Context: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has assured the civil society groups that the Citizenship Bill would provide protection to such regions and states where the Inner Line Permit (ILP) is applicable, and autonomous administration has been granted under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

What’s the issue?

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill aims to make it easier for non-Muslim refugees from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan to obtain Indian citizenship.

• If it is implemented with provisions for excluding from its ambit the states under the ILP regime, it means that beneficiaries under CAB will become Indian citizens but will not be able to settle in these three states.
• As a matter of fact, the same restriction applies to existing Indian citizens.

Now, on these lines, even Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya are demanding the implementation of ILP system.

What is an ILP?

Simply put, an Inner Line Permit is a document that allows an Indian citizen to visit or stay in a state that is protected under the ILP system.

The ILP is obligatory for all those who reside outside the protected states.

• Currently, the Inner Line Permit is operational in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland.
• It can be issued for travel purposes solely.
• An ILP is issued by the state government concerned.

Origin of ILP:

ILP’s origin dates back to the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulations, 1873- It prohibited “British subjects” or Indians from entering into these protected areas.

After Independence, in 1950, the word “British subjects” was replaced by Citizens of India and the focus of the ban on free movement was explained as a bid to protect tribal cultures in northeastern India.