From Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, May 26: In a move which will impact the bordering region, particularly the Northeast, the Centre on Tuesday constituted a high-level committee to study the “unnatural” demographic changes arising from illegal immigration and other abnormal reasons, and to suggest measures to deal with these demographic changes.
The ‘High-Level Committee on Demographic Change,’ will be headed by Justice (retired) Prakash Prabhakar Naolekar. The Census Commissioner along with retired IAS officer Durga Shankar Mishra, retired IPS officer Balaji Srivastava and Dr Shamika Ravi will be the other members of the committee. The Joint Secretary (Foreigners-I), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), will be the Member Secretary.
The committee will scientifically assess the demographic changes occurring in various parts of the country due to illegal immigration and other abnormal reasons. It will analyse the causes, and recommend appropriate policy, legislative, and administrative measures.
Further, the committee will comprehensively deliberate on the challenges arising from demographic changes, including illegal immigration, and study the possible causes of such demographic changes, such as cross-border activities (including illegal immigration), economic opportunities, and other socio-environmental factors. It will identify the underlying factors behind these changes, which include illegal immigration, abnormal settlement patterns, and orchestrated migration.
The committee will submit its report within one year. If necessary, the MHA may extend the tenure of the Committee by up to six months. The eight northeastern states are having most parts of their border with foreign countries, especially Bangladesh.
The committee will analyse structural population changes at the level of religious or social communities, particularly where they deviate from broader trends; recommend a streamlined and permanent operational mechanism for the legal, fair, and time-bound identification, detention, and deportation of illegal immigrants already residing in the country.
The committee will further recommend an appropriate institutional mechanism to strengthen border management, population stabilisation, and identification systems for the continuous monitoring of such trends, and propose a comprehensive policy framework to enhance coordination between central and state governments on matters related to illegal immigration and the resulting demographic imbalances.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah posted on X, “Illegal infiltration and other reasons leading to Unnatural Demographic Change is a very big challenge for the present and future of any nation. To deal with this challenge, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the ‘High-Level Committee on Demographic Change’ on 15 August 2025. I am delighted to inform you that the government has constituted this Committee.”
“Demographic Change is a serious problem linked not only to our sovereignty but also to national security, law and order, major changes in social structure, and the protection of tribal societies. This Committee will conduct a comprehensive assessment of the demographic changes occurring across India due to illegal immigration and other abnormal reasons,” he further wrote.
