016 (CAB) the socio-political
condition of Assam is in turmoil. The act has led to protest in the North-East after it has been
passed in the Lok Sabha. Opposition to the bill stems from fears that it gives legitimacy to
illegal migrants in India and therefore the political condition of the state has become too
http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 1713 editor@iaeme.comCitizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019 and Issue of Migration in Assam
volatile. Bondhs and stricks are organized by the different organizations in protest of
Citizenship Amendment Bill and decision taken by the centre government. At present the
situation of Assam is in a condition where people have been leading a life of anxiety and
panic. It has lead to political backlash in the state and caused unrest in Assam and other parts
of North-East, with protest by different ethnic groups and organization. According to various
organization and groups the act will place extra burden of illegal migrants on the state alone.
Therefore there are oppositions from every part of quarters. Therefore the present paper has
tries to explore Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and various issue of migration
particularly in Assam with the help of data collected from various published and unpublished
articles, government report and newspaper.
OBJECTIVES: The major objectives of the present paper are to analyze the Citizenship
Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA) and various issues of migration in Assam.
METHODOLOGY: The present paper involves both historical and analytical method. The
data and information are collected from various secondary sources. For the assessment of the
quest of CAA and migration issues in Assam other information are collected from various
published and unpublished source like journal, reports, books, article, internet etc.
2. CITIZENSHIP AMENDMENT ACT, 2019
The citizenship amendment act, 2019 was passed by the parliament of India on 11dec, 2019.
(www.prsindia.org Dec, 2019). It has amended the citizenship amendment act, 1955 by
providing a path to Indian citizenship for illegal migrants of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi
and Christian religious minorities, who had fled persecution from Pakistan, Bangladesh and
Afghanistan before 2014. (Citizenship amendment Bill: India’s new anti-muslim law
explained, www.bbbc.com.news.in.)The act was the first time religion had been overtly used
as a criterion for citizenship under Indian law. (Slater, Joanna, ‘Why protest are erupting over
India’s new Citizenship law’ the Washington post 18Dec, 2019). According to Intelligence
Bureau record, the immediate beneficiaries of the amended act will be 31,313 people. Which
include 25,447 Hindus, 5,807 Sikhs, 55 Christians, 2 Buddhists and 2 Paris. (Intelligence
Bureau to tap RAW to verify Citizenship claims www.thetelegraph.com9, January,2019). The
bill has exempted the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura from its applicability. It
also exempted the areas which are regulated through the Inner line permit including
Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland. (The citizenship amendment bill, 2019 sunnary,
prs legislative research)
The inclusion of inner line permits laws also announced on 9th Dec, 2019. (Jain
Bharati:2019)
Since after the announcement of the bill 19th July, 2016 a movement started in Assam
against the Citizenship (Amendment) bill 2016, particularly in the Brahmaputra valley for
demanding immediate withdrawal of the bill considering the interest of the indigenous people
of the state. (Hatiboruah Diganta:2020:1). Except Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), all other
political parties and students, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations
strongly express their dissatisfaction over the bill and are of the view that this bill will make
Assamese people into a minority. (Hatiboruah Diganta: 2020). The All Assam Student Union
(AASU) and 29 other allied indigenous community organization express their bit of
dissatisfaction on it and opine that the main issue of the Assam accord will snap away by this
notion of the government. The Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), a present
organization and Assam Jatiyadabadi Yuba Chhatra Parishad and other 68 organizations of
different fields also opposed the bill and warn the government not to do such kind of activities
considering the interest of the Assamese nation. To review the whole situation, a joint
parliamentary committee (JPC) was formed under the chairmanship of Mr. Rajendra Agarwal.
http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 1714 editor@iaeme.comBonti Hazarika
The committee has visited Assam on 7th to 9th may 2018 and recorded hearing of the parties.
JAP tabled the Bill in Lok Sabha on January 7 2019, after a few minor changes. Very next
day of the report submitted by the JPC, the amendment bill was staged by the Home Minsister
Rajnath Singh. It was pending for consideration and passing by the Rajya Sabha. Consequent
to dissolution of 16th Lok Sabha this bill has lapsed. www.theindianexpress.in 2019). After
the formation of 17th Lok Sabha, the union cabinet declared the Citizenship Amendment Bill,
2019 on 4th Dec 2019 for introduction in the parliament. (PRS Legistaltive Research)
Accordingly the Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha by the minister of Home Affairs Amit
Shah on 9th Dec and was passed on 10th Dec, 2019www.hindustimes.in 2019 with 311 MPs
voting in favor and 80 against the bill. www.indiantoday.in 2019 . Consequently, the bill was
passed by the Rajya Sabha on 11 Dec, 2019 with 125 votes in favour and 105 votes against it
(Nath, Damini et all: 2019). Accordingly on 12th Dec, 2019 the President has given his assent
and the bill assumed the status of an act. (Ministry of Home affairs : 2020) From that onwards
the political situations of Assam and other states of North-East became unstable. The
organizations of the states called Bandh, road and the rail block programmes, organized
picketing and demonstration in public place, gheraowed residence of public representatives
and government offices including the secretariat of Assam government etc.
