This paper unearths an alternative paradigm through which to consider the discussions and debates between members of the Indian public, government bureaucrats and Congress Party politicians about the rights and interests of Indian citizens both before and immediately after India's Independence in 1947. It argues that much of the recent historical work on citizenship during this period has been preoccupied with issues of nationality and religious community as a result of the fallout from Partition.

This paper uses the Partition narratives of Sylheti bhodrolok refugees from East Bengal to show that these people were displaced without experiencing direct violence or violent expulsions. Based primarily on personal accounts, using memories as well as local postcolonial texts, it tries to shed some light on a category of migrants so far marginalized in Partition historiography. The attempt here is not to point out the great inconsistencies between Partition theory and reality, but to try and identify what was 'local' about the migration to Assam.