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Growing urgency on Assam’s border as Assam Invokes the 75-Year-immigrants (expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950

In recent weeks, long queues of men, women, and children have been observed leaving villages and border areas in Assam near the West Bengal-Bangladesh frontier, following warnings from the state administration. The government of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has made it clear that individuals previously declared as foreigners under tribunal orders are being given ultimatums to vacate. On 19 November 2025, the DC of Sonitpur district ordered five persons—four women and one man—declared “foreigners” by a tribunal to “remove yourself from the territory of Assam, India, within 24 hours” under the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950.

Although the law was passed in 1950, it had lain dormant until this revival. Assam officials now say the state cabinet approved a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in September 2025 to operationalise the Act.

Across Assam’s vulnerable 1,885-km border with Bangladesh and West Bengal, reports indicate the state has effected dozens of push-backs and expulsions of suspected “infiltrators”. Assam’s home minister has said that since 2024, more than 450 suspected Bangladeshi infiltrators have been pushed back.

Against this backdrop of palpable urgency, the government of Assam is recasting the migration issue not just as one of law enforcement but as one of existential demographic change, national security, and electoral integrity.

National security, demographic shifts & electoral stakes

The Assam government’s official narrative emphasises three interlinked concerns: infiltration from Bangladesh, demographic alteration in border districts, and the integrity of electoral rolls.

Security dimension:
Scholars and policy analysts warn that the porous India-Bangladesh border has long been exploited for unauthorised migration, trafficking, and even sleeper networks. A 2016 Carnegie Endowment paper described the issue as “adversely impacting the interests of local populations in the areas seeing large-scale influxes of illegal immigrants as well as India’s national security interests”. Another recent think-tank commentary warns of “illegal Bangladeshi/Rohingya immigration” as a “serious internal-security threat”, citing concerns around identity fakes, radicalisation and territorial disorder.

Demographic shifts and local politics:
In Assam, tribal and indigenous Assamese groups perceive migration from Bangladesh (and via West Bengal) as altering local cultures, resources and political power. One academic review noted that “India views Bangladesh through a trio of security concerns — illegal migration, cross-border terrorism, and territorial disputes along the 4,100 km border.” In states such as Tripura, political parties regularly plead for “stringent roll-checks” to block undocumented migrants from altering voter lists.

Electoral implications:
In Assam’s context, border-district constituencies frequently see tight electoral margins and fragmented multi-party contests, meaning even modest additions of voters may alter outcomes. Some analysts chart a scenario where undocumented residents become a “swing vote bank” — by being quietly enrolled and then mobilised in local elections, thereby shifting vote shares in eastern and northeastern states.

Taken together, Assam’s push now reflects more than regional housekeeping: it is being portrayed as a test case for India’s larger struggle with undocumented migration, electoral legitimacy and demographic security.

The Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950: origins, provisions & revival

Origins and legal text:
The Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, was passed on 1 March 1950 in the early years of Indian independence, amidst large-scale migration from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) into Assam. The Act authorised the central government — and officers delegated by it or by the state of Assam — to issue removal orders to any person who (i) had come into Assam from outside India, and (ii) whose presence was deemed “detrimental to the interests of the general public of India or any section thereof or of any Scheduled Tribe in Assam”.

However, the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, explicitly excluded persons who came “on account of civil disturbances or the fear of such disturbances” from then East Pakistan.

Historically, the law was rarely used — one historian notes that when the Act was finalised, large numbers of Muslims fled from Lower Assam to East Pakistan, and that the early use of the Act drew sharp criticism from then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who asked the Assam government to halt all actions under it.

Provisions and legal mechanisms:
Under the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act (as revived), the state delegate (e.g., the District Commissioner) may:

• Give a suspect notice (as per the SOP) to prove their citizenship within a specified time, often 10 days.
• If evidence is not satisfactory, issue an expulsion order directing the person to remove themselves from Assam (or India) within a specified period via a specified route.
• Bypass the usual tribunal process for certain cases of suspected illegal entry where the DC considers urgent action is required.

Why now, politically and socially?

• The Assam government estimates tens of thousands of cases are pending before the state’s Foreigners’ Tribunals — delayed, cumbersome, and legally contested. In September 2025, the cabinet said there were around 82,000 cases pending.
• Chief Minister Sarma has repeatedly emphasised that the tribunal route is “long-drawn” and the Act brings a more expedited administrative route.
• Politically, the BJP-led state government is making immigration enforcement a marquee issue ahead of the 2026 assembly polls, aligning border security with voter-identity legitimacy and indigenous interests.
• Socially, indigenous Assamese constituencies and several tribal groups have been vocal for years about the perception of resource competition, land encroachment and demographic change resulting from migration from Bangladesh and Bengal.

