Guwahati, May 26: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday welcomed the Centre’s decision to set up a high-level committee to study demographic changes across India, describing it as a “visionary and decisive step.” The committee, announced by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, will be chaired by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Prakash Prabhakar Naolekar and tasked with assessing demographic shifts caused by “illegal immigration and other unnatural causes.”

Reacting to the announcement, Sarma said Assam had been facing demographic challenges for a long time. In a post on X, he wrote, “Illegal infiltration and unusual demographic change are not merely the concern of any single state but a serious issue linked to India’s national security, cultural identity, and social balance.” He added that the initiative would be crucial in protecting Assam’s cultural heritage, tribal society, and the rights of indigenous people.

Sarma expressed confidence that the committee would play a significant role in securing India’s future, noting that the findings would strengthen national security and address concerns in border areas. Shah, while announcing the committee, said infiltration and other factors were causing “unnatural” demographic changes, which posed a serious challenge to the nation’s present and future.

The move follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day speech last year, in which he warned of a “pre-meditated conspiracy” to alter the country’s demography through illegal infiltration, stressing that demographic changes in border areas could trigger national security crises.