New Delhi, Sept. 15 -- Population movements into Assam predate colonial British rule, and were facilitated by riverine routes and agrarian expansion, but intensified owing to British policies encouraging migration from present-day Bangladesh to cultivate crops such as rice and jute in Assam's plains.

Since then, questions of citizenship and migration have remained politically charged. Policies such as the updating of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in 2019 attempted to verify citizenship but left millions in precarious legal positions, further fuelling uncertainty.

In Assam, the migration question is not merely about legality but intersects with broader themes of identity politics, state formation, resource distribution and huma...