Committee Appointed By Union Home Ministry Suggests 1951 As The Cut-Off Year For Defining Indigenous People Of Assam

Union Ministry of Home Affairs-appointed committee on Monday (17 February) made a major recommendation to consider the year 1951 as the cut-off to define the indigenous people of Assam and for introduction of the Inner Line Permit (ILP), reported Livemint.

The committee had been appointed by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to help it institute constitutional safeguards for the indigenous people of Assam. The committee had 13 members in its capacity and was headed by retired judge Justice Biplab Kumar.

The committee has unanimously suggested that 1951 should be the year used to define indigenous residents of Assam and their descendants as indigenous, irrespective of community, caste, language, religion, or heritage.

It has also suggested the implementation of ILP in Assam as in states of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Nagaland as it would help contain the movement of outsiders in the state and require them to take permission from concerned authorities before entering areas where ILP is implemented.