Clause 6 of the Assam Accord

What is the issue?

Union Cabinet has cleared a proposal to set up a high-level committee to look into the implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord of 1985.
It is imperative to understand the significance of Clause 6, especially in the context of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) for Assam and the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016.

What is Clause 6 of the Assam Accord?

Purpose - Assam Accord came at the culmination of a movement against immigration from Bangladesh.
For recognition as citizens, the Accord sets March 24, 1971 as the cutoff date.
It was proposed that the immigrants up to the cutoff date would get all rights as Indian citizens.
So, Clause 6 was inserted to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the “Assamese people”.
It seeks to offer constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards to the Assamese people.

"Assamese people" - As agreed by most stakeholders, the NRC of 1951 was the basis for defining “Assamese people”.
The current NRC update is based on March 24, 1971, which defines citizenship.
On the other hand, Clause 6 relates to “Assamese people”.
If 1951 is accepted as the cutoff, it would imply that those who migrated between 1951 and 1971 would be Indian citizens.
However, they would not be eligible for safeguards meant for “Assamese people”.

How has the implementation been?

AASU (All Assam Students Union) and the Assam government had submitted a number of proposals in furtherance of Clause 6.
Although some steps have been taken in this regard, the clause remains to be implemented fully.
The Assam government website, however, describes a number of steps as part of the implementation of Clause 6.
These include cultural centres and film studios, and financial assistance to historical monuments and xatras (Vaishnavite monasteries).
In 1998, the Home Ministry set up the sub-committee under G K Pillai.
In 2006, the state government set up a committee to help define “Assamese”.
In 2011, it constituted a Cabinet sub-committee to deal with Clause 6.

What are the demands?

Former CM Prafulla Mahanta was one of the signatories to the 1985 Accord as the then AASU President.
Mahanta views “safeguards” as reservation of electoral seats, and land and political rights.
There are also demands that it should include rights over natural resources and protection of culture of the indigenous people.
It is also demanded that one needed to be a citizen in or prior to 1951 to purchase land, and similar laws for jobs too are called for.
E.g. Arunachal Pradesh entrusts rights over natural resources on the basis of ethnic community
Likewise, Manipur passed a Bill, last year, to define “Manipuri people” with 1951 as cutoff.

What will the proposed committee do?

The committee would examine the effectiveness of actions since 1985 to implement Clause 6.
It would hold discussions and assess the quantum of reservation of seats in the Assembly and local bodies for Assamese people.
It will also assess the steps required to protect Assamese and other indigenous languages of Assam.
Besides, the committee will also look into the issue of reservation in state government jobs and other measures.

What are the challenges?

The AASU has described it as an effort to mislead people before pushing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016.
The Bill proposes to grant citizenship to non-Muslim immigrants from 3 countries including Bangladesh.
This has divided residents of Brahmaputra Valley (mostly anti-Bill) and Barak Valley (pro-Bill).
The government and the committee should thus take into account these concerns too while deciding on the safeguards.

Source: The Indian Express