2021 Statelessness & Citizenship Review 3(1) being precluded from debate in the Constituent Assembly until this was a fait accompli. 56 Ordinances also performed an additional function. As we see in the case of both the permit system and in Assam in 1950, they could pave the way for a bill to follow — the existence and functioning of the ordinance created an argument of continuity in favour of the status quo. From 13 July 1948, no person was allowed to enter India from West Pakistan unless they were in possession of a permit. Contravention meant a fine of INR1,000, accompanied by a year’s imprisonment. 57 The press communique accompanying the ordinance highlighted its temporary nature, promising its removal ‘as soon as conditions settled down’. 58 As it happened, though, the date was included in art 7 of the Constitution of India and continues to be the cut-off date for determining the citizenship for those who returned from the territory of Pakistan. How did this system work? Five kinds of permits were contemplated — including the permit for resettlement (which would apply to Muslims who wished to come back) as opposed to the permit for return (meant for non-Muslims). 59 This officially required the religion of the person who wished to return and details of the property that they possessed. If evacuee property was involved, provincial governments would be required to furnish ‘No Objection Certificates’. Examining both government files and judicial decisions, however, as I shall subsequently demonstrate, show us that Muslims wishing to return, even on short trips, were scrutinised much more than non-Muslims. File notings suggest that there was a fear that these persons ‘could get lost in India’ and therefore needed to be sent back under police escort, as opposed to Hindus from East Bengal, who were merely issued a notice. 60 Pakistan’s political leadership vociferously protested this law, even as it came up with a verbatim copy in September 1948. Here, the motivation was different, though related — Pakistan feared that a mass migration of Muslims from all of India would cripple the country economically, doubling its population. 61 At the time, the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan was grappling with its own questions around the nature of the state’s relationship with Islam and the rights of minorities there. Pakistan’s Objectives Resolution 1949 in March 1949 marked another decisive moment. 62 The Resolution provided for observance of ‘democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice’ as enunciated by Islam, and ‘frankly and unequivocally’ provided that all authority was subservient to God. 63 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 Rohit De, ‘Between Midnight and Republic: Theory and Practice of India's Dominion Status’ (2019) 17(4) International Journal of Constitutional Law 1213, 1230. Influx from Pakistan (Control) Ordinance 1948 (India) cl 3(a), 4. Copy on hand with the author. ‘System Introduced by Government of India: Move to Check One Way Traffic’, Times of India (14 July 1948). Abhinav Chandrachud, ‘Secularism and the Citizenship Amendment Act’ (2020) 1(1) Social Science Research Network 1, 6. Return to Pakistan of Such Persons Who Have Illegally Come to India Under the Scheme for the Return of Recent UP Migrants to UP (Archived at 10(9)—BL/50, National Archives of India). Copy on hand with the author. Zamindar (n 13) 100. Zamindar argues here that Pakistan’s acceptance of the permit system allowed it to have a bureaucratic way out of the fear of ‘Muslim inundation’ and that the rubric of security was used to justify the measure, barely a week after ‘police action’ in Hyderabad, with its possibility of further migrations. Objectives Resolution 1949 (Pakistan). Pakistan, Constituent Assembly Debates, 7 March 1949, vol V, 1–10. 218