Assam: Indigenous People To Soon Apply For Arms License In Sensitive Areas

Assam’s indigenous people will be eligible to apply for an arms licence in “sensitive areas” of the state. The government will get a portal through which they can apply for arms licences, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on August 6.
 
The arms license will be granted after proper scrutiny and a multi-layered process, he said. Taking to Social Media X, the Assam CM stated, “A dedicated portal is coming up where indigenous people, who perceive a threat to their lives and reside in sensitive areas, can apply for Arms License.”
 
Those who are “original inhabitants or Indigenous Indian citizens of Assam”, and “perceive a genuine threat to life and safety due to the vulnerability of the area of residence” are eligible to apply, the post said.
 
People who reside in vulnerable or remote areas, as notified by the district administration or assessed as such by authorised security agencies, are also eligible to apply, it added.

The process of granting the license will include security assessment, verification and vetting, compliance with existing laws, non-transferability and periodic review along with monitoring and reporting, according to the post.

The state cabinet on May 28 had decided that arms licences would be given to indigenous people living in “vulnerable and remote” areas to instil a sense of security in them.

The CM had said some of these “vulnerable and remote areas” are Dhubri, Morigaon, Barpeta, Nagaon, South Salmara-Mankachar, Rupahi, Dhing and Jania.
 
All of these places have large Muslim populations.
 
Sarma had claimed that indigenous people living in such areas have been demanding an arms licence for safety purposes since the Assam Agitation period, which took place between 1979 and 1985.
 
He had claimed that the Assamese people won’t survive by doing agitation, but by taking “practical steps”.

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