A newly set up committee will analyze population dynamics among different religious and social groups

India has formed a high-level committee to study the demographic changes driven by illegal immigration and to suggest measures to address the challenges it poses, fulfilling a pledge made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year.

Modi had, in his Independence Day speech last year, said a “high-powered demography mission” would be set up as he warned of a “premeditated conspiracy” that was altering India’s demography and threatening national security.

Announcing the constitution of the panel on Tuesday, India’s Home Minister Amit Shah called “unnatural demographic change” a “very big challenge.” The 5-member High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes (HLCDC) will be headed by a former judge of India’s Supreme Court.

No reliable figures exist on the number of illegal immigrants to India, but cross-border immigration and resultant demographic changes have increased socio-political tensions in much of…