NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday directed the High-Level Committee on Demographic Change to study the shift in demographics in border areas, officials said.
Shah, who chaired the committee meeting, also asked it to visit border areas, major cities and industrial towns to assess changes due to illegal migration and other unnatural reasons, they said.
The Home Ministry has constituted a high-level committee to assess demographic changes across India due to “illegal migration and other unnatural causes” and suggest measures to address these challenges.
The committee is headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Prakash Prabhakar Nolikar and includes Census Commissioner, along with retired IAS officer Durga Shankar Mishra, former IPS officer Balaji Srivastava and Dr Shamika Ravi as members.
The Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs is the member secretary of this committee.
Announcing the formation of the committee last month, Shah stressed that demographic change is a serious issue that is not only related to the country’s sovereignty but also to national security, law and order, profound changes in social structure and preservation of tribal society.
“This committee will conduct a comprehensive assessment of the demographic changes occurring across India due to illegal migration and other unnatural causes, analyze the patterns of unnatural population shifts at the level of religious and social communities, and provide a planned and time-bound solution to it,” he said.
A government statement said that the high-level committee will conduct a scientific assessment of the demographic changes occurring in different regions of the country due to illegal immigration and other unusual factors, study their causes, and suggest appropriate political, legislative and administrative interventions.
According to the terms of reference of the committee, it will comprehensively discuss the challenges arising from demographic changes, including illegal immigration.
The statement added that it will also study possible causes of demographic changes, such as cross-border activities, economic opportunities, and other social and environmental factors.
She added that the committee will also identify the underlying factors behind these changes, which include illegal immigration, abnormal settlement patterns and organized migration.
Furthermore, the Commission will analyze structural population changes at the level of religious or social communities, especially where they deviate from broader trends.
The committee will recommend a streamlined and permanent operational mechanism for the identification, detention and deportation of illegal immigrants already residing in the country legally, fairly and time-bound, the statement said.
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