28 Muslims Declared ‘Foreigners’ in Assam, Sent to Detention Centre

In Assam's Barpeta district, police recently detained 28 individuals from the Bengali Muslim community, declaring them "non-citizens" according to the rulings of Foreigners’ Tribunals (FTs). These individuals, comprising 19 men and nine women, were transported to a 'transit camp' in the Goalpara district's Matia area, which serves as a 3,000-capacity detention center for those identified as "foreigners" by the FTs.

Summoned from various parts of Barpeta, the 28 people were gathered at the office of the district's Superintendent of Police before being transported to the detention center. A video shared on social media, and verified by Maktoob, depicted emotional scenes as family members of those declared "foreigners" by the FT gathered outside the SP’s office, embracing and weeping. In some cases, members of the same family received different rulings, with some being declared "foreigners" while others were not.

The Foreigners’ Tribunals, established under the Foreigners’ (Tribunal) Order of 1964, are quasi-judicial bodies tasked with adjudicating cases of individuals suspected to be "foreigners." These cases are referred to the FTs by the Border wing of the Assam police, which is responsible for identifying suspected "foreigners." Currently, Assam has 100 such tribunals to handle cases involving “D (doubtful) voters” and those alleged to be residing in the state illegally.

Two months prior, the Assam government issued a directive instructing the state's border police not to forward cases of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Parsi, Jain, and Christian individuals who entered India illegally before 2014 to the Foreigners’ Tribunals. This directive follows the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), effectively exempting non-Muslim communities from prosecution by these tribunals.

The Citizenship Amendment Act is designed to expedite Indian citizenship for refugees from six minority religious communities, excluding Muslims, from Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, provided they entered India by December 31, 2014, and have lived in the country for at least six years. When combined with the National Register of Citizens (NRC), which aims to identify and deport "illegal" immigrants, the CAA and NRC could potentially enable the government to expel those deemed "illegal" migrants while allowing non-Muslims to re-enter the country.

Asaduddin Owaisi, an MP, shared the video of the Muslim families on social media, expressing concern that similar scenes could become common across the nation if the National Population Register (NPR) and NRC are implemented alongside the upcoming Census. He highlighted that several states, including Telangana, have opposed the NPR-NRC process for this reason.

The BJP has announced its intention to implement the NRC nationwide, raising concerns about the potential implications for Muslim communities across India.