GUWAHATI: Arunachal Pradesh has finalized 900 applications out of 4,637 for citizenship in accordance with a September 2015 Supreme Court order asking the state government and the Centre to confer citizenship on Chakma and Hajong refugees.The state government had submitted before the apex court on July 11last that the applications of another "1,014 will be completed within two months" and the "remaining will be finalized in five months positively". The court ordered that if the pending cases are not finalized within five months from that day, the chief secretary of Arunachal Pradesh would be present in person in court on every date of listing of the matter. The court has fixed December 12 as the next date of hearing.Atotal of 4,637 Chakmas living in Arunachal had earlier applied to the Union home ministry for citizenship. In 2012, on a writ petition by the Committee for Citizenship Rights of the Chakmas of Arunachal Pradesh, the then additional solicitor general, B Bhattacharyya, had submitted that all applications received by the Union home ministry, were returned to the state government as the applications were not made to the appropriate authority in the prescribed form and were also not accompanied by recommendations of the state government as per statutory requirement.The Centre, following strong protests from the state government, is now preparing to file a review petition before the Supreme Court for the review of its 2015 directive and the most sensitive issue is the granting of equal rights to the Chakma and Hajong people, particularly the Inner Line Permit, which every outsider, including Indians from other states, is required to obtain before travelling to the frontier tribal state. The provision of the travel restrictions has been enshrined in the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation of 1873 with an objective of protecting the tribes of the state from outside culture.The SC in its 2015 order had observed that on the basis of the stand taken by the government of India, the Chakmas have a right to citizenship. "It also stands recognized by judicial decisions that they cannot be required to obtain any Inner Line permit as they are settled in the state of Arunachal Pradesh," the order stated.Chief minister Pema Khandu , in his letter to home minister Rajnath Singh on Monday, stated that Arunachal, with its unique history, is governed by a special Act namely the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873, which prescribes entry restrictions as "inner line". Section 2 prohibits all citizens of India or any class of such citizens from going beyond such a line without a pass which is signed and sealed by the CEO of such a district or officer authorized with the function.Arunachal BJP president Tapir Gao told TOI, "Granting citizenship is under the jurisdiction of the Centre. What we are saying is that they should not be given tribal rights, that is, no land rights inside Arunachal Pradesh."Questions are also being raised on the huge increase of population of Chakmas and Hajongs in the state ever since they were settled in the state by the Centre as refugees from erstwhile East Pakistan between 1964 and 1969. Union minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju , who is an MP from the state, was quoted as saying in local dailies on Monday that 2,748 families comprising 14,888 people were initially settled between 1964 and 1969 but now the figure has gone up to 65,000, which needs to verified and identified.

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