This story is from February 18, 2020

NEW DELHI: A home ministry-appointed committee is learnt to have proposed 1951 as the cutoff year for determining indigenous people of Assam while also recommending introduction of Inner Line Permit (ILP) to control the influx of outsiders into the state.

The committee — set up to suggest ways to implement Clause 6 of the Assam Accord that envisages constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards to protect, preserve and promote cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people — has in its report, likely to be submitted to home minister Amit Shah soon, also suggested reservation of 67% of seats in state assembly for indigenous people.

The recommendations, if accepted, may help soothe frayed nerves in Assam over Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which the local population sees as contrary to provisions of Assam Accord.

The committee is believed to have unanimously recommended that those who were residents of Assam in 1951 and their descendants, irrespective of community, caste, language, religion or heritage, shall be considered as indigenous people of the state.

Besides, the panel suggested that the ILP should be introduced in Assam so that movement of people from outside the state could be controlled. As per the rules, outsiders have to take permission from designated authorities before entering the areas where the ILP is applicable.

In case of reservation of seats in the Assam assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, all members, except three, have suggested that 67% seats should be reserved for the indigenous people. The remaining three members suggested that the reservation in legislative bodies should be 100%.

“We have mentioned that there is no dissenting note but there are two suggestions for the reservation of assembly and Lok Sabha seats,” a PTI report quoted a source as saying.

In addition to the 67% reservation for the indigenous people, 16% will also be reserved for the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe communities. “So, effectively, the reservation will go up to 80% if it is accepted,” the source said as per a PTI report. In case of state government jobs, the committee recommended 80% reservation for the locals.

