‘Black Day for Assam’: CAA cut-off extension triggers political & student backlash
Students’ body AASU has called for all-day hunger strike on September 3; location not disclosed yet
Guwahati, Sept 3: The Central government’s recent order extending the cut-off for applying for citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) to December 31, 2024 has sparked widespread opposition in Assam, with political leaders and student bodies calling it a “black day” for the state.
As per the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025 published in the Gazette of India, the amended provisions exempt certain communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Bhutan, including Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians, from the requirement of passports or valid travel documents if they entered India on or before the new deadline.
Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia lashed out at the move, saying, “September 1 is another black day for Assam. The government has opened the floodgates for people to enter without documents. This completely undermines the Assam Accord, and the people of Assam must protest this dangerous step.”
The notification from Centre dated September 1.
Raijor Dal leader Akhil Gogoi echoed similar concerns, warning that the law could alter Assam’s demography.
“When we said that CAA was brought to destroy the identity of Assam, the government dismissed us. Now the cut-off has been extended again, and tomorrow it may be pushed further. Through this law, crores of people may eventually settle here, pushing Assam to the brink. This is not just about citizenship, it is about our survival as people of the land,” he said.
AJP president Lurinjyoti Gogoi accused the Centre of conspiring against Assam.
“What we feared has come true. The government is using CAA to legitimise illegal migrants. Assam opposed CAA before, opposes it now, and will continue to oppose it in the future,” he said.
KMSS general secretary Bidyut Saikia criticised the extension as a violation of promises made to the people.
“The cut-off date of December 31, 2014, has now been stretched by ten years. This will only increase Assam’s burden. Even Bhutan and Nepal have been included, which was never part of the original discourse,” he noted.
All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) reiterated its opposition and announced fresh protests.
AASU general secretary Samiran Phukan said, “The people of Assam never accepted CAA. Four northeastern states are exempt, eight districts in Assam are exempt, yet the state is forced to carry the burden. If this order is implemented, it will be disastrous. Tomorrow, we will stage a hunger strike from 6 am to 5 pm. Assam lost five lives during the earlier anti-CAA protests. Were their sacrifices meaningless?”
The extension has reignited the CAA debate in Assam, which has long opposed the law for undermining the 1985 Assam Accord, which fixed March 24, 1971, as the cut-off date for detecting and deporting illegal migrants.
As discontent brews, the issue threatens to dominate Assam’s political discourse once again, with opposition parties and student groups uniting to call for mass protests against what they describe as an existential threat to the indigenous people of the state.