Clause- 6 of Assam Accord

• Vaid's ICS, Lucknow
• 05, Oct 2021

Why in News?      

In February, a government-appointed committee had submitted its recommendations for implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, a key provision that has been contentious for decades.

The government  has  recently made the report public.

Clause-6 is part of the Assam Accord that was signed between the Government of India, Government of Assam and representatives of Assam movement in 1985.

Why is clause-6 important?

1. It provides constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social and linguistic identity of the Assamese people.
2. Therefore in order to determine the safeguard Government of India (GoI) constituted a committee under the retired High court judge Biplab Kumar Sarma and others.
3. The GoI needs the recommendations so that the contentious citizenship amendment act can be enforced in the state of Assam.
4. The committee submitted its report this year but due to some contentious issues (such as who constitute Assamese people) it was not made public, while some members of the panel have put it in public recently.

What are its recommendations?

1. It proposed the definition of Assamese people for the purpose of clause 6 as all those citizens of India who are part of :
2. Assamese community residing in Assam on or before 01-January-1951 or
3. Any indigenous tribal community of Assam residing in the territory of Assam on or before January 1, 1951 or
4.  Any other indigenous community of Assam residing in the territory of Assam on or before January 1, 1951.
5. All other citizens of India residing in the territory of Assam on or before January 1, 1951.
6. The descendants of the above categories of people are also considered as Assamese under its recommendations.

How was 1951 chosen?

1. During the Assam agitation , the main demand was for detection and deportation of illegal migrants who entered Assam after 1951.
2. While the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Assam accord set the cut-off date as 24-March-1971 to become a citizen of India.
3. The clause 6 was meant to give safeguard will not be applicable to migrants who entered between 1951 and 1971.
4. If the GoI accepts these recommendations, people who entered between 1951 and 1971 will be considered as Indian citizens under the Assam accord but will not be provided safeguards under clause-6.

What are the safeguards recommended?

1. The panel recommended reservation of seats in parliament, state legislature and local bodies and others for the Assamese people.
2. 80 to 100% reservation in parliamentary seats, assembly and local body seats.
3. 80 to 100% reservation for Group-C and D posts in state government departments.
4. Land rights, with restrictions on transferring land to other than Assamese people.
5. Assamese language should be the official language throughout the state with provisions for use of local languages.

6. To set up academies for all round development of each indigenous tribal language such as Bodo, Mishing, Rabha, Deuri etc.

Facts For Prelims

Atmanirbhar Niveshak Mitra:

• To be launched by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• The portal is being developed for handholding and facilitation, information dissemination, and facilitation of domestic investors.
• It will give information about approvals, licenses, and clearances required for businesses.
• It will also help investors connect to various stakeholders on single platform like Central Ministries, Industry Associations, State Departments.
• This Project is under the “Invest India” agency which was set up in 2009 as a non-profit venture under the DPIIT.

Green Windows:

• Green windows, like green banks, are public entities created to work with the private sector to increase investment in green energyand bring clean energy financing into the mainstream.
• They are innovative and new tools that have been successful in the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Malaysia and the United States.
• It is an initiative of Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA).