Govt sets up high-level committee to examine ‘unnatural’ demographic changes in country
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Govt sets up high-level committee to examine ‘unnatural’ demographic changes in country")
Home Minister Amit Shah said the committee’s formation was promised by PM Narendra Modi on Independence Day. Photograph: (X)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the committee will analyse the pattern of abnormal population shifts at the levels of religious and social communities and will then present a planned and time-bound solution for the same to the government.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday announced the setting up of a high-level committee to examine the “unnatural demographic change” caused by illegal immigration and other unspecified factors, calling the change a major challenge to India’s sovereignty, national security, social balance, and the preservation of tribal societies.
Shah also pointed out that the committee’s formation was promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Independence Day last year.
The prime minister had alleged a “premeditated conspiracy” to change the nation’s demography through illegal infiltration. The PM had also warned that demographic changes, especially in the border areas, tend to create a national security crisis.
“Infiltration and other reasons causing Unnatural Demographic Change pose a very significant challenge to the present and future of any nation. To address this very challenge, on 15 August 2025, Prime Minister [Narendra Modi] ji had announced the ‘High-Level Committee on Demographic Change’. I am delighted to inform you that the government has now constituted this committee,” the home minister wrote in a post on X.
Shah said that the committee will be chaired by retired Supreme Court Justice Prakash Prabhakar Naolekar and include former IAS officer Durga Shankar Mishra, ex-IPS officer Balaji Srivastava, economist Dr Shamika Ravi and the Census Commissioner as members.
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“The Joint Secretary (Foreigners-I), Ministry of Home Affairs, will serve as the Member Secretary of this committee,” Shah added.
The Home Minister said that the committee will conduct a comprehensive assessment of “demographic changes occurring across India due to illegal immigration and other unnatural causes.”
He further said that the committee will analyse the pattern of abnormal population shifts at the levels of religious and social communities, and will “present a planned and time-bound solution for the same” to the government.
The announcement is likely to trigger a political debate, with the issue of illegal migration and demographic shifts being a recurring flashpoint in several states, particularly those with international borders.
Shah also visited the Border Security Force’s Sanchu outpost in Rajasthan’s Bikaner district on Tuesday. Addressing the BSF personnel, the Union Home Minister said the Centre had expanded the BSF’s jurisdiction to 50 kilometres from the International Border, keeping in mind the emerging security challenges such as infiltration, smuggling and drone-based narcotics trafficking.
He also stressed the need to remain vigilant against demographic changes caused by cross-border infiltration and said agencies should closely monitor activities in villages located near the border.
