Assam Grants Citizenship to Two Applicants Under CAA, 18 Cases Under Review

Guwahati, March 10, 2025: The Assam government has granted citizenship to two applicants under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), while 18 other applications are still under review, according to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary. He made the statement in the 126-member Assam Assembly, standing in for Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who oversees the Home Department.

The CAA, enacted in 2019 and implemented in 2024, provides a fast-track citizenship process for non-Muslim migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.

39 Applications Received Under CAA in Assam

According to data from the Directorate of Census Operations, Assam received 39 applications under the CAA provisions.

• 2 applicants have been granted Indian citizenship.
• 18 applications are currently under examination.
• 19 applications were closed, but the applicants have the option to reapply.

The information was provided in response to a question by Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha, MLA from Karimganj North constituency.

Illegal Entry of Bangladeshi Nationals on the Rise

The Assam government also reported that 156 Bangladeshi nationals were caught illegally entering Assam between 2021 and 2024. The yearly breakdown is as follows:

• 2021: 51 illegal entrants
• 2022: 57 illegal entrants
• 2023: 22 illegal entrants
• 2024: 26 illegal entrants

Authorities believe that the political instability in Bangladesh may have contributed to the fluctuating numbers.

Opposition to CAA in Assam

The CAA has faced significant opposition in Assam, with critics arguing that it contradicts the National Register of Citizens (NRC), which was updated with March 24, 1971, as the cut-off date for identifying illegal migrants under the Assam Accord of 1985.

The NRC, first prepared in 1951 and updated under Supreme Court supervision, published its final draft in August 2019, leaving out 19.06 lakh applicants out of 3.3 crore. Opponents of CAA argue that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is using it to grant citizenship primarily to Bengali Hindus from Bangladesh, undermining the purpose of NRC.

Government’s Next Steps

The Assam government is expected to continue processing pending CAA applications while monitoring illegal cross-border movement. The debate around the law remains intense, with political and social organizations closely watching its impact on Assam’s demographic and political landscape.