Sangh Pariwar Agenda:Muslims Dubbed as infiltrators from Bangladesh should be declared "stateless persons, disfranchised and debarred from owning properties in the state"! While Eye Witness Accounts clearly Expose the Third party involved in Assam Riots!Hindu Rashtra is the destination and Assam happens to be the By Pass!
Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams, Chapter-791
Palash Biswas
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Hindu Rashtra is the destination and Assam happens to be the By Pass!
Sangh Pariwar Agenda:Muslims Dubbed as infiltrators from Bangladesh should be declared "stateless persons, disfranchised and debarred from owning properties in the state"! While Eye Witness Accounts clearly Expose the Third party involved in Assam Riots!I have already written that the Gujarat Hindutva Genocide Experiment is overexposed while RSS succeeded to continues its Anti National activities in Assam since Sixties practicing Intense most Hate campaign against the Muslim and Bengali refugees. It has been behind the Assam Movement in eighties on what base Citizenship Amendment Act is passed and a deportation and displacement campaign against the excluded , excommunicated communities have been launched countrywide further boosted with illegal unconstitutional Unique Identity Project. Meanwhile Ahom Nationalist ULFA has been activated to worsen the already very complicated Assam situation. Anti Bangladeshi Bogey bullying by Sangh Pariwar is latest highlight of invoking blind nationalism to polarise india on communal line. It is very dangourous.
Heated exchange of words between ruling Congress party and opposition members were witnessed on Wednesday in the Rajya Sabha when it took up a discussion on Angry Sonia makes Advani retract words declared "stateless persons, disfranchised and debarred from owning properties in the state", a remark which drew sharp criticism from the treasury benches.
"They should be identified first, and then declared stateless persons, who have no right to vote. Those who have already been enrolled as voters should be disfranchised. They should have no right to own property or right to admission in any school or college," he said.
Punj said he was "very disappointed with the statement of the home minister, who described it as a law and order problem.
"The home minister's statement was condemnable. It is wrong to put the natives and infiltrators on one pedestal."
Giving taluka-wise population figures from 2001 census, the BJP leader said the number of Hindus are on constant decline while those of Muslims are rising because "Muslims from across the border are called as a vote bank....you created a situation in which population ratio changed and a sense of insecurity gripped the native Assamese as people were called from outside for vote bank politics."
Responding to his charge that Congress allowed infiltration of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, which he said was the root of the problem, Bhuvneshwar Kalita of Congress said he was "pained" to listen to what Punj spoke.
"What message do you want to send? To divide people or unite people? To divide people in distress in terms of religion should not be our approach...we should help the state administration, the people to promote peace. That should be the aim of every political party," he said.
Kalita also hit out at members of AGP saying they are "distorting" history and records.
Apart form RSS Hate campaign, it is very interesting to see that Most of the foreign media covered the real issue with shaffron paint quite openly . BBC World has courage to tell that Kokrajhar violence is due to "Muslim Bengali Migrants" to Asom. Euro News told that Kokrajhar riot involves "Muslim Settlers", something that India's own government doesn't openly talk about as to who are these "muslim settlers". Bangkok Post in Thailand showed the pictures of helpless Bodo women leaving homes in Kokrajhar, unlike their Indian counterparts. Europe's Irish Times showed pics of an injured lady Purnima Das and her fear-filled child from Kokrajhar, but not any Indian TV! The German paper Duetsche Welle had pics of Indian women suffering due to illegal Bangladeshis, which Indian papers censored as "ethnic" clashes. And kudos to IBTimes which gave the most clear headline, "Rioting In Assam Underscores Deepening Crisis Of ILLEGAL Migration From Bangladesh to India". Unlike Indian journos who hid the "other party" in riots, even a Pakistani paper openly called them "Muslim settlers"! In India, only a very small section of the press, like the tiny Karbi language paper talked openly with a gory picture and on web, Firstpost which published some images.
on the other hand kolkata based Newspapers have published lot of stories highlighting third party involvement.Anand Bazar patrika first published graphical details of eye witnesses to expose the Third party hand on 30th July. upendra nath Brahma, Shankar Brahmo.Sumitra Basumatari,Rupasi Brahmo and others all belonging to riot torn villages of Kokrajhar complained that neither the Bodo or Hindus nor the Muslims attacked each other, but they alerted their neighbours and saved them, the other people outsiders were involved in Riots.Times of India and The Hindu stories confirmed it. even the Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is hinting at third party. I am posting newspaper accounts along with content published from Sangh parivar side to launch the campaign to accomplish hindu rashtra agenda.
Hinting that some "external forces" were behind the communal clashes in three districts, the Assam government Tuesday said it has decided for a CBI probe in the violence, which left 73 people dead and over four lakh people displaced. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi told media persons here that there were external and internal forces behind the violence between Bodo tribals and Muslim settlers. The clashes started in Kokrajhar and Chirang districts of the Bodoland Territorial Area District (BTAD) and later spread to contiguous Dhubri district. "Some external forces have always been active in Assam to create some sort of disturbances in the state," said Gogoi and added that the government has already started the process to hand over the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The Indian Army refused to intervene in the Assam ethnic riots for two full days saying that it wanted the defence ministry's nod to move in as it was a communal riot. According to sources this is in complete violation of the law, as under the CrPC, the armed forces must get deployed — even if on the orders of an executive magistrate — to control a rioting situation. The delay of two days in army deployment proved disastrous as the communal violence has spread to Basugaon in Assam's Chirang district. Five houses of Muslims were set on fire late on Friday.
The CBI on Thursday commenced its probe into the recent violent clashes in Assam that has claimed the lives of 77 people and it will soon register cases.
CBI sources said a team of Special Director Saleem Ali and DIG Satish Golcha held extensive discussions with senior administration and police officials of the state here to assess the cases of violence which could be taken by the agency for a probe. The specific cases will be finalised by the CBI team on their return to the national capital, the sources in Delhi said. Local police had registered over 300 cases after clashes broke out on July 9 between Bodos and Bengali-speaking minorities.
