Overview

• Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said Assam has received 12 CAA applications, with three approvals and nine cases under scrutiny.
• Sarma contended earlier projections that 20–25 lakh people would gain citizenship in Assam have proved unfounded given the filings so far.
• The Centre issued an Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order on September 1 shielding specified minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who entered by December 31, 2024 from action over lack of valid documents.
• Opposition parties and student groups in Assam condemned the move as a betrayal of the Assam Accord, with AASU announcing protests and calling the day a ‘black day’.
• Assam last year told border police to avoid sending eligible non-Muslim pre‑2015 cases to Foreigners Tribunals and recently asked districts to drop such pending cases, reflecting procedural shifts alongside the CAA rollout.