Two months after the Assam Cabinet approved a scheme to issue arms licences to “indigenous people” in parts of the state where their “population is in the minority,” Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced Wednesday that the government will soon roll out an online portal where eligible people can apply for the licences.
When the Cabinet decision was announced in May, Sarma had named districts where Bengali-origin Muslims account for majority, such as Dhubri, Morigaon, Nagaon, Barpeta and South Salmara, and said that “indigenous people are in minority” in these areas and often “have to confront the question of their security.”
On Wednesday, he announced on social media that the government is in the process of rolling out a dedicated portal where “indigenous people, who perceive threat to their lives and reside in sensitive areas” can apply for arms licences.
He announced three key eligibility criteria for the issue of arms licences under this scheme: that the applicant has to be an “original inhabitant or indigenous citizen of Assam,” they must “perceive a genuine threat to life and safety due to the vulnerability of the area of residence,” and that they must “reside in a vulnerable or remote area, as notified by the District Administration, or assessed as such by authorized security agencies.” He also said the applicantions would be subject to a security assessment, verification and vetting and that once issued, the licences would be subject to periodic review and “monitoring and reporting.”
This portal is likely to be rolled out this month and this comes at a time when vigilantes, particularly those of a group called Bir Lachit Sena, have been issuing ultimatums to Bengali-Muslims living in different parts of Upper Assam in the past few days, giving calls for “all Bangladeshis to leave Upper Assam within seven days.”
