MHA committee moots 1951 as cut-off year for Assam ILP  

The committee appointed by the Home Ministry, to examine ways of safeguarding Assam's indigenous people in the wake of the Citizenship Amendment Act, has proposed 1951 as the cut-off year for implementing the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in the state.

According to sources, the committee is set to submit its report in the near future.

The ILP is a mechanism to control the entry of outsiders into the state, has been implemented in the states of Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. It was also introduced in Manipur in the wake of protests over the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act that was introduced recently.

According to sources, the high-level committee has recommended that those residing in Assam since 1951, and their descendants, are to be considered as the indigenous people of the state.

The Home Ministry had constituted the high-level committee, in July 2019, to device ways to provide constitutional protection or the indigenous people of Assam's, under the provisions of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord of 1985.

According to ministry sources, apart from 67 per cent reservation for indigenous people of the state, the 13-member committee has also suggested reservation in terms of legislative and Lok Sabha seats for them.
-IANS