Official statements:
In a press note after the SOP approval, CM Sarma said the state was now “empowered” to respond immediately to suspected illegal migrants and that the process would accelerate expulsion while upholding constitutionality. District orders such as the one in Sonitpur explicitly state that the persons’ “presence… is detrimental to the interest of the general public and also for the internal security of the state.”

Public reaction and legal concerns:

• Some questionable human rights organisations, especially with foreign vested interests, are raising concerns about due process, the possibility of Indian citizens being wrongly labelled “foreigners”, and the humanitarian consequences of expulsion without full tribunal adjudication.
• Political opposition in Assam and neighbouring West Bengal warn of communal targeting and ethnic profiling — Bengali-speaking Muslims in particular feel vulnerable to sweeping administrative decisions.
• In Bengal, state leaders have called for caution and argued that the focus must be on documentation verification rather than blanket expulsions.
• Indigenous organisations in Assam broadly support the move, viewing it as overdue enforcement of immigration laws and protection of local identity, though some caution that “foreigners” lists must be carefully managed to avoid injustice.

Implications for other states & New Delhi’s posture

Spillover effect beyond Assam:
While Assam is the most visible case, other eastern and northeastern states such as Tripura, West Bengal, Meghalaya and even the national capital Delhi have raised alarms about undocumented migrants, possible impacts on voter rolls, and demographic balance. For example, a Tripura MLA recently wrote to the Union Home Minister seeking a special panel to identify Bangladeshi nationals occupying forest lands and possessing Indian identity documents.

If Assam’s model Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act becomes a blueprint, other states may seek to activate similar administrative expulsion mechanisms — causing a ripple effect in border-states and perhaps even prompting a national policy recalibration.

New Delhi and border management:
The central government (via the Ministry of Home Affairs) faces the twin challenge of upholding India’s sovereignty over its borders and respecting constitutional protections of citizens. While the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act remains legally valid and has been upheld, questions remain about the capacity and cooperation required: verifying citizenship, coordinating with Bangladesh on repatriation, avoiding wrongful expulsions, and managing humanitarian fallout. The Assam government itself has acknowledged that in some cases “diplomatic handover” may be bypassed — raising legal, diplomatic and humanitarian questions.

Future of undocumented migrants and electoral integrity:
If expulsion efforts pick up pace, undocumented migrants may face greater mobility constraints, exclusion from schemes, removal of names from voter rolls, and increased scrutiny of identity documents. Election oversight bodies such as the Election Commission of India may face pressure for tighter roll-revision in states adjacent to Bangladesh. The Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura has already urged the ECI for “stringent roll-checks” to prevent suspected illegal migrants from being counted as voters.

From the electoral strategy lens, this matters because in assembly and Lok Sabha contests with tight margins, even small shifts in voter composition – additions or removals of thousands of names – could tilt outcomes in border-district seats.

Conclusion: Effectiveness, humanitarian challenge and India’s future

The Assam government’s invocation of the 75-year-old Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, marks a dramatic escalation in the enforcement of immigration laws in India’s borderlands. It is, on one hand, a bold assertion of sovereignty, border-control and demographic safeguards; on the other, it raises questions of due process, rights of long-settled illegal populations, and the humanitarian posture of a democracy.

Whether the effort will be effective depends on several factors: the accuracy of citizenship determinations, capacity to deport or repatriate, legal resistance, inter-state and international cooperation (especially with Bangladesh), and avoiding the creation of stateless or marginalised populations.

Equally important is the balance between national security and humanitarian protection — enforcing migration controls while preserving fundamental rights and avoiding mass displacement of vulnerable people.

Finally, this development could prove a turning point for India’s demographic and electoral landscape. If undocumented migrants are effectively removed or excluded from rolls, states like Assam may see changed electoral dynamics, resource allocations and identity politics. Conversely, if the drive falters or yields collateral damage, it could deepen alienation among border populations and strain India-Bangladesh relations.

In short, the line between enforcing selective expulsion and safeguarding citizenship rights is thin — how Assam and New Delhi tread it may set a precedent for the rest of India’s frontier states.

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