Since India gained independence, illegal migration has remained a profound and emotionally charged theme in Assam's cultural fabric. The social unrest was escalated by the huge inflow of refugees followed by the Indo-Pak war in 1971. In this period in which India received the highest number of refugees, Assam only had to accommodate 298000 refugees. The agitation against illegal migration, which stirred deep-seated unrest in Assam, persisted until 1985. This turmoil culminated in the signing of the Assam Accord, which established a definitive cut-off date to determine one's entitlement to citizenship. The collective demand raised by the protesters for banning ‘illegal migration’ to Assam was manifested as clause 5 of the Accord which that ‘foreigners who came to Assam on or after March 25, 1971, shall continue to be detected, deleted and expelled in accordance with law.’