India creates panel to study population shifts, immigration

The Indian government has constituted a high-level committee to examine demographic changes across the country, citing concerns over illegal immigration and other factors. The committee, announced by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday, will be chaired by retired Supreme Court Justice Prakash Prabhakar Naolekar.

Shah stated that the panel will conduct a comprehensive assessment of demographic changes occurring due to illegal immigration and other unnatural causes. Its mandate includes analyzing patterns of abnormal population shifts among religious and social communities and recommending planned, time-bound solutions. The Home Minister emphasized that such demographic change poses a significant challenge to national sovereignty, security, law and order, social structure, and the preservation of tribal societies.

The committee's membership includes the Census Commissioner, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra, former police official Balaji Srivastava, and economist Dr. Shamika Ravi. A Joint Secretary from the Ministry of Home Affairs will serve as the panel's member secretary. The government said the committee is expected to submit its report within one year.