Arms licence portal for indigenous people as Assam evicts illegal immigrants

Assam plans to start a portal to streamline the process of granting arms licences to eligible people from indigenous communities living in areas where they are vulnerable. The portal will be inaugurated in the first week of August, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Tuesday. This comes even as the state moves to evict illegal settlers and encroachers, mostly Bengali-speaking Muslims, from occupied forest and wetlands.

"There will be a portal for people to apply for an arms licence, and it will be inaugurated between August 1 and 7. The Deputy Commissioner (DC) will conduct an enquiry, and those who meet the criteria will be granted an arms licence," Himanta said in a video. He shared the clip on X.

Speaking on the encroachment by illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, Himanta on July 21 said that native Assamese and Hindus would become a minority in the state in 10 years if demographic changes were not checked.

"Compared to 1951, the demography of Assam has reached such a stage that the Assamese and the Hindus will become a minority in 10 years. We have to revive a community facing extinction," Himanta said, adding "We have to rescue a community which otherwise will go missing."

Himanta's remarks came during his visit to Gorukhuti in Assam's Darrang district, from where the government had started a massive eviction drive 4 years ago.

On freeing up of encroached land by illegal immigrants, Himanta said that 29 lakh bighas still remain occupied.

"We've reclaimed Abighas and are working to recover more. Twenty-nine lakh bighas are still under encroachment. It's not possible for one Himanta Biswa Sarma to free all these lands in four years," the Assam chief minister was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

Himanta has regularly highlighted the issue of illegal immigrants grabbing land and demographic change changing the character of entire districts.

The portal to be inaugurated in August might be aimed at the indigenous people in districts where they are in a minority now.

The decision to issue arms licences to indigenous residents was first announced in May after a Cabinet meeting.

Assam Congress President and Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi in May came down heavily on the Assam government's decision to grant arms licences to civilians residing in border and remote areas.

Gogoi termed the policy "highly condemnable" and accused the ruling BJP government of promoting a strategy that prioritises weapons over the essential needs of the people.

"People of Assam want water, employment, education, and medical facilities, not guns," Gogoi said in May.

The move, Sarma had stated then, was aimed at empowering indigenous communities in districts facing security challenges due to cross-border infiltration, according to a report in The Assam Tribune.

Among the districts identified for the rollout of the arms licence scheme are Dhubri, Nagaon, Morigaon, Barpeta, South Salmara and Goalpara, according to the report. All the districts have a high concentration of Muslim population.

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