If CAA Has No Impact, Why Not Exempt Assam Entirely?

When the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA) was pushed through Parliament amid protests and bloodied streets in Assam, it was projected as a make-or-break law that would alter the state’s demographic and cultural fabric forever. For supporters, it was meant to “give dignity” to persecuted Hindus from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. For opponents, especially in Assam, it was nothing less than a death knell for identity and existence.

Fast forward to today, the numbers tell a very different story. According to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma himself, only 12 people have applied for citizenship under CAA so far, and a mere three have been granted it. Compare this with the initial fear that 20–25 lakh people would flood Assam’s rolls through the Act. Two years since it became law, the storm has produced barely a drizzle.

So where does that leave Assam?

The Perception Game

Sarma, known for his political one-liners, has effectively suggested that the CAA, in practice, is not the existential threat it was once painted to be. If only three people have been granted citizenship, then what is the fuss about? His message is clear: the paranoia was exaggerated.

But perception, in Assam, is not dictated by numbers alone. For the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), the issue is not how many applicants the law has attracted, but the principle it enshrines: that Assam should forever bear the burden of migration while Delhi experiments with its national identity politics.

On Wednesday, AASU president Utpal Sarma minced no words:

“We will never accept any conspiracy to impose illegal Hindu Bangladeshis in Assam till 2024. We strongly oppose the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025. This directive is even more dangerous than CAA. Our clear demand: exclude Assam completely from the Citizenship Amendment Act and also from the ambit of the 2025 Order.”

This statement cuts to the heart of Assam’s old anxieties — that no matter what New Delhi legislates, Assam ends up as the dumping ground for India’s refugee question.

MP Ajit Kumar Bhuyan’s Firebrand Rebuke

If AASU voices the organized student resistance, Rajya Sabha MP Ajit Kumar Bhuyan channels the raw anger of the streets. His words are unambiguous:

• “Any person who has minimum respect for Assam and Assamese identity must condemn this law.”

• “The government is destroying every nationality, using Assam as a dustbin and laboratory.”

• “Land is being gifted to corporates like Adani and Ambani, while locals are uprooted.”

• “This government, which can bring CAA, talking about protecting Assamese culture is laughable.”

Bhuyan’s indictment is not limited to CAA alone. He frames it as part of a larger pattern — of land grabs, corporate handovers, and communal polarization. For him, CAA is not just about citizenship but about the systematic weakening of Assam’s socio-political foundations.

Why The Fear Persists

So, if the numbers are so low, why does opposition remain fierce? Because in Assam, CAA is not about data points — it is about history. The trauma of 1971, the six-year-long Assam Agitation, and the fragile compromise of the Assam Accord still haunt the collective memory. Any new attempt to reopen the question of “foreigners” feels like betrayal, no matter how small the present impact.

Moreover, the introduction of the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025 has rekindled fears that Assam will once again become the testing ground for Delhi’s policies. AASU sees this as an even bigger threat than CAA — proof that the Centre has not abandoned its designs.

The Irony of It All

The irony is hard to miss:

• The BJP, which rose to power in Assam by championing the cause of indigenous identity, is now defending a law that its critics say undermines that very identity.

• A law that was expected to transform Assam’s demography has so far changed the status of just three individuals.

• And yet, Assam’s politics continues to revolve around it, with protests, arrests, and fiery speeches.

CAA, in Assam, has become less about actual migrants and more about political symbolism. It is a litmus test of whether Delhi listens to Assam, or whether Assam is just collateral damage in the larger game of national vote-bank politics.

The Road Ahead

As it stands, CAA may prove to be a law of little consequence in terms of numbers but immense consequence in terms of trust. The people of Assam are not fighting about twelve applicants; they are fighting about the fear that their voice, once again, has been ignored.

CM Sarma may dismiss the threat with numbers, but numbers alone cannot erase decades of insecurity. As Ajit Bhuyan warns, “This law is against our nation and culture; it is about saving the BJP’s vote bank, not saving Assamese identity.”

The real question is whether the government will take these voices seriously — or whether Assam must once again hit the streets to remind India that identity cannot be negotiated away in Delhi’s corridors.

Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025: Main Highlights

The Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, has made the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025, dated 1 September 2025, exercise of powers conferred by the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025. The order supersedes the Registration of Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 1957, and the Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Order, 2007.

Principal Provisions:

Title & Commencement

The order is named the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025.

It comes into force as soon as it is published in the Gazette.

Scope of Exemptions

Some groups of persons and carriers are exempted from regulations on:

Correct passport, travel documents, and visa requirements for entry into, residence in, and departure from India.

Liabilities of carriers having charge of passengers.

Classes of Exempted Persons

Indian Armed Forces Personnel: Naval, Army, and Air Force personnel entering or departing India on duty, along with their families traveling on official transport.

Indian citizens through Nepal/Bhutan Frontiers: Indian citizens entering by land or air from Nepal or Bhutan.

Nepal & Bhutan citizens:

Coming into India from Nepal or Bhutan by land or air.

Coming into or going out of India on valid passports from other nations (except China, Macau, Hong Kong, or Pakistan).

Tibetan Refugees: Registered Tibetans with valid registration certificates, including those who came prior to and after 2003 through authorized immigration posts.

Religious Minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh & Pakistan:

Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians who arrived in India on or prior to December 31, 2024, with or without valid documents.

Sri Lankan Tamil Refugees: Registered Tamil nationals who took refuge in India until January 9, 2015.

Foreign Nationals Exempted from Visa Rules

Diplomatic or official passport holders where visa facilities are exempted in terms of intergovernmental agreements.

Nationals of designated countries who can get a visa-on-arrival at certain ports.

Foreign troops on naval warships while participating in multilateral exercises, goodwill visits, bunkering, or disaster relief if exempted by the government or under agreements.

Exemptions for Carriers

Provisions of the Act on liability do not apply where passengers:

Travel with counterfeit documents that are impossible to detect without experts.

Are stowaways but the carrier has consented to bring them back.

Arrived as a result of diversion of aircraft or vessel outside the carrier's control.

Fall within classes already exempted from visa or document conditions.

Receive temporary landing permits at immigration posts.

In short, this order makes substantial exceptions to visa and passport regulations in favor of particular categories of people: armed forces, Nepali and Bhutanese citizens, refugees from Tibet, minority groups from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, and refugee Tamil community from Sri Lanka. It also relaxes carrier liability measures on transporters in certain situations.

Also Read: CAA Deadline Extension a Conspiracy by Centre Against Assam: Lurinjyoti Gogoi