Assam has witnessed a large-scale influx of people from neighbouring Bangladesh since the early 20th century. During the colonial years, the British brought farmers in large numbers from the erstwhile East Pakistan (Bangladesh) to work in its Grow More Food Campaign to aid World War efforts in the early 1940s and to end the Bengal famine. The post-colonial period also saw people moving to Assam and other northeastern states to India from within the country and from Nepal and Bangladesh.
A significant proportion of the population were immigrants from across the porous borders of Bangladesh. They continue to come to India to escape poverty or religious persecution.
This large-scale immigration affected the ethnic balance of the original population. The indigenous Assamese feel the immigrants have outnumbered them and are eating into their limited resources.
For decades, the state and Central governments have turned a blind eye to stop the influx or address the growing concerns of the Assamese. The issue of unchecked immigration has witnessed a lot of violence and unrest in the State at various points of time.
In 1979, the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) launched the Assam Movement, demanding identification and deportation of illegal; immigrants. The six-year agitation culminated in the signing of the Assam Accord between AASU & All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad, representing the movement, and the Government of India under Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, in 1985. The parties agreed that all foreigners who had entered Assam between 1951 and 1961 would be given full citizenship. According to the Accord, those who entered between 1961 and 1971 were to be denied the right to vote for a decade. However, those who entered the state after March 24, 1971, would be deported. Though the accord brought an end to the agitation, the major demands were not met.
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