Inner Line Permit and its CAA context
What is Inner Line?
- The Inner line is a concept drawn by colonial rulers, which separated the tribal-populated hill areas in the Northeast from the plains.
Inner Line Permit System:
- An Inner Line Permit is a document that allows an Indian citizen to visit or stay in a state that is protected under the ILP system.
- Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram are protected by the Inner Line, and lately Manipur was added.
- No Indian citizen can visit any of these states unless he or she belongs to that state, nor can he or she overstay beyond the period specified in the ILP.
Who issues ILP?
- An ILP is issued by the state government concerned.
- It can be obtained after applying either online or physically.
- It states the dates of travel and also specifies the particular areas in the state which the ILP holder can travel to.
Background:
- The concept originates from the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act (BEFR), 1873.
- Under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act, 1873, the British framed regulations restricting the entry and regulating the stay of outsiders in designated areas.
- This was to protect the Crown’s own commercial interests by preventing “British subjects” (Indians) from trading within these regions.
- After Independence, the Indian government replaced “British subjects” with “Citizen of India”.
- This was to address concerns about protecting the interests of the indigenous people from outsiders belonging to other Indian states.
How is it connected to the Citizenship Amendment Act?
- The Citizenship (Amendment) Act aims to make it easier for non-Muslim refugees from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan to obtain Indian citizenship.
- It has been implemented with provisions for excluding from its ambit the states under the ILP regime, it means that beneficiaries under CAB will become Indian citizens but will not be able to settle in these states.
- Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland are not among those drastically affected by migration from Bangladesh. Mizoram shares a border with Bangladesh.
- The three states that have seen the highest migration, however, are Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya, none of which has an ILP system.
- Amid protests against the Act, the Adaptation of Laws (Amendment) Order, 2019, issued by the President, amended the BEFR, 1873, extending it to Manipur and parts of Nagaland that were not earlier protected by ILP.
What does the Citizenship Amendment Act,2019 say?
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Why in the news?
- The influential Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) and All Tai Ahom Students’ Union (ATASU) petitioned the Supreme Court against the Presidential order.
- Noting that the original BEFR included the then Assam districts of Kamrup, Darrang, Nowgong (now Nagaon), Sibsagar, Lakhimpur, and Cachar, the petition said the order took away the Assam government’s permissive power to implement the ILP.
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