After fresh incidents of violence were reported in lower Assam districts, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi decided to recommend a CBI probe. The violence-hit areas, however, remained incident free on Thursday. The CBI team is scheduled to visit the strife-torn districts on Friday, Additional DGP (Law and Order) AP Rout told PTI. "Both external and internal forces are at work," Gogoi had said without elaborating. He hoped the CBI probe would identify the forces behind the violence.
On Wednesday, four more bodies were recovered from the lower Assam districts of Kokrajhar, Baksa and Chirang taking the toll to 77 in the clashes. "The situation in the riot hit areas is under control and there is no fresh incident. The army is conducting regular flag march in the affected areas," Rout said.
Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde also made a reference to the CBI probe while replying to the debate on Assam violence in the Rajya Sabha. "The Government is taking this issue very seriously. A CBI team has gone there and an inquiry has started... I have instructed the Army to be alert," he said.
The Chief Minister has convened a special review meeting with top army, police, Army and paramilitary officials at his residence.
The Government should deal with issues like threat of identity of the ethnic groups, illegal migration etc with a time bound programmed to prevent suspicion in the minds of the people so that ethnic clashes like the recent one in Kokrajhar and Chirang districts can be avoided. This was the view expressed by the All Bodo Students' Union (ABSU). President of the ABSU, Promode Boro said that the Government is in a hurry to rehabilitate the displaced people, but before doing so, confidence building measures should be taken as only providing security pickets would not help matters. The Government should also try to apprehend the culprits involved in the riots to remove apprehension from the minds of the people of both communities and the credentials of all the inmates of the relief camps should be checked before rehabilitating them.
The ABSU president blamed the Government for the present situation and said that the activities of the miscreants were not checked by the administration, which resulted in deterioration of the situation. He pointed out that the law and order of the BTAD areas was neglected by the State Government and though sporadic incidents of violence was taking place in the BTAD areas for some time, no action was taken against the culprits, which gave rise to suspicion in the minds of the people. Boro said that the Government had the inputs but failed to take right steps at right time to prevent flaring up of the situation. He said that the political leadership of the state was aware of the tension brewing in the area, but no action was taken, while, the security lapses became clear at the contradictory statements of the State and Central Governments. The ABSU also said that the Government should try to find out the real reasons for the ethnic clashes in different parts of Assam.
On the other hand,The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has alleged that illegal Bangladeshi Muslim immigrants were behind the ongoing violence in the Bodo Territorial Area District (BTAD). Addressing a press conference in Guwahati on Thursday, BJP national general secretary and Assam in-charge Vijay Goel said, "The illegal Bangladeshi Muslim immigrants are behind these riots. The indigenous minority people are not involved in these riots. Yesterday, we had visited the refugee camps and affected villages in Kokrajhar district. We interacted with the local people who told us that they had seen suspected illegal Bangladeshi immigrants burning down houses in front of their eyes."
Goel further said, "Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) chief Hagrama Mohilary has said that suspected illegal immigrants are involved in the clashes. He has demanded immediate sealing of the Dhubri-Bangladesh border to prevent the entry of more illegal immigrants. Pro-talk ULFA leader Mrinal Hazarika has claimed the involvement of anti-India forces from the neighbouring country in the ongoing violence in BTAD. The government should take this seriously and order an inquiry. The border must be sealed immediately or the situation in BTAD is likely to get worse," said Goel.
He added, "At present there is vote-bank politics going on in the BTAD. The Congress government does not want to act against the minorities as that might affect their vote-bank. Similarly, the BTAD administration does not want to act against the Bodo people and lose their support. Unless the government and the BTAD administration rise above all this vote-bank politics, normalcy will not be restored in the BTAD areas." The BJP has demanded that the Prime Minister should visit the trouble-torn areas, Rs 5 lakh compensation should be given to the indigenous people and all religious institutions must be scanned by the Army for illegal arms.
he Lok Sabha on Monday witnessed heated exchanges and accusations during the debate on the violence in Assam that has claimed 77 lives so far and left about four lakh people homeless.
An adjournment motion brought by the BJP leader LK Advani was, however, rejected in the Lok Sabha by a voice vote after Union home minister Shushilkumar Shinde's reply, who assured to provide security to people and all help towards restoration of normalcy. Though, some BJP MPs tried to enforce a division, Advani and leader of opposition Sushma Swaraj dissuaded them.
"The government strongly condemns the act of depredation in Assam. Leaders from both communities have been asked to intervene" to restore normalcy, Shinde said.
"As per the report received from Assam government, there was simmering tension. There were some killings and firing incidents in Muslim villages. Tension erupted after the killing of four Bodo youth, which spread to Dubri, Chirang and other districts," he said.
Earlier, the BJP succeeded in forcing debate on the Assam violence on the very first day of the month-long monsoon session. Advani led the debate on an adjournment motion admitted in the Lok Sabha while senior party leader Balbir Punj initiated the debate in the Rajya Sabha.
The government also did not try to block the debate as prime minister Manmohan Singh told reporters just before start of the session that the discussion would help him in taking decisions to handle the Assam violence. He also made it a point to remain present in the Lok Sabha to listen to Advani carefully.
The solution suggested by both Advani and Punj include creation of a national citizens register, removing names of the Bangladeshis from electoral rolls and other government records and deporting of all Bangladeshis within four months as directed by the Supreme Court in December 2006 or at the least de-franchise them.
Advani insisted not to see the Assam violence from a communal angle or an ethnic violence between Bodos and non-Bodos as he claimed at the root of the violence was the conflict between the people of the Indian origin and the foreigners.
The house witnessed uproarious scenes during the interventions of the Assam MP Badrudin Ajmal and the Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owasi. Ajmal contested Advani's illegal immigrant theory, saying Bengalis have been living in the region much before the creation of Bangladesh. He had BJP MPs on their feet when he said Advani had also migrated from Sindh in Pakistan. Owasi blamed Advani for reading apex court judgment on the scrapping of the IMDT act selectively.
