Society · 16 Oct 2026

Assam Accord IMDT Act Sonowal chronology

Consider the following events related to the debate on illegal migration into Assam:

  1. Submission of Governor S.K. Sinha's report on illegal migration into Assam to the President
  2. The Supreme Court's judgment in Sarbananda Sonowal v. Union of India
  3. Signing of the Assam Accord fixing a cutoff date for detecting foreigners
  4. Enactment of the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act
A3-4-1-2
B4-3-2-1
C4-3-1-2
D3-4-2-1
This question is based on: Abnormal by Whose Measure? India's Demography Panel and the Old Habit of Reading Migration First
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About this question

Why in news

On 14 October 2026, the MHA's High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes, chaired by Justice Prakash Prabhakar Naolekar, opened a public portal for inputs on demographic changes after 2011. The committee revives the decades-old Assam migration debate at the national level.

Why for UPSC

UPSC often tests chronology around landmark accords, statutes and judgments. The IMDT Act and the Assam Accord are close in time and easily confused, which makes them a classic pair to trip candidates.

Prelims summary

The IMDT Act (1983) placed the burden of proving that a person was an illegal migrant on the State. The Assam Accord (1985) fixed 24 March 1971 as the cutoff date. The Sinha report (1998) recommended repealing the IMDT Act and the Supreme Court struck it down in Sonowal (2005), restoring the Foreigners Act, 1946, under which the individual must prove they are not a foreigner.

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