Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya on Monday said that 467 of the 1.7 lakh declared “illegal” foreigners have been repatriated to their respective countries from the state to date, PTI reported.
At the state’s official Republic Day celebrations in Guwahati, Acharya said that the government had referred close to 4.35 lakh cases of suspected nationality to the foreigners tribunals till October 31 last year since their inception.
Of these, over 3.5 lakh cases had been disposed of, the governor said, adding that this has resulted in nearly 1.7 lakh persons being declared as undocumented immigrants from the specified territory.
The foreigners tribunals in Assam are quasi-judicial bodies that adjudicate on matters of citizenship based on lineage and a 1971 cut-off date. They rely primarily on documents submitted by persons to establish their family’s residency in Assam or India before 1971.
Those declared foreigners by the tribunals have the option to appeal the decision before the Gauhati High Court or the Supreme Court. Additionally, as the formal process entails undocumented migrants being handed over to the authorities of the other country after verifying their citizenship, a large number of individuals have not been deported despite being declared foreigners.
Foreigners’ tribunals have been accused of arbitrariness and bias, and declaring persons foreigners on the basis of minor spelling mistakes, a lack of documents or lapses in memory.
On Monday, the governor said that 14 border outposts and 14 patrol posts were operational as of date in coordination with the Border Security Force and local police, along the India-Bangladesh border in Assam’s Cachar, Sribhumi, Dhubri and South Salmara districts, PTI reported.
“This security arrangement has strengthened Assam's second line of defence against illegal infiltration and trans-border crimes,” the news agency quoted Acharya as saying.
Since the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, the police in several states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party have been detaining Bengali-speaking persons – mostly Muslims – and asked them to prove that they are Indian citizens.
Several persons have been forced into Bangladesh after they allegedly could not prove their Indian citizenship. In some cases, persons who were mistakenly sent to Bangladesh returned to the country after state authorities in India proved that they were Indians.
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