National Conference MP Sharifudin Shariq said the BJP was selective in targeting illegal immigrants.
"They (BJP) support over a lakh refugees living in Jammu and Kashmir illegally for over past many decades, because they are Hindus, while raising the bogey in the north-east," he said.
In Rajya Sabha, Punj blamed the Congress for ignoring the problem of illegal migrants from Bangladesh and demanded that they should be identified as 'stateless persons' with no rights.
"They should neither having voting rights, nor the right to own land, and they should not be allowed to have any education either," he demanded.
Humanity overrides differences as Bodos, Muslims help each other
Simang Daimary, TNN | Jul 26, 2012, 03.19PM IST
KOKRAJHAR: At a time when miscreants of the Bodo tribal community and Muslims are engaged in an ethnic clash, a Muslim went out of his way to save the life of a Bodo tribal, Jageswar Basumatary.
Unaware of the riots gripping the region, Basumatary, an employee of UCO Bank at Nayahaat in Dhubri district, was discharging his duties as a cashier. He had no idea that he was holed up in a Muslim-dominated area. However, when he was about to return to his rented house at Fakiragram after work, a Muslim persuaded him not to, informing him about the Bodo-Muslim clash.
The Muslim offered him shelter at his home as there was no way for him to get to a safer place. He thought of his wife and five children back home at Katligaon in Baksa district, but he could not reach there without getting killed as the violence had already claimed many lives.
His Muslim host was determined to save Basumatary as he considered it his holy duty to send him home safely. However, trouble started when miscreants, who had heard of a Bodo tribal hiding in a Muslim's house, came asking for the man. They searched all the rooms and all possible hideouts, but could not find him. The host even declared they could take his life, but he would never tell them about the Bodo tribal's whereabouts. He said he had a dream the previous night where "Allah told him to save a man in trouble". The miscreants damaged his house and broke the window panes, but the host was stubborn.
Later that night, the Muslim helped him reach a place near Barsidiabari, a deserted Bodo village in Bilasipara. Basumatary then joined some Bodo men in the village and boarded a bus, which was shifting Bodo villagers to a safer place. Basumatary on Wednesday said, "My host would have given up his life to save me. I owe everything to him now. He is my 'Bhagawan' and 'Allah'."
A Bodo family in Kokrajhar too offered shelter to five Muslims in their house when the communal frenzy claimed many lives. The Bodo family, which does not wish to disclose their identity in public, kept the five Muslims in their house for a night and sent them to a safe place with the help of security forces on Monday.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/Humanity-overrides-differences-as-Bodos-Muslims-help-each-other/articleshow/15162417.cms
Now read this most relevant story!
Assam riot victims need our sensitivity, not our prejudice
Friday , August 10, 2012 at 00 : 10
http://ibnlive.in.com/blogs/rajdeepsardesai/1/63780/assam-riot-victims-need-our-sensitivity-not-our-prejudice.html
In an emotionally surcharged and polarised polity, even riot politics can become a zero sum game. So, any television debate on Gujarat 2002 must necessarily draw a comparison to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Failure to do so opens one to the charge of bias and worse. It's almost as if the opposing sides are suggesting that, "My record in handling riots is better than yours because fewer people died in 'my riot'." It's almost as if a collective sense of guilt at one horrific act of violence will be erased only by equating it with another. Shockingly, the fact that every human life lost in any riot should be seen as a blot on the country is lost in the cacophony of a studio.
The latest comparison being drawn is between Assam and Gujarat. 'Why hasn't the media covered the Assam violence with the intensity that Gujarat was reported?' is a question which has been raised in several fora in recent weeks. At one level, it's a legitimate question to ask in the era of 24-hour news channels. But at another, there is a more sinister subliminal message which suggests that a 'pseudo-secular' media will not cover Assam because Bodos are involved while it covered Gujarat because Muslims were being killed.
The truth is very different and rather more prosaic. Kokrajhar is at least 150 kilometres from Guwahati. No national channel has an OB van in Guwahati. As a result, by the time most reporters reached the worst-affected districts, much of the violence was over. By contrast, Gujarat 2002 took place in the heart of urban centres like Ahmedabad and Vadodara, in many instances just a few kilometres away from news organisation offices. The horror was easily accessible, it could be captured on camera almost as it happened. Delhi 84 took place in the pre-24-hour news network period. I have little doubt that had similar rioting taken place today, the Congress goons who led the mobs would have been exposed in the same manner as the Sangh Parivar groups who targeted Muslim homes in Gujarat.
This is not to offer an excuse for the more limited coverage of the Assam riots but rather try and explain just why not just Kokrajhar, but indeed the entire North-East, suffers from the 'tyranny of distance'. Only a few weeks before this latest cycle of violence, more than a hundred people died in floods that left more than half of Assam under water. Did we see any coverage on the scale we see when even one little helpless child is trapped in an open drain in a metropolis? It requires a Mary Kom to put Manipur on the national map; a 100-day blockade that saw the price of petrol go up to Rs 140 per litre in Imphal and LPG cylinders reach the Rs 2,000 mark scarcely got a mention. Unfortunately, instead of focussing the debate on the underlying reasons for the limited media coverage of the North-East, the Assam violence has provided another opportunity to shoot the messenger by accusing the media of making editorial choices based on the religious identity of the 'victim'.
Even here, Assam presents a more complex scenario than what the bigoted minds who operate in black and white terms would have us believe. As the reporting becomes more exhaustive and the real tragedy unfolds through the terrified faces of the many thousands in relief camps, it is apparent that this was no one-sided riot: Bodos, Bengali Hindus, Adivasis and Muslims have all suffered in the melting pot of a diverse, multi-ethnic society. In fact, official statistics suggest that there are far more Muslims today in relief camps than other communities. Yet if one were to hear the strident voices across media platforms then it would seem that only one community has suffered. Bodos have lost their land, so have Muslims, but somehow in the popular imagination there is only one aggressor.
