Invisible Migration in India’s North-eastern Region
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12724/ajss.59.3Keywords:
Assam, Bangladesh, illegal migration, national register of citizens, North-east region, Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019Abstract
If Bangladesh continues to deny illegal migration taking place from its territory to the north-eastern region of India, in the similar vein, India is unable to provide evidence of any Bangladeshi nationals staying illegally in its territory as sought by the former. However, the successive Indian governments and major political parties have consistently promised to detect foreign nationals who are believed to be staying illegally in different parts of the country. India also continues to refrain from discussing the matter with Bangladesh. But, the concerns of ethnic communities in the north-eastern region of the country of being increasingly outnumbered by the non-indigenous population in their land have led to the rise of organised resistance movements. As a result, several agreements have been concluded in which the central government promised to take measures to detect foreign nationals from the region. Meanwhile, the recently updated citizens’ register of Assam and the amended citizenship law of the country have rather upset the region’s ethnic communities. They are worried and helpless at the same time. This essay intends to discuss these issues in detail.
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