47,928 illegal immigrants detected in state between 1971 and 2014: Assam govt

The Assam government said on Thursday that between 1971 and 2014, a total of 47,928 individuals were declared illegal immigrants in the state. This group includes 20,613 Hindus, 27,309 Muslims, and six people of other religions.

The data was provided by Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, who also holds the home affairs portfolio, in response to a query by AGP MLA Ponakan Baruah in the state assembly.

According to the data, among the 20,613 Hindus identified as illegal immigrants by the Foreigners’ Tribunals, the majority are from Cachar district (8,139), followed by Guwahati city (2,884), Lakhimpur district (1,574), and Dibrugarh district (1,038).

Among the 27,309 Muslims flagged as illegal immigrants, 4182 are from Jorhat district, 3,897 from Guwahati city, 2,829 from Dibrugarh district, 2,100 from Hojai district, 2,096 from Sivasagar district, 2,083 from Nagaon district, 2,013 from Cachar district, 1,710 from Lakhimpur district, and 1,172 from Morigaon district.

Under the Assam Accord, the cut-off date for detecting and deporting illegal migrants is set as midnight on March 24, 1971.

In response to concerns about the increasing number of non-Assamese speakers and its impact on indigenous communities, Sarma assured that the administration is actively monitoring the situation.

Citing the 2011 census, Sarma said, “The Assamese-speaking people accounted for 48.38 per cent of the state’s total population of 3.12 crore and the Bengali-speaking people accounted for 28.92 per cent of the total population.”