Indeed, what unites every riot is the constant search for the 'enemy'. In 1984, the assassination of Mrs Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards led to the labelling of every Sikh as 'anti-national'. Almost overnight, a proud and patriotic community found itself being targeted. In 2002, the killing of kar sevaks in the Sabarmati Express created a desire to seek revenge for the act by singling out every Muslim in Gujarat as a 'terrorist'. Assam 2012 is again more complex: it is still unclear what the real trigger for the violence was since the Bodos and the Muslims of the region have a long history of animosity, aggravated by the formation of the Bodoland Territorial Council in 2003, and there have been a spate of attacks by well-armed militant groups on both sides in recent months.
And yet, in Assam too, the 'enemy' has been found: the 'illegal Bangladeshi immigrant' is today a euphemism for almost anyone in lower Assam who is seen to belong to a particular religious community. The historical fact that labourers from then East Bengal had been migrating from the beginning of the 20th century is ignored. The fact that the Census decadal growth figures have not revealed any dramatic rise in Muslim population is contested. Instead, a fierce propaganda machine has been unleashed to suggest that Assam has been 'swamped' by Bangladeshi Muslims.
Yes, there is a growing problem of porous borders and a weak legal regime that has made Assam vulnerable to an influx of economic migrants from across the border. Yes, there are political parties who see religious communities as vote banks. Yes, there is a fierce battle for land and scarce resources which gets magnified when demographic patterns alter. But the solution isn't to stoke the flames of hatred and mistrust. Scars of riot victims are healed by sensitivity, not prejudice. That is true of Delhi 84, as it is of Gujarat 2002 as of Assam 2012.
Riots & the bogey of Bangladeshis
BANAJIT HUSSAIN
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article3738939.ece
Many Muslims from erstwhile East Bengal settled in Assam in early 20th century. But vested interests are out to prove that their descendants today are illegal migrants
During the humanitarian crisis that has unfolded in Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon and Chirang districts of the Bodoland Territorial Autonomous Districts (BTAD) and the adjoining Dhubri district, we have witnessed the tragedy of nearly 400,000 people belonging to the Bodo and Muslim communities being forced to move to 273 temporary refugee camps. These people will stand internally displaced, scarred and traumatised for months to come, if not years. So far, it is estimated that 65 persons have lost their lives and around 500 villages have been torched to the ground. The magnitude of this human tragedy is overwhelming considering the short span of two weeks in which it occurred. It poses a serious threat to the already fragile state of secularism in the region whose demography has always been so diverse. It urgently calls for a restoration of trust and confidence amongst all the people affected by the riots.
POLARISATION
What is surprising is that rather than focussing on the immediate need for a humanitarian call to stop the killings and the violence on the part of community leaders and the administration, an atmosphere of extreme polarisation has been brought about, with leaders of both the Bodo and the Muslim communities hurling allegations and counter allegations at each other.
To make matters worse, leaders of the Bodo community, large sections of mainstream Assamese society, and a section of the media and the political class took it upon themselves to allege and prove that the responsibility for this human tragedy lies squarely on "illegal Bangladeshi migrants" and that the undifferentiated Muslim masses inhabiting western Assam are "Bangladeshis". The social media was also chock-a-block with rumours — like the one about boats laden with guns and bombs being sent from Bangladesh to arm the illegal migrants in their alleged bit to take over Kokrajhar district.
It cannot be simply assumed that the BTAD leadership and the mainstream Assamese society are innocently mistaken in believing that all Muslims inhabiting this area are illegal migrants from Bangladesh. Rather it is a conscious "mistake" laced with communal undertones. The rhetoric of "illegal" migrants flooding the region that appears to be fuelling the attacks is backed largely by what seems to be paranoia about the perceived growing numbers of Muslims in the area, all of whom are assumed to be "illegal" migrants.
It is a well documented historical fact that a large number of peasants from erstwhile East Bengal migrated and settled in Assam in the early decades of the 20th century. However, in the prevailing atmosphere of jingoism and xenophobia, it is not enough to just state that migration of East Bengali Muslim peasants in the early decades of the 20th century is a well documented historical fact. This historical fact needs to be reiterated today, especially when a constitutional authority like the Election Commissioner of India, Harishankar Brahma, in his overzealous attempt to prove that illegal Bangladeshis are behind the violence, claims that this stream of migration into Assam started during the late 1960s and early 1970s ("How to share Assam," Indian Express, 28th July, 2012). However, if one looks at the census data, his claims appear unsubstantiated and historically flawed. One wishes that a constitutional authority like him would be careful about and be aware of the country's official demographic records.
Hypothetically, if we take the entire population of 33 lakhs in Assam in 1901 to be "indigenous", and we apply the all-India rate of population increase of 74.82 per cent between 1901 and 1941, then the population of Assam in 1941 should have been 57.69 lakhs instead of 67 lakhs. That means approximately 9.31 lakh people had migrated into Assam in this period. Applying the same all-India rate of population increase during this period, the Muslim population in 1941 should have been 8.8 lakhs, instead of the 16.9 lakhs it actually was. From this, it can be inferred that the increase was due to the settling of migrants in the State and that the majority of these Muslim peasant migrants who settled in Assam during this period were East Bengali Muslim peasants. It is worth mentioning that Muslim East Bengali peasants first settled in undivided Goalpara district (which included Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Chirang and Dhubri till the 1980s), before they spanned out to other parts of lower and central Assam. From 1901 to 1931, 4.98 lakh East Bengali Muslim peasants are recorded in Goalpara district alone.
If one is to believe the assertions of the Election Commissioner, then the question that immediately arises is — where are the descendants of the lakhs of East Bengali Muslim peasants who settled in this area before Partition? In all probability, many of them today are languishing in the relief camps with the imminent threat of being identified as Bangladeshis.
FALSE CLAIM
It has also been claimed by various people, including the Bodo leadership, that the Bangladeshi population in Kokrajhar district — where the violence erupted first and which is also the political seat of power in BTAD — has increased by leaps and bounds in the last decades. Contrary to what popular perception might hold, even a cursory glance at the census data gives a different picture. There has been no alarming increase in Kokrajhar district of the Muslim population in decades. In 1971, the Muslim population in Kokrajhar (then it was a sub-division of undivided Goalpara district) stood at 17 per cent, with no census being conducted in 1981. It stood at 19.3 per cent in 1991 and, in 2001, it stood at 20.4 per cent.
