34 The problem of precarious citizenship has emerged, at least in a sustained manner, more recently. Its locus has been the eastern state of Assam, which has witnessed a decades-long conflict on the question of Bengali migrants [see box]. Brief history of citizenship conflict in Assam The eastern Indian state of Assam has witnessed decades-long contestation and conflict over migration. This contestation aggravated in the 1970s, when local Assamese communities expressed grave concerns about what they perceived to be a large-scale influx of refugees during the 1971 Bangladesh war. They feared that this would reduce the local population to a minority. This process saw growing unrest in the region. In 1985, the Indian state came to an understanding with the local groups under the Assam Accord. The Accord promised legal protection for Assamese cultural and political interests. The Indian state amended India’s citizenship laws to provide a route to naturalisation to refugees who had entered the state before 25th March 1971. It committed to detect and deport those who came after this date. Continued → SECURING CITIZENSHIP