GUWAHATI: The Assam government has decided to withdraw as many as 28,000 cases against members of the Koch-Rajbongshi community that are pending in various foreigners’ tribunals.
CM Himanta Biswa Sarma has described the decision taken during a meeting of the state Cabinet as “historic.”
The Assam government considers Koch-Rajbongshi as an indigenous community of the state. The Koch-Rajbongshi people are an inseparable part of the state’s culture, he added.
The state government will also consider removing “D voter (doubtful voter)” tags against their names in the voters’ lists.Sarma said the decision was taken as members of the community had suffered for long. From now on, the Koch-Rajbongshi people will not carry the “foreigner” tag, he added.
Foreigners’ tribunals are quasi-judicial bodies that deal with the cases of suspected illegal immigrants and determine whether they are Indian citizens or foreigners. The tribunals were set up under the Foreigners Act of 1946 and the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order of 1964. The Koch-Rajbongshi people are scattered across Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya, and parts of Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.