NEW DELHI, MAY 26 (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday announced that the Centre has constituted a high-level committee under retired Supreme Court judge Justice Prakash Prabhakar Naolekar to assess demographic changes across India caused by “illegal immigration and other unnatural causes”.
In a post on X in Hindi, Shah said infiltration and related factors were leading to “unnatural” demographic changes that posed a serious challenge to the nation’s present and future. “To address this challenge, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the formation of a high-level committee on demographic change on August 15, 2025. I am happy to inform that the government has now constituted this committee,” Shah said.
The committee will be chaired by Justice Naolekar and include the census commissioner, retired IAS officer Durga Shankar Mishra, former IPS officer Balaji Srivastava and economist Dr Shamika Ravi as members. The joint secretary (Foreigners-I) in the Ministry of Home Affairs will serve as member secretary. Shah said demographic change was linked not only to sovereignty but also to national security, law and order, social stability and the preservation of tribal communities.
According to a government statement, the panel will carry out a scientific evaluation of demographic changes in different regions due to illegal immigration and other unusual factors, examine their causes and recommend policy, legislative and administrative measures. Under its Terms of Reference, the committee will study challenges arising from demographic changes, including those caused by cross-border activities, economic opportunities and socio-environmental factors. It will identify factors such as illegal immigration, abnormal settlement patterns and orchestrated migration.
The panel will also analyse structural population changes among religious and social communities, especially where trends differ from broader demographic patterns. It has been tasked with recommending a streamlined and permanent mechanism for the legal, fair and time-bound identification, detention and deportation of illegal immigrants residing in the country.
The committee will further suggest measures to strengthen border management, population stabilisation and identification systems for continuous monitoring of demographic trends. It will also propose a framework to improve coordination between the Centre and states on issues relating to illegal immigration and demographic imbalance.
The panel may recommend any additional measures required to address challenges arising from demographic changes.
Prime Minister Modi had announced a high-powered demographic mission during his Independence Day address last year, alleging a “pre-meditated conspiracy” to alter the country’s demography through illegal infiltration.
Wednesday, May 27, 2026