Assam's special arms licence scheme: A strategic fusion of law, identity & security
The scheme restricted to indigenous and Indian citizens residing in "vulnerable and remote" areas, especially where demographic shifts have reduced them to minorities, blends law and governance, making it one of the most politically nuanced uses of the Arms Act in recent memory.
Crucially, the scheme is set to benefit populations who feel marginalised or at risk due to recent moves on illegal infiltration and land rights — core themes that have animated much of Assam's contemporary politics.
Unlike the national policy, which is threat-based or profession-based, Assam's scheme is demography-driven. Assam has explicitly linked the scheme to concerns over "demographic invasion", where original inhabitants are being outnumbered or displaced.
CM Himanta Biswa Sarma's scheme does not alter the legal foundation of arms licencing in India. Instead, it reinterprets and repurposes Form III of the national arms license policy to address regional vulnerabilities and identity politics.
by Taboola
by Taboola
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By anchoring the scheme in existing law, but tailoring its execution to indigenous anxieties, Sarma has created a politically potent tool that blends security policy with cultural preservation.
The national policy is accessed through the centralised National Database of Arms Licenses-Arms License Issuance System (NDAL-ALIS) portal with uniform procedures, the Assam scheme through Sewa Setu portal is tailored for indigenous applicants, with simplified access and district-level verification.
The use of the Sewa Setu portal, district-level scrutiny, and inclusion of intelligence verification marks a significant operational shift from the standard NDAL process. It reflects a state-specific customisation of a central framework.
Assam, a state long marked by its ethnic diversity and complex demographic history, faces a pronounced demographic transformation. According to the 2011 Census, Muslims constitute 34% of the state's population, with approximately 31% classified as migrants and only 3% being indigenous Assamese Muslims.
Sarma has repeatedly warned of the demographic "invasion", highlighting that native Assamese and Hindus are at risk of becoming a minority within the next decade if current trends continue.
Districts such as Dhubri, Morigaon, Barpeta, Nagaon, and South Salmara-Mankachar have experienced marked changes, with indigenous communities increasingly feeling insecure and reduced to minorities in their ancestral lands.
The arms licence initiative also appears as a part of a broader BJP playbook — combining targeted welfare, muscular nationalism, and appeals to local identity. The scheme taps directly into the insecurities of indigenous populations, legitimising the demand for self-defence as a political right, while projecting the govt as a defender of "native" interests.
Politically, the move plays well among Assam's rural frontier populations — the sites of real and perceived contestation over land, identity, and citizenship. Strategically, it reinforces the message that the BJP, under Sarma's leadership, stands as a bulwark against demographic dilution, illegal immigration, and insecurity.
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