Even though the religion-wise census figures for 2011 are not yet available, provisional results from the 2011 census show that the decadal growth rate of population between 2001-2011 for Kokrajhar district is 5.19 per cent, interestingly, marking a decline of 9 per cent as compared to the decadal growth rate of 14.49 per cent between 1991 to 2001. (The decadal growth rate for Assam between 1991 to 2001 was 18.92 per cent and 16.93 per cent between 2001-2011.)
There can only be two plausible reasons for this 9 per cent decline in population growth between 2001-2011. One possibility, though highly unlikely, is that the population growth rate has remained more or less the same as it was between 1991 and 2001, but the death rate has shot up by 9 per cent. The other possibility, which seems more plausible, is that there has been a considerable out-migration from Kokrajhar, especially after the formation of the BTAD in 2003. Since the Bodos (who constitute 20 per cent of the population in the BTAD area) hold a monopoly over political power in the area, it is unlikely that there has been any significant out-migration of the Bodo population from Kokrajhar district. The Koch Rajbangsis, who constitute roughly 17 per cent of the total population of the BTAD, have been campaigning for and demanding a separate homeland — Kamtapur — which territorially overlaps the BTAD, thus making it unlikely that they would out-migrate, abdicating their political claim over the territory. In all probability, the out-migration involves other non-Bodo communities, including Muslims.
By now it should be clear that simplistic propositions like 'Bangladeshi illegal migrants are the root cause of the violence' not only prevent us from understanding the complex reality of the situation but also reek of communal propaganda. The demographic reality of western Assam is a mosaic of different ethnicities with their own claims of identity and territorial aspirations.
In the light of this, some glaring questions stare us in the face. What informs this fear of the growing number of Muslims? How are these fears of the swamping of the ethnic and cultural identity of the Bodos being fuelled, and by whom? How and when did all Muslims in the area get classified in the public mind as "illegal migrants from Bangladesh?" Looking for answers to questions like these, rather than raising the bogey of numbers and formulaic xenophobic explanations might make the difference, literally, between life and death in this region today.
(Note: All data are either calculated or taken from census data from 1901 to 1991 provided in the Gazetteer of India Assam State Vol-1, 1999 and Provisional Totals, Census of India, 2011)
(Banajit Hussain is a former Research Fellow at the Democracy and Social Movement Institute, Sungkonghoe University, Seoul)
Keywords: Assam violence, Bodo-Muslim clashes, Bangladeshi settlers, East Bengal, Kokrajhar riots, Bodoland Territorial Autonomous Districts
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article3738939.ece
Why India's Assam violence hasn't made the headlines
By Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay Jul 27, 2012 2:20AM UTC
I do not get to watch much television. But whatever little has passed my eye over the past few days, I felt that rioting in Assam was not jumping out of the screens like it does in other riotous situations – most infamously in Gujarat 2002, billed as India's first live (sic) riots.
I asked people if my presumption was correct. I got answers in the affirmative – coverage of the situation in Assam was inadequate and in place of hysterical reporting the emphasis was on talking heads inside studios and handout reporting.
One tried to understand why the pitch of reporting was several octaves lower than the recent Guwahati molestation case. There also has to be an explanation why the majority of reports from Assam continued to have the Guwahati dateline and not Kokrajhar well after it became evident that this was not just another small round of skirmish that Lower Assam has repeatedly seen in recent years.
It is not as if Kokrajhar is a great distance from Guwahati. At less than 250 kilometres which most people say can be normally done in a shade more than four hours, it is easily accessible. Yet the media chose to stay away for long.
There has been a debate that the violence cannot be called communal violence because the communities involved are tribals and Muslims. Firstly, this is a very narrow view of communalism – which after all is an ideology and a riot is an extreme manifestation of it. Calling only a Hindu-Muslim conflict as communal violence would be extremely reductionist.
Secondly the violence has been dubbed ethnic conflict with the basic struggle being for control of land among aboriginal tribal residents and migrant Muslim settlers. But the presentation of this argument does not take into account that the trend of Muslim settlers arriving from what was then overcrowded districts of East Bengal, began from the 1820s with the British occupation of these territories. Contemporary settlers cannot be penalised for a phenomenon that is almost two centuries old.
In contrast to the present violence in Assam, social unrest in the late 1970s and early 1980s during the AASU led movement drew greater attention of the national media probably because it was more in the realm of the classical Hindu-Muslim conflict.
It would be easy to jump to the conclusion that the reason behind the relatively less coverage – when compared to the riots in Gujarat is because the BJP is a favourite whipping boy of the media – and that the Congress is far more adept at media management.
While not being completely true, the fact of the matter is that the BJP has a more villainous tinge to its saffron and khakhi association. Symbols and colours of other political parties do not have connotations beyond the electoral realm. Moreover, Assam is no economic powerhouse like Gujarat and Tarun Gogoi is not a polarising politician like Narendra Modi.
Unfortunately, just as the media weighs those who are alive to decide what is a good story, it also first labels the dead as sexy before deciding to rush resources for coverage.
http://asiancorrespondent.com/86622/media-why-assam-violence-is-not-on-top-of-the-headlines/
Assam riots: The fight is still on
Prabin Kalita | August 4, 2012
Militarisation of various tribes in Assam has resulted in bloody conflicts in the state.
Ethnic conflicts in Assam have always been laced with a heavy dose of militancy. There is at least one militant outfit in every major tribal group in the state - Bodos, Karbis, Dimasas, Adivasis and Kukis, all of whom have been engaged in conflicts at one point or the other in the last 60 years.
