NEW DELHI, Dec 29: The Union home ministry has been engaged in 2024 with significant reforms, including the introduction of a modern, technology-driven criminal justice system that replaces century-old criminal laws, the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, and efforts to control ongoing violence in Manipur.
Another notable focus has been assisting the Election Commission in successfully conducting assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir without serious incidents, as well as reducing violence in Naxal-affected areas and the northeastern regions.
Despite a four-year suspension of the population enumeration Census due to unresolved decision-making, the ministry established five-year districts in Ladakh and officially renamed Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to Sri Vijaya Puram this year.
The new criminal laws—Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam—have replaced colonial-era laws including the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, and Indian Evidence Act of 1872, with an effective date of July 1.
Home Minister Amit Shah, the architect behind these legislations, emphasized that the new laws prioritize justice, contrasting them with the colonial laws that focused mainly on penal measures.
“These laws are crafted by Indians, for Indians, and by an Indian Parliament, marking the end of colonial criminal justice,” he stated.
Shah pointed out that the legislations entail a broad reformation rather than simple term changes. “The soul, body, and spirit of the new laws are Indian,” he added.
This overhaul introduces a contemporary justice system with provisions such as Zero FIR, online filing of police complaints, electronic summons delivery via SMS, and mandatory videography at crime scenes for serious offenses.
Officials from the home ministry claim that these laws aim to tackle prevalent social issues and criminal activities, aligning with the ideals enshrined in the Constitution.
The CAA, initiated in December 2019 to offer Indian nationality to persecuted minorities—Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who entered India by December 31, 2014—was enacted in March, with the first 14 individuals receiving citizenship in May.
Shah celebrated the granting of citizenship under the CAA as a “historic day,” signaling the end of a long wait for those who have faced religious persecution in neighboring countries.
Though the CAA received president’s assent shortly after its 2019 passage, rules outlining the citizenship process were not issued until March 11, after significant delays.
The CAA’s introduction sparked nationwide protests, with demonstrators decrying it as “discriminatory,” leading to over a hundred fatalities amid civil unrest.
To ease concerns among some Muslims and students about the CAA, the home ministry stated that Indian Muslims need not panic, emphasizing that the new legislation does not affect their citizenship and ensures equal rights with Hindus.
The ministry assured that “no Indian citizen will be required to furnish documentation to validate their citizenship under this Act.”
Manipur continues to experience sporadic violence, stemming from the first ethnic clash between the majority Meiteis and tribal Kukis in May 2023.
Despite approximately 260 fatalities, numerous injuries, and significant displacement, lasting peace remains unachieved in the state. Efforts by the central government to negotiate between conflicting communities have yet to yield stable results.
Even ruling BJP members have faced hostility, with mobs igniting fires at several BJP legislators’ homes, including that of a senior minister and a Congress MLA in multiple districts of Imphal Valley, with an attempt made to invade the residence of Chief Minister N Biren Singh.
In response to the volatile situation, the central government reinstated the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in six police station areas of Manipur, including Jiribam, known for recent violence.
On December 24, the central government appointed former union home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla as the new governor of Manipur, aiming to facilitate a path toward lasting peace amid ongoing tensions.
Jammu and Kashmir experienced relatively smooth assembly elections—its first in a decade.
A home ministry presentation to a parliamentary panel indicated over a 70 percent reduction in terror-related incidents in Jammu and Kashmir since 2019, following the revocation of Article 370 and the division of the state into two Union Territories—Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
While 286 terror-related incidents were recorded in 2019, this number plummeted to just 40 by the first week of November 2024.
In terms of civilian casualties, 50 were reported due to terrorism in 2019, with only 14 so far in 2024.
The home ministry noted that attacks on security forces initially spiked from 96 incidents in 2019 to 111 in 2020, but then declined sharply to 95 in 2021, 65 in 2022, 15 in 2023, and five thus far in 2024.
Regarding security personnel fatalities, 77 were killed in 2019, dropping to 58 in 2020, then to 29 in 2021, 26 in 2022, 11 in 2023, and seven in 2024 to date.
Moreover, violence perpetrated by Naxals has diminished significantly, with 72 percent less violence and an 86 percent decline in related deaths in 2023 compared to 2010.
During a recent visit to the Naxal-affected Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, Shah urged Naxals to renounce weapons and rejoin society, warning that failure to do so will lead to strong security actions.
He affirmed the government’s commitment to rendering India Naxal-free by March 31, 2026, through a comprehensive strategy aimed at eradicating the menace in affected regions.
Plans for the long-delayed decadal census and updating the National Population Register (NPR) have yet to commence, significantly altering the future census cycle.
Since 1951, the census has been carried out every ten years; however, the 2021 census was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and no formal schedule has been announced for the next one.
Recently, the home ministry clarified that any NGO linked to anti-development activities, religious conversion, or inciting protests with malicious intent, associations with terrorist or radical organizations, will face cancellation of its registration under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (FCRA).
Under the law, all NGOs receiving foreign funds must be registered with the FCRA, as those unregistered are prohibited from accepting foreign contributions.
Last week, the home minister initiated the rehabilitation process for Bru tribal community members in Tripura, following a quadripartite agreement signed on January 16, 2020.
This agreement involved the governments of India, Tripura, Mizoram, and representatives from Bru organizations to permanently rehabilitate Bru migrants in Tripura.
A total of 6,935 families comprising 37,584 individuals are being relocated to twelve villages in Tripura, displacing them from Mizoram due to ethnic violence in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Continuing its focus on the comprehensive development of remote villages along the border with China, the government has allocated Rs 1,050 crore for 2024-25 under the Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP), which will assist several villages in 19 districts across Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Ladakh.
The central government approved the VVP as a centrally sponsored initiative on February 15, 2023, with a total financial outlay of Rs 4,800 crore for the years 2022-23 to 2025-26 and aimed at the thorough development of selected villages in 46 blocks across 19 districts near the northern border. (Agencies)
