Northeast cannot be dumping ground for foreigners: Filmmaker Aribam Syam Sharma

Filmmaker Aribam Syam Sharma has welcomed the Central government's decision to extend Inner Line Permit (ILP) to Manipur but reiterated his stand on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 and said that all states of Northeast must fight against the Act as the region cannot be "dumping ground" for foreigners.

"Citizenship (Amendment) Bill has now become an Act. It has now become a reality in northeast India. In Manipur, the government has announced that there will be ILP (Inner Line Permit) and so CAB in Manipur. Everyone should welcome the order of the government. It is clearly written in the order that there will be no CAB in the ILP areas," Sharma told reporters here.

"But my protest against CAB is not only for Manipur but for the whole of the Northeast. My point said that the Northeast cannot be dumping ground for foreigners. Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura are protesting against the Act. All states of Northeast must fight against this Act," he added.

The 83-year-old Manipuri filmmaker, who was honoured with Padma Shri in 2006 had earlier returned his award in protest against the Citizenship Amendment Bill, which has now become the Act after Presidential assent.

Sharma, throughout his career, bagged several national film awards for his invaluable contribution to the Indian film industry.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act seeks to grant Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Parsi and Christian communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh and who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.

However, the Act will not apply to areas covered under "The Inner Line" notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873.

"Nothing in this section shall apply to the tribal area of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram or Tripura as included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution and the area covered under "The Inner Line" notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873," read a Gazette notification.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has recently extended the ILP system to Manipur and some other parts of the northeast.

"In the Third Schedule to the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1950, for the directions relating to the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873, the following shall be substituted, namely: - 'Preamble.-- In the opening paragraph, for "districts of Kamrup, Darrang, Nowgong, Sibsagar, Lakhimpur, Naga Hills, Cachar" substitute "States of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram and area of districts of State of Nagaland as notified from time to time," read a Gazette notification dated December 11.

Protests erupted in several parts of Northeast following the passage of Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019.