The Muslims, the only non-tribal group affected in the ethnic conflagration, is so far not known to opted for this route. Though, Islamic fundamentalist groups have been present in the state, but, intelligence agencies say they have been in 'sleep mode' for long. Among the Muslim terror groups, the Muslim United Liberation Tigers of Assam (MULTA) is the oldest. There is also the Muslim United Liberation Front of Assam (MULFA).
Chief minister Tarun Gogoi says, "Feelings of alienation and deprivation coupled with aspirations for separate identity to protect their land and culture from invasion of non-tribal groups are the root causes of the ethnic flareups. " The struggle starts with more democratic ways, like mass agitations, which slowly but eventually fans the birth of a militant outfit within the tribe. The democratic process of demand subsequently takes a back seat as militancy takes over. Often, the militant and the democratic groups are found to join hands.
The Bodos living in the western part of the state have had the maximum number of clashes with members of other tribes, Adivasis and nontribes (Muslims). They first fought for the inclusion of Bodo as an official language in the late 70s. This was followed by a bloody battle for separate identity that carries on till today despite having an autonomous set-up guaranteed by the Sixth Schedule of Constitution of India. The movement for a separate identity, which was started democratically by All Bodo Students Union, was soon hijacked by militant outfits.
The first such outfit to come up was the National Democratic Front for Bodoland (NDFB) in 1988, which extended the demand to a sovereign country. The Bodo Volunteer Force, later renamed Bodo Liberation Tiger, came next and, again, pressed for the creation of a separate state.
It was way back in 1952 when the Bodos first clashed with Muslims to prevent the inclusion of Assam in East Pakistan. More than four decades later, in 1992, they again locked horns with Muslims in Kokrajhar. At the time Bodo militancy was at its peak and the confrontation resulted in the loss of 113 lives.
They again struck the Muslims in Udalguri in 2008 and 64 people lost their lives. The NDFB was found to have put its might behind the Bodo community during this conflict. "However, in this year's communal conflict involving the Bodos and Muslims we have not got any direct evidence of the involvement of Bodo militants. This could be a reason why the death toll of 56 has been relatively lower than that of earlier clashes in which the militants played an active role, " says a senior Assam police officer on condition of anonymity.
The Bodo Liberation Tiger was disbanded in 2002 while the NDFB, except for a small antitalk faction, is in ceasefire and holding talks with government. All India United Democratic Front leader, MP and perfume baron Badaaruddin Ajmal, however, believes that despite the peace process in place in Bodoland, people still have access to illegal arms, which have been used in the recent clash. "I have demanded that the Centre first seize all these illegal arms if it wants to contain the communal clash, " he says.
In recent years the Bodos have also unleashed their wrath at the Adivasis (Santhals and other minority tribes) living in their area because they blame them for their own economic problems. The Bodos violently clashed with the Adivasis in 1996 and 1998 which resulted in the death of 198 and 186 people, respectively. The violence was mainly fuelled by militants.
After two back-to-back clashes with the Bodos, the Adivasis, too, came up with their own militant outfits - The Adivasi Cobra Force, All Adivasi National Liberation Army and the Adivasi Peoples Army. This year the Koch-Rajbongshis formed Kamatapur Liberation Army which demands for the ST status and a separate state of Kamatapur for themselves. The Adivasis of Assam are fighting for a place in the scheduled tribes list of the country and, though, they have the support of their militant fighters they have not been involved in any ethnic clash.
In contrast, other tribes in Assam have not shied from resorting to the force of violence to meet their political demands. In 2004, the Dima Halam Daogah, an erstwhile extremist group, was involved in the Dimasa-Hmar conflict which resulted in a death toll of 57.
The DHD fought for the creation of a separate state of Dimaraji for Dimasa tribe living in areas of north Cachar Hills and Karbi Anglong districts of Assam and parts of Dimapur district in Nagaland. In the same year 98 people lost their lives when Karbi militants of United Democratic Peace Solidarity and Karbi National Liberation Front fought with the Kukis in Karbi Anglong district. The toll crossed 100 the next year when the Dimasas clashed with the neighbouring Karbis in one the worst ethnic riots in Assam.
http://www.timescrest.com/society/assam-riots-the-fight-is-still-on-8461
IMMIGRATION PROBLEM IN ASSAM- A BACKGROUNDER
Pulakesh Upadhyaya
A LOOK INTO THE BACKGROUND OF ASSAM CLASHES
The recent riots in Assam have brought various questions which were lying in cold storage to the fore. This riot has also generated tremendous curiosity and war of words on the social media as to whether the riots were downright "communal", or in fact they were "ethnic" riots. It may however be pointed out that calling this riot communal is as much a generalization as calling it ethnic, in fact there are various forces at play making this situation much more complex than the riots of 1984 in Delhi, or 2002 in Gujarat. The only parallel that can be drawn to the ethnic riots in Western Assam is the riot in 1983 in Nellie in Assam, in which many thousands were butchered within a span of six hours.
To understand the complexity of the riot, one has to understand the various problems arising out of defining people as indigenous and immigrants, and how after the independence of India in 1947, immigration rules were flouted to allow unabated illegal migration into the state of Assam. To know the demographical contours of what has been called the melting pot of Assam, one has to go at least to the colonial times, and the impact of the politics of those time on the present political and demographic scenario in Assam.
Migration has always been a reality in Assam. Throughout history people from various places have migrated to Assam, and the melting pot of Assam has assimilated them since time immemorial. However, these migrations were during the time when the concept of nation-states and citizenship were not well-defined, and hence there was no definition of the legality and illegality of such migration. However, after 1947, when the British left India, we had our own policy of immigration, citizenship and voting rights. Hence, the legal definition of the word "foreigner" comes into effect from 1947.
