The BJP-led Assam government's latest order to drop cases against those who have illegally migrated to the state, except Muslims, amid Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s eviction drive disproportionately targeting Muslims, constitutes not only a breach of his constitutional oath due to its openly discriminatory bias but also a violation of the 1985 Assam Accord, which mandates equal treatment of all undocumented migrants regardless of religion.
On July 17, the state’s home and political department held a meeting following instructions from the chief minister, directing district commissioners and members of the foreigners’ tribunals to drop all cases against Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, and Parsi individuals who entered the state on or before December 31, 2014, Scroll reported.
This move followed the Centre's notification of rules under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in March 2024, which fast-tracks Indian citizenship for refugees from six religious minority communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, explicitly excluding Muslims.
Foreigners' tribunals in Assam adjudicate on matters of citizenship based on documentation showing a family’s presence in India before March 24, 1971, the cut-off date laid down in the Assam Accord. The tribunals, working alongside the border police, have historically drawn criticism for arbitrary rulings and for declaring people as foreigners over minor inconsistencies or documentation gaps. Of the 1.6 lakh persons declared foreigners so far, more than 69,500 are Hindus, many of whom now fall under the protective ambit of the CAA.
The state’s latest directive mandates district-level review meetings with tribunal members to ensure that such cases are withdrawn and asks officials to encourage the six communities to apply for Indian citizenship under the amended law. It also reiterates a prior government order for the immediate withdrawal of all cases involving members of the Gorkha and Koch-Rajbongshi communities.
This move follows the government’s July 2024 instruction to the border police to stop forwarding cases of non-Muslims who had entered India illegally before 2014, asking instead that they be advised to apply for citizenship via the CAA portal. While Sarma had previously stated that existing cases would not be dropped, this new order contradicts that assertion and formalises immunity from legal scrutiny for non-Muslim undocumented immigrants.
The CAA has been widely criticised for violating the secular ethos of the Indian Constitution, which mandates equal treatment irrespective of religion. Selectively providing a path to citizenship only for non-Muslims and exempting them from prosecution under the Foreigners Act, while continuing action against Muslims, institutionalises religious discrimination and breaches the constitutional commitment to equality before the law.
Furthermore, the Assam Accord, signed in 1985 following a six-year agitation to identify and deport all illegal immigrants regardless of religion, clearly set March 24, 1971, as the cut-off date for citizenship in Assam. The government’s decision to grant exemptions to migrants who entered as late as 2014 directly undermines this consensus and threatens to undo the very foundation of the Accord.
Although the National Register of Citizens published in 2019 excluded more than 19 lakh people, including five lakh Bengali Hindus and seven lakh Muslims, the government has sought to reassure Hindus through the CAA.