8 DESIGNED TO EXCLUDE: HOW INDIA'S COURTS ARE ALLOWING FOREIGNERS TRIBUNALS TO RENDER PEOPLE STATELESS IN ASSAM THE ASSAM CITIZENSHIP TIMELINE 1950 The Parliament of India passes Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act. The Act allows authorities in Assam to expel immigrants whose entry and stay is “detrimental to the interests of the general public of India or of any section thereof or of any Scheduled Tribe in Assam”. 1964 The Ministry of Home Affairs passes the Foreigners (Tribunal) Order under Section 3 of the Foreigners Act, 1946. Foreigners tribunals are created under Clause 2 of the Order in Assam. 1985 The Government of India, the Government of Assam, AASU and AAGSP sign the Assam Accord in the presence of then Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi. It states, among other clauses, that foreigners who came to Assam on or after 25 March 1971 must be expelled. 2014 Supreme Court sets a period within which NRC should be completed. 1950 The Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru and the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan sign the Liaquat–Nehru Pact (or the Delhi Pact). The bilateral treaty guarantees the rights of minorities, including citizenship, irrespective of religion after the Partition of India in 1947. 1971 Bangladesh becomes a sovereign country after the War of Liberation. 1997-98 Election Commission of India conducts an intensive revision of the electoral rolls in Assam to identity non-citizens and detects 230,000 Doubtful or ‘D’ Voters. 2015 Updating of NRC process begins. 1955 The Government of India passes the Citizenship Act. 1972 Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram are separated from Assam. 2005 Supreme Court strikes down the IMDT Act holding it to be unconstitutional. Foreigners tribunals will now decide whether a person is a foreigner or not. The Government of India, Government of Assam and AASU decide to update the 1951 NRC. 2017 Government of Assam publishes the first draft of NRC and excludes 19 million people out of 32.9 million applicants.