CAA in Assam: Only 3 Granted Citizenship So Far: CM Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday disclosed that only three people have been granted Indian citizenship in the state so far under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA).

The announcement comes amid years of political unrest and speculation that the CAA would open the floodgates for lakhs of migrants from Bangladesh to settle in Assam, altering its demographic balance.

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“Till now, only three people have received citizenship under the CAA in Assam,” Sarma told reporters at an official function.

He revealed that the state government had received a total of 12 applications, of which three were approved while nine remain pending.

Referring to the public uproar that accompanied the passage of the Act, Sarma said, “There was a huge hue and cry that 20–25 lakh people would get citizenship in Assam. Now, you decide whether it is relevant to discuss the CAA when only 12 applications have been received.”

One of the earliest beneficiaries was Dulon Das, a 50-year-old man who, in August 2024, became the first person in Assam to obtain Indian citizenship under the law.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act was passed by Parliament in December 2019 with the stated aim of granting citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Christians, and Parsis fleeing religious persecution in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, provided they entered India before December 31, 2014, and have resided for at least five years.

While the law was hailed by the BJP as a humanitarian measure, it triggered massive protests in Assam and across the Northeast.

Protesters argued that the Act undermines the 1985 Assam Accord, which had fixed March 24, 1971, as the cut-off date for detecting and deporting illegal migrants, irrespective of religion.

Civil society groups and student organisations like the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) warned that the Act would legitimise large-scale influx from Bangladesh, threatening indigenous communities.

Despite being passed in 2019, the CAA remained dormant until March 11, 2024, when the Centre notified the rules and began the application process. The Union government also instructed states not to refer cases of non-Muslim migrants to Foreigners Tribunals until their CAA applications were decided.