Assam Accords

Assam Accords

#GS-02 Citizenship 

For Prelims and Mains:

Assam Accords:

  • The Assam Accord was signed in 1985 by the Centre and the Assam government with the All Assam Student Union (AASU) and the All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad.
  • This accord was reached to end the conflict in the state due to 1979-85 Assam Movement against migration from Bangladesh.

Key Features of the Accord:

  • All those foreigners who had entered Assam between 1951 and 1961 were to be given full citizenship, including the right to vote.
  • Those who entered between 1961 and March 24, 1971 were to be denied voting rights for ten years but would enjoy all other rights of citizenship.
  • The foreigners who entered the country after March 24, 1971 were to be deported.
  • A parallel package for the economic development of Assam, including a second oil refinery, a paper mill and an institute of technology, was also worked out.
  • Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, promises “constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people

National Register of Citizens (NRC)

  • National Register of Citizens, 1951 is a register prepared after the conduct of the Census of 1951 in respect of each village, showing the houses or holdings in a serial order and indicating against each house or holding the number and names of persons staying therein.
  • The NRC was published only once, in 1951.
  • Assam is the only state where an NRC was compiled under the supervision of the apex court.

NRC and Assam Accords:

  • The NRC of 1951 and the Electoral Roll of 1971 (up to midnight of 24 March 1971) are together called Legacy Data.
  • Legacy Data is the primary set of documents admissible to prove the claim of citizenship for inclusion in NRC updated for the state of Assam.
  • The Legacy Data is available online at the NRC Assam web-site www.nrcassam.nic.in.

Source “Assam Accord: Citizenship case listed for Jan. 10