The Indian government on Monday constituted a high-level committee to scientifically examine the nature, causes, and impact of demographic changes across the country, including those resulting from illegal immigration. This move follows up on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement in last year's Independence Day speech.
Committee Composition and Mandate
The High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes (HLCDC) will be headed by retired Supreme Court judge Prakash Prabhakar Naolekar. Other members include Census Commissioner Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, retired IAS officer Durga Shankar Mishra, former IPS officer Balaji Srivastava, and economist Shamika Ravi. The committee is tasked with recommending a permanent operational system for the legal, fair, and time-bound identification, detention, and deportation of illegal immigrants in India.
Scope of Work
The committee will conduct a comprehensive assessment of demographic changes occurring across India due to illegal immigration and other unnatural causes. It will analyze patterns of abnormal population shifts at the level of religious and social communities and present a planned and time-bound solution for the same. The panel has been given one year to submit its final report.
Government's Stance
Announcing the panel on Tuesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated on X, "Unnatural demographic changes caused by illegal immigration and other factors are a serious challenge to any country's present and future. It is linked not only to our sovereignty but also to national security, law and order, profound change in social structure, and the preservation of tribal groups."
Context and Recent Actions
The formation of the HLCDC comes amid an intensified drive by BJP-led governments in Assam, West Bengal, and other states to curb illegal immigration, which they view as a conspiracy to introduce demographic changes. This follows the recent special intensive revision of electoral rolls by the Election Commission, including in the border state of West Bengal, which led to the deletion of lakhs of 'absent' and 'other' electors.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has launched an aggressive drive against infiltrators and has publicly vowed to push them back into Bangladesh. The newly elected BJP government in West Bengal, led by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, has decided to make land available to complete the fencing of the border with Bangladesh.
Ministry's Notification
Notifying the panel, the Ministry of Home Affairs stated that demographic changes are visible in certain regions that are not attributable to normal fertility or mortality trends but are emerging due to "external abnormal factors such as illegal immigration, irregular population mobility, and administrative laxity."
