Guwahati: The demand for a constitutional safeguard for the indigenous people in Assam has gained steam amid protests against Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, that seeks to offer citizenship to "persecuted minority" migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Organisations, representing the indigenous communities, stress implementation of Clause VI of the 1985 Assam Accord that calls for constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards for Assamese people.
According to them, the indigenous people will face an identity crisis as a large number of non-indigenous people will be included in the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The draft of the NRC will be published on June 30 with March 24, 1971, as the cut-off date. This means a large number of people who had migrated to Assam from other countries or states between 1951 and March 24, 1971 will become citizens.
A total of 3.29 crore people have applied for inclusion of their names in the NRC.
The Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) demands that special safeguards be given to Assam to reserve land rights and contest elections for the indigenous people.
"When the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) asked us whether the KMSS will allow the bill to be passed for the rest of the country if Assam is exempted from its purview, we told them in that case the Centre must reserve rights over land and political rights for Assam like Jammu and Kashmir, Nagaland and a few other states. Otherwise, those gaining citizenship in other parts of India will come to Assam and settle again as the Constitution allows all citizens to move freely and settle anywhere in the country," KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi said.
Clause VI of the Accord has not yet been implemented as there is no consensus on who is an "Assamese".
The Prabajan Virodhi Manch suggests that the Assembly should pass a legislation by inserting a condition that only those who/whose forefathers were citizens/residents of Assam state in 1951, will have rights over land, government job and trade licence.
Sahitya Akademi awardee Hare Krishan Deka said such safeguards should not be applicable for "pre-1971 non-indigenous" people.