If we go back to the colonial era, many communities from Nepal, undivided Bengal, and other parts of India also migrated to Assam. The migrants from Nepal were mainly grazers or Gorkha soldiers working for the Army. The people from Chhotanagpur plateau area, mainly Jharkhand and Orissa were hired as laborers by the British to work for the tea gardens. The people from Bengal can be broadly classified into Bengali Hindus and Bengali Muslims. In the colonial era, the Bengali Hindus were mainly from the elite class, who used to work as officials. Later on there was another class of Bengali Hindu refugees from East Bengal, who were rendered homeless after the inhuman atrocities meted out to them during partition by their linguistic counterparts who happened to be Muslims. The Bengali Muslim immigrants were mainly cultivators, who migrated in accordance with the British policy of "Grow more food", which ultimately many people felt was also complimentary with the Muslim League's design to "Grow more Muslims", obviously in the later part of the colonial era when they wanted greater territory for their separate land called Pakistan.
The earliest conflicts of Assamese people were with the Bengali Hindus. This was mainly the outcome of imposition of Bengali in Assam as the medium of instruction in schools, and the Bengali-speaking officials obviously aroused a sense of contempt amongst Assamese. This can mainly be regarded as a conflict between the caste Assamese and Bengali Hindu elite, which ultimately had far-reaching consequences in the post-colonial era. This conflict also drove a wedge between the districts in Barak Valley, with predominantly Bengali population and the caste Assamese of the Brahmaputra Valley, when after independence Assamese was slated to be declared the official language of Assam. It is therefore more of a cultural issue and a fight for linguistic hegemony from both sides.
The second and the relevant topic at this point of time is the conflict with the Bengali Muslims. The British in 1911 noted that the population pressure on East Bengal, especially the districts of Mymensingh, Pabna, Bogra and Rangpur was very high, and there was a lot of fertile land available in areas like Goalpara and Barpeta for Bengali Muslims who were mostly cultivators. In 1921, the British census noted considerable immigration had taken place in these districts by immigrant communities, and some were even found near the Bhutanese border. There was a 55.6% migration between 1911 and 1921, when the Brahmaputra valley alone is taken into account. This trend continued till independence.
Unlike Bengali Hindus, the earliest of the Bengali Hindus immigrants, either out of fear or compulsion, returned Assamese as their mother tongue. This was evident when the number of Assamese speakers rose from 31.4% in 1931 to 56.7% in 1951, which is in many ways incredible. Simultaneously, the percentage of Bengali speakers in Assam declined from 26.8% in 1931 to 16.5% in 1951. The elite Assamese caste people as well as many intellectuals of that time were more than accommodative to Bengali Muslims, who they thought were more likely to return Assamese as their mother tongue in days to come. The Congress party also saw a huge vote-bank, and created almost favorable conditions for infiltration from East Pakistan from 1951 to 1971, even after independence. Thus, the percentage rise in Muslim population in Assam was unchecked. Myron Weiner writes in Sons of the Soil, published in 1978:
'After 1947 the Bengali Muslims became de facto allies of the Assamese in their conflict with the Bengali Hindus. Bengali Muslims have been willing to accept Assamese as the medium of instruction in their schools, and have thrown their votes behind Assamese candidates for the state Assembly and the national Parliament. They have declared Assamese as their mother tongue. In return, the state government has not attempted to eject Bengali Muslims from lands on which they have settled in the Brahmaputra valley, though earlier leaders had claimed that much of the settlement had taken place illegally… There is thus an unspoken coalition between the Assamese and the Bengali Muslims against the Bengali Hindus'
It must however be noted that after India became independent in 1947, all the Bengali Muslims who had migrated till that point were and are legal citizens of India. But illegal immigration went unabated, and out of a sheer influence of vote-bank politics, and a clear mistake by Assamese intellectuals to consider the compulsion of the immigrants to return Assamese as their mother tongue as a choice took a dangerous turn in the 1970s. A.F. Ghulam Osmani from Barpeta emerged as a leader who stressed on his linguistic identity as Bengali as well as his religious identity. He saw a new contour to the unspoken alliances, where the Bengali Muslims need not pander to interests of the caste Assamese Hindus. The tacit support of the government made it impossible to make out which Bengali Muslims had migrated prior to 1951 (and hence Indian citizens) from the illegal immigrants who migrated later.
Now, as these developments were unfolding, illegal immigrants started exerting pressure on tribal territory. Places like Nagaon, Morigaon etc started feeling the pressure due to the encroachment of tribal lands by the immigrant population. This was felt by tribes specially the Tiwas, and now the Bodos as they were the first victims of such encroachment. The Assamese intellectuals were content at the linguistic assimilation of the immigrants; however they turned a blind eye to the pressure on land that they cast, as most on the receiving side were the tribesmen. This conflict ultimately served the basis of the Nellie riots of 1983, where 3000 Muslims of Bengali origin were killed. (Though the immediate causes of the riot were different, but the main cause was the socio-economic pressure of immigration.) Thus, one major distinction can be observed. The torchbearers of the struggle with Bengali Hindus, which was a linguistic struggle were Assamese intellectuals and caste Hindus. The tribal areas were the conflict areas of Bengali Muslim-indigenous divide, it was they who suffered the most, and it was they who were the most active retaliators.
Now, after the neglect of the tribesmen, there was another problem which faced the society. Muslims of Bengali origin after 1978 state assembly elections became more assertive of their linguistic identity. Thus after the Assam Agitation of 1979-1985 Muslim parties from UMF to AIUDF have been desirous of making a linguistic coalition to further their religious agenda. The rise of Islamic assertion after from 1980s to 2000s throughout the world did not leave these people untouched. The Pakistan based ISI found out new ways of entering India's territory by indoctrinating people from Assam through the rise of communal elements. The rising communal sentiments also made the Bengali Hindu apprehensive of joining the Osmani bandwagon, and after 1991, especially in the Barak Valley they started opting for the BJP in a clear sign of polarization.
1978 was in many ways a turning point in Assamese nationalism. Though the immigrants from 1901-1951 had by and large become Assamese, with their children and grand children being the product of being provided education in Assamese, as well as the policy of assimilation that their grandparents had adopted for survival. Many poets and writers also emerged from their midst. But, there was another angle to it. People among them who stressed more on their religious identity allowed illegal immigration to continue unabated even after independence, and with increasing numbers the compulsion to assimilate themselves into the melting pot that was Assam gradually diminished. Assam was slowly losing its identity, because the sheer magnitude of this migration is perhaps unprecedented.
