A panel on implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord on Tuesday submitted its report to Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, suggesting among other things a definition of who can be referred to as an Assamese and also a cut-off year for identifying an indigenous person.
Justice (retd) B K Sharma, the chairman of the MHA-constituted high-level committee, handed over the report to the chief minister in the presence of the state cabinet members, top government officials and journalists.
Sharma said the 15-member committee has met people across Assam before preparing the report.
"The report was prepared well within the target time of January 15... Our term ended on February 15. An invitation had come to us to hand over the report to the chief minister for onward transmission to the Union Home Minister... That we have done today."
"Some others said 1950 should be the cut-off year when India became a republic, yet another suggestion was that 1971 should be the date. After examining all suggestions, we arrived at a date we thought was right."