Chakrabarty: Citizenship Deprivation as an Act of Persecution: Case Study of t Act to address the issue of migratory influx post-partition, and proceeded to prepare the 1951 NRC, recording data such as name, age, sex, occupation, spouse/parent names, nationality. 111 But the list did not materialize, since the Indian Citizenship Act was only enacted in 1955, and the Imperial legislation, Foreigners Act, 1946, was only amended in 1957 to include Pakistani nationals under its purview.112 Without such amendment it would have been difficult to identify and proceed against a “foreigner”. In 1979, the issue of “illegal migration” peaked when these nationalist parties and their affiliates engaged in widespread violence. By 1983, the state experienced the infamous Nellie massacre, where the authorities failed to protect over 3000 individuals (mostly Muslims) from the native Assamese (mostly Hindu) population. 113 This trigger also led the GoI to concede ground to these nationalist parties’ demands in 1985, in the form of the Assam Accord. The parties agreed that the Home Ministry (GoI) along with the Implementation of Assam Accord Department would strive to implement the Accord. The year 1966 would serve as the base year to detect foreigners. All those who had entered the state before 1966 and whose names were present on the electoral rolls used in 1967, would stand regularized. Whereas those who entered between 1966 and 24 March 1971, would be detected under the Foreigners Act, 1946 and Foreigners (Tribunal) Orders, 1964, and their names would be struck off the rolls. They would need to register themselves with Registration Officers in their respective districts, but after ten years, would be naturalized. However, all those who entered/continue to enter the State after 25 March 1971, would be detected, and expelled. 114 The GoI would issue citizenship certificates to identified citizens, and only the signatory parties could bring complaints regarding any “irregular issue” of certificates.115 To this effect, departments would be entrusted with maintenance of birth and death registers. 116 Government of Assam: Home and Political Department, “White Paper on Foreigners Issue” (October 2012) at 36, online: Citizens for Justice and Peace <https://cjp.org.in/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/White-Paper-OnForeigners-Issue-20-10-2012.pdf>. 112 Ibid at 7. The Foreigners Act defined “foreigner” as a “non-British subject”. 113 See, Gyanendra Pandey, Remembering Partition: Violence, Nationalism and History in India (Contemporary South Asia) (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001) at 188. 114 Assam Accord, clause 5.8. 115 Ibid at clause 8.1. and 8.2. 116 Ibid at clause 12. 111 Published by Osgoode Digital Commons, 2021 19