The passages of the act have been triggered different types of protest and criticism.
Violent protests erupted in Assam, where the protesters maintained that the new provisions of
this act prior agreement such as the Assam accord and that they would be a cause of loss of
political rights and culture. The Indian-Japan summit in Guwahati which was supposed to be
attended by Shinzo abe was cancelled. Broadly speaking there were for kinds of protests
against the CAA: the formal protest led by the political parties inside the parliament , the
protests led by the civil society groups such as we the people especially in Assam and mass
protests by Muslims in different parts of the country. (Ahmed Hilal: 2020)
3. GOVERNMENT RESPONSE
In Assam students of Cotton University began protesting against the CAA a few days before
the controversial bill was produced on the floor of parliament. On 29th Nov, 2019 students
staged a silent protest outsides the university campus. Other college also participated in the
protest rallies. After the bill was cleared on 4th Dec, 2014 violent protest erupted in Assam,
especially in Guwahati and other states of NE. Reuters reported that at least two people were
killed till 16th Dec, 2019. Buildings and railway stations were on set on fire. Thousands of
members and workers of the AASU and 30 other indigenous organization, artists, cultural
activists of the state gathered at Latasil ground in Dispur to stage a Satyagraha with slogan No
CAA against the Act on 16th 17th and 18th Dec, 2019. (Midha Tania: 2019) Assam police
subsequently detained the general secretary and the adviser to the AASU and over 2,000
protesters in Guwahati during a protest rally on 18th Dec. (Singh, Bikash:2019). On 20 Dec,
Assamese language newspaper reported violent incidents occurring during the protest across
the state. Use of excessive force but the police was also reported. Peasant leader Akhil Gogoi
was arrested in Jorhat on 12 Dec, as a preventive measure by the authorities to prevent him
from organizing any protests. (AHRC report www.telegraph.in 2019)Access to the internet
was restricted in Assam by the administrative authorities. (www.indiantoday.in 2019) A
curfew was also declared in Assam due to protest leading to army deployment as protesters
defied in curfews. After ten days of restriction mobile internet services in the state were
restored from 20th Dec. Thus the passage of act has sparked massive protests in Assam and
others states In North-east and the govt response towards the protesters is seen as like as
autocrats, as they don’t value the public opinion.
http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 1715 editor@iaeme.comCitizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019 and Issue of Migration in Assam
4. CITIZENSHIP AMENDMENT ACT (CAA), 2019 AND ISSUES OF
MIGRATION IN ASSAM
The act has tremendous political implications. Different political parties and organizations
accused that the BJP has taken this bill as the trump card for winning the forthcoming
election. The Trinamol Congress Party said that through up gradation of National Register of
Citizens (NRC) in Assam, the BJP established itself as an anti-Bengali party and therefore
only to win the heart of the Bengali people the BJP govt introduced this bill. (Asomiya
Pratidin:2020) Migration to Assam and providing citizenship to migrated people through
naturalization is not new. During the time of British rule, hue number of people migrated
from peasant Bangladesh to Assam and they are recognized as citizen of India. Apart from
that, in different time, other some groups also migrated to Assam and now they identify
themselves as a indigenous people. To understand this scenario we need to go back to history
to know the migration issue in Assam. But the thinking of the Assamese people is not in the
line of Mamata Banarjee or other political parties of the state. This sentiment has related to
the identity of Assamese people and their culture. There are serious concerns from historical
point of view for which the Assam or NE is burning.
Migration from Bangladesh to Assam still continues and both centre and state
governments failed to stop this migration wave. It is evident from declining Hindu
population trend in Bangladesh, in 1901, total population of Hindu was 28% whereas
in 1961 it was 18.5 % in 1974 it was 13.5 and at present only 8.5 % (Census report of
Assam)
The people of Assam feel that due to unceasing immigration from Bangladesh the
rights of indigenous people are encroached upon in their own soil. They fear dominant
role of migrant population in crucial socio-economic and political matters.
The rights of the people over their land would gradually shift to the migrants. From
the experience of the past it has been observed that the immigrant’s intellectual class
of Hindu Bengali who migrated during British rule occupied the bureaucratic chairs of
the government.
The social structure of the state would change with the change in demographic factors.
It will be a big challenge in the field preservation of Assamese culture. As the act have
not provide any guarantee whether the migration from Bangladesh will stop for ever or
it will be the last opportunity to the people of Indian origin to come to their mother
land.
The Assamese people feel that if the migrated Hindu Bangladeshis are given
citizenship in the state, the state of Assam will bear the responsibly or another burden
of migrants people once again. The act has provided additional opportunity to the
migrant community to establish their domination in the field of political and economic
sectors.
There is no any official register in the hands of the govt to show migration to India up
to 31st Dec, 2014. Hence, anybody who migrated during 2018 or 2019 may apply for
citizenship and it will be compulsory for the authority will have option them to allow
everyone to register their names as citizen.
The government is in view that people who are suffering in religious persecution in
neighboring states of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan (www.thehindu.com
2019)and have taken shelter in the country will be provided citizenship. But, on what
basis it will determine that all people have migrated due to religious persecution in
those countries. Because there are no valid or believable documents to support the
claim.
http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 1716 editor@iaeme.comBonti Hazarika
Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the time of election rally in 2014 declared that
all foreigners need to go back to Bangladesh if BJP come to power. This declaration
becomes quite opposite in the Bills. If the declaration of the head of the government
becomes a prank the people of Assam feel betrayed. Whom should they turn up to
redress their grievance?
5. CONCLUSION
It can be conclude that the initiatives of the government of India in general and Assam in
particular toward the protection of the people of Assam and their culture are not satisfactory
as there are no any place of the bill regarding the protection of the rights of the people of
indigenous origin. With changing circumstances, the intensities of the protest movement has
decline and steadily the people have shown lackadaisical attitude toward the movement and
after that due to outbreak of covid-19 epidemic the movement has came down indefinitely.
Lastly it can be concluded that to overcome the problem of illegal migration of Assam and
CAA, introduction of work permit to be identified illegal migrants temporarily need to be
done urgently. They should be denied from political rights in the state so that they cannot
hamper the interest of the indigenous and other ethnic communities of the state.
Simultaneously, the inclusion of the two types of Indian citizen i.e. origin Indian citizen and
new Indian citizen is very much essential to solve the problem. Considering the present
political environment of the state and reaction of civil society these two processes should be
done urgently for the greater interest of nation, otherwise conflict and contradiction will
remain same.
REFERENCES
[1] Ahmed Hilal, ‘Making sense of India’s Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 Published by
Centre for Asian Studies june,2020.
[2] AHRC takes note of Akhil Torture www.thetelegraph.in 20t Dec, 2019.
[3] Asomiya pratidin, January 8, 2019.
[4] Census report of Assam’ www.censusindia.gov.in
[5] Citizenship amendment Bill: India’s new anti-Muslim law explained,
www.bbbc.com.news.in11th Dec, 2019
[6] Citizenship Bill gets Lok Sabha nod, Rajya Sabha test next, www.hindustantimes.in 9 Dec,
2019.
[7] Citizenship Bill has smooth sail in Lok Sabha, will amit Shah clear Rajya Sabha test
www.indiantoday.in 10Dec, 2019.
[8] Explained: Why the Citizenship Amendment Bill is dead, for now, www.theindianexpress.in
14 Feb, 2019.
[9] Hatiboruah Diganta “Illegal migration to Assam and Citizenship Amendement Bill; Debates
in perspectives’ Published by nation Press, 2020
[10] Intelligence Bureau to tap RAW to verify Citizenship claims www.thetelegraph.com9,
January,2019
[11] Jain Bharati ‘Bringing IPL for Manipur, 3 NE Statea will be curved out CAB’
www.timesofindia.in 10Dec, 2019.
[12] Midha, Tania ‘Citizenship Act: Govt changes critreria qualifying person as a citizen of India’
www.indiatoday.in 22Dec, 2019.
[13] Ministry of Home Affairs notification S.O. 172 (E) The Gazette of India, 10 Jan 2020.
http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 1717 editor@iaeme.comCitizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019 and Issue of Migration in Assam
[14] Nath, Damini et al, ‘After a heated debate, Rajya Sabha clears Citizenship Amendment Bill’
www.thehindu.com 11 Dec,2019.
[15] Singh, Bikash, Citizenship Amendment Bill2019: Why is Assam Protesting’
www.economictimes.in
[16] Slater, Joanna, ‘Why protest are erupting over India’s new Citizenship law’ the Washington
post 18Dec, 2019.
[17] The Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019. Highlight, Issues and Summary, PRS Legislative
Research, 9Dec, 2019.
[18] The citizenship amendment bill, 2019 sunnary, prs legislative research.
[19] www.indiatoday.in 21Dec,2019
[20] www.thehindu.com 10 Dec, 2019.
[21] www.prsindia.org Dec, 2019
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