Transit Camps

Subject – Governance

Context – The “detention centres” in Assam have been renamed “transit camps” to humanise them.

Concept –

Detention centres are places designated to keep illegal migrants (people who have entered a country without necessary documents) once they are detected by the authorities till the time their nationality is confirmed and they are deported to the country of their origin.
Detention centres were set up in Assam after the Union government authorized the state to do so under the provisions of the Foreigners’ Act, 1946 and the Foreigners Order, 1948.

Foreigners Act, 1946:

It replaced the Foreigners Act, 1940 conferring wide powers to deal with all foreigners.
The act empowered the government to take such steps as are necessary to prevent illegal migrants including the use of force.
The concept of ‘burden of proof’ lies with the person, and not with the authorities.
The act originally empowered the government to establish tribunals which would have powers similar to those of a civil court.
Amendments (2019) to the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964 empowered even district magistrates in all States and Union Territories to set up tribunals to decide whether a person staying illegally in India is a foreigner or not.