Which of the following statements are correct? 1. Clause 6 of the Assam Accord seeks to safeguard the socio-political rights and culture of the “indigenous people of Assam” which refer to those who were residents of Assam before the cutoff date of March 24, 1971. 2. A High-Level Committee (HLC) was constituted under the chairmanship of H S Brahma for identification of “Assamese people”. 3. The committee recommended restricting transfer of land to any person other than “Assamese people”. 4. It became a very important tool to suppress the insurgency in Assam. Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Clause 6 of the Assam Accord was a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) signed between representatives of the Government of India and the leaders of the Assam Movement in New Delhi on 15 August 1985 and was signed in 1985 after the Assam Agitation of 1979-85, The clause was inserted to provide “constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards’ to safeguard the socio-political rights and culture of the “indigenous people of Assam”. While the Accord sets March 24, 1971 as the cutoff, Clause 6 is meant to give only the Assamese people certain safeguards, which would not be available to migrants between 1951 and 1971. If the recommendation is accepted, those who migrated between 1951 and 1971 would be Indian citizens under the Assam Accord and NRC, but they would not be eligible for safeguards meant for “Assamese people”. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect. A High-Level Committee (HLC) was set up by the Home Ministry in 2019, under the chairmanship of retired High Court judge Biplab Kumar Sarma to provide a definition of “Assamese people” and suggest measures for the safeguard of their rights. The committee has proposed that the following be considered Assamese people for the purpose of Clause 6: All citizens of India who are part of: Assamese community, residing in the Territory of Assam on or before January 1, 1951; or Any indigenous tribal community of Assam residing in the territory of Assam on or before January 1, 1951; or Any other indigenous community of Assam residing in the territory of Assam on or before January 1, 1951; or All other citizens of India residing in the territory of Assam on or before January 1, 1951; and Descendants of the above categories. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect. The safeguards recommended by the HLC include: 80 to 100% reservation in the parliamentary seats of Assam, Assembly seats and local body seats be reserved for the “Assamese people”. 80 to 100% of Group C and D level posts (in Assam) in central government/semi-central government/central PSUs/private sector 80 to 100% of jobs under Government of Assam and state government undertakings; and 70 to 100% of vacancies arising in private partnerships Land rights, with restrictions imposed on transferring land by any means to persons other than “Assamese people”. Other recommendations deal with language, and cultural and social rights. Hence, statement 3 is correct. It is common to have love for one’s identity. However, when one feel threatened by external forces, they often resist that change - sometimes violently and sometimes through pacifist means. Thus, the Assam accord can be seen from this perspective for internal security concerns. Hence statement 4 is correct. Thus C is the correct answer.