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What has happened?
In February 2020, the Union Home
Ministry had appointed a ‘high-level-committee’ (headed by retired Justice
Biplab Sarma) to submit its recommendations of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord. The
panel had submitted its report to the Assam state government in the same month.
On 11 August 2020, a few members
of the panel – Arunachal Pradesh Advocate General Nilay Dutta and three members
of All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) - independently released the confidential the report, amidst complaints that the government was not taking any actions on the
report.
Assam Accord and Clause 6
To give you some context, Assam
Accord is a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Indian government
and Assamese nationalist groups after the Assam Movement in the year 1985.
According to Clause 6 of Assam
Accord, “Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards, as
maybe appropriate, shall be provided to protect, preserve and promote the
cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people.”
Furthermore, as per the Assam
Accord, those who came to Assam on or before 24 March 1971 are classified as
Indian citizens.
Recommendations of the Committee
However, as per the
recommendations from the committee, ‘Assamese people’ have been defined as
those who have been residing in Assam on or before 01 January 1951.
The safeguards which have been
recommended for the people qualify under the mentioned cut off date include
80-100% reservation in parliamentary and assembly seats, jobs in central
government posts, jobs in Assam state governments and private partnerships, and
exclusive land rights.
Implications
The cut-off date of 01 January
1951 would create a peculiar situation for its citizens. If the recommendations
concerning Clause 6 are implemented, those who came to Assam between 1951 and
1971 would be stuck in a limbo – Indian citizens but not ‘Assamese’.
Furthermore, in order to ascertain
who came to Assam in or before 1951, the state authorities would be required to
undertake an exercise similar to NRC, which would involve substantial financial
costs, paperwork verifications, and misery for the common people.
In case the state government does
not decide to undertake another round of verification, it would need to rely on
historical data, which is more than likely to present a distorted picture.
Written by - Snehil Kesarwani
Edited by - Chhavi Gupta
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