NEW DELHI: While, responding to the question in the Lok Sabha, the Union Home Affairs Minister, Amit Shah assured the nation that Manipur state will come under the ambit of Inner Line Permit (ILP) regime.
And, all the problems of the north-eastern states would be taken care of as mentioned in the Citizenship Bill in itself. The linguistic, cultural and social identity of the people of the North-East would be preserved and this Bill contains the solution to the problems of the people of these states, as the provisions of the amendment have been incorporated after marathon deliberations with various stakeholders from northeast for last one month.
The Minister said the provisions of the amendments to the Citizenship Act, 1955, which was enacted to provide for the acquisition and determination of Indian citizenship, would not apply to tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram or Tripura as included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution and the area covered under "The Inner Line" notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873.
What is Inner Line Permit (ILP) regime?
Inner Line Permit (ILP) is a travel document issued by the Government of India to allow inward travel of an Indian citizen into a protected area for a limited period. It is obligatory for Indian citizens from outside those states to obtain a permit for entering into the protected state.
The document is an effort by the government to regulate movement to certain areas located near the international border of India. This is an offshoot of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulations, 1873, which protected Crown's interest in the tea, oil and elephant trade by prohibiting "British subjects" from entering into these "Protected Areas" (to prevent them from establishing any commercial venture that could rival the Crown's agents).
The word "British subjects" was replaced by Citizen of India in 1950. Despite the fact that the ILP was originally created by the British to safeguard their commercial interests, it continues to be used in India, officially to protect tribal cultures in northeastern India.
There are different kinds of ILP's, one for tourists and others for people who intend to stay for long-term periods, often for employment purposes. It is valid for tourism purposes are granted as a matter of routine