The rise of leaders like Osmani stands testimony to the fact. In 1978 again, the MP of Mangaldoi (in Lower-Middle Assam) Mr. Hiralal Patowari died, and after his death it was noted that the number of people in the electoral rolls had gone considerably high. This led to massive protests by the AASU, and the Assamese voter had finally risen up to the task of opposing illegal immigration. There were such voices raised earlier by the tribespeople in Assam , but from 1979-1985 the whole of Assamese population, including tribals united against illegal immigration and the anti-foreigner movement ultimately led to the signing of the Assam accord, where the people agreed to have 1971 as a metric for judging who is a foreigner.
The opponents of the movement, especially the Congress party found that such movement would actually be detrimental to their interests. Therefore they sought to divide the Assamese society by encouraging militancy, and followed a policy where separate tribes were encouraged to highlight their differences rather than similarities. The aspirations of the tribes for self-development were used as a tool to fuel discord in the Assamese society. Concordant with that was the failure of governance machinery, mainly due to the deteriorating Centre-State relationship. The tribes which faced the direct fallout of immigration in form of land also felt left out. Then came the IMD(T) act for Assam which required proving someone is not a citizen on the complainant, rather than the citizen himself as is practiced in the rest of India. Even when it was struck down after it had already done a lot of damage, many organization opposed it, saying that the laws which applied for the whole of India, were specially harassment for bona-fide citizens of India, only because they lived in Assam. A dangerous trend has emerged where citizens have been mobilized to oppose registration of citizenship by instilling in them the fear of harassment. This is the reason of fundamentalist elements on one side and purist parochial elements on the other who have created this policy paralysis.
The number of illegal immigrants (using the 1971 metric) has been a contentious issue. The number varies from 0 (claimed by AIUDF and some Congress politicians) to 50 lakhs (stated by Lal Krishna Advani). Walter Fernandes estimates from the growth in Muslim population and taking into account the high fertility rate, that the figure scientifically adds up to 15 lakh.
The rise of Islamic fundamentalism in various pockets of Assam was parallel to its rise in the world. Organisations like Al Qaeda also saw Assam as a new laboratory for their designs of Islamization of the entire world. ISI grew active, and by polarizing the immigrant Muslim population, they ensured that illegal immigration which was an economic seepage became an external aggression. Intellectuals still deny its magnitude, but it is a harsh reality in many areas of Assam. Networks like HuJi have been active in Lower Assam and Barak Valley.
This has added a communal dimension to the ethnic or economic conflict. People are now living in denial; intellectuals are not acting impartial because they consider turning a blind eye to this menace is going to paint them in more secular colour. Assamese speaking Muslims have by and large resisted these designs and also consider the Bangladeshis as the ones who are encroaching upon the benefits that minorities get from the state, and have stressed on their Assamese identity rather than Islamic one. However, the plans of these elements include radicalization of this group of population, so as to receive logistic support for illegal immigration, and ensure that this conflict reaches a point of full-fledged external aggression.
The recent riots in Assam are a manifestation of these complex realities. The Bodo militancy, and the lack of law and order in these areas means that the struggle might get a bloodier in the days to come. I am not a pessimist, but any pragmatist will see this coming, unless there is a serious political consensus, and a nationalist, united approach against illegal immigration. The Bodos and the Tiwas were the first victims of illegal immigration. They turned perpetrators of unseen violence under provocation, in Nellie in 1983 and Kokrajhar in 2012. In many unheard of cases in areas where they are in a minority, the Bodos are also victims. This is not a justification, but a mere reason. The density of population in minority dominated districts of Assam which border/include tribal areas is high. : Dhubri has a density of 1171, Barpeta 632, Nagaon 711, compared to Sonitpur which has 365, and Dibrugarh 393. All these districts have almost similar (physical) geographical characteristics. Dhubri borders Kokrajhar whose density of population is just 280. This gradient is a reason enough for ethnic diffusion. Ethnic diffusion is the reason for ethnic tension. Does it take a soothsayer to predict that? At least it takes an insensitive and incompetent government to ignore that.
Assam should realize that this situation cannot continue for long. Some strong long-term planning has to go into a robust policy framework. The Parliament of India should also act responsibly to its border state of Assam, as a systemic demographic imbalance of Assam will spell disaster for the rest of India. If Assam becomes a victim, can India continue to be an ignorant onlooker?
References:
India against itself- Assam and the politics of nationality. Sanjib Baruah.
IMDT Act and Immigratio in North-Eastern India. Walter Fernandes
http://www.india-seminar.com/2002/510/510%20sujit%20chaudhuri.htm
Immigration and Identity Transformation in Assam, Udayon Misra, Economic and Political Weekly.
(Image Courtesy – Firstpost and Twocircles)
http://centreright.in/2012/07/immigration-problem-in-assam-a-backgrounder/#.UCIlCPYgdbw
Assam riot refugees unwelcome in Meghalaya
NewsNET Desk | July 27, 2012 |
Six days after the flare-up in Assam, the North East has finally got 'National Attention', with some 2,30,000 Muslim settlers displaced, over 50 reported deaths, and 172 hamlets destroyed. Assam's neighbours are equally worried about illegal Muslim immigrants fleeing from Assam.
The citizens of Meghalaya don't want their ethnic populations thrown out of whack by 'unwelcome guests'. In the fifties and sixties it was the internal immigration from the plains which caused a dis-balance in the local population. Now, over the past twenty years, north eastern people have seen how 'settlers' from across the Indian border have multiplied so much as to actually change the demographic. So where do these people go? Should they be pushed into camps along he Bangladesh border?
Assam violence: photo from the net
It's been six days now since the ethnic clashes began in Bodoland Territorial Administered Districts ( BTAD). According to the estimates, about 2 lakh 30 thousand Muslim refugees are in 'shelter camps' to save their lives.
As of today, nearly 250 makeshift shelter camps have come up in this area. Food and essential life saving relief material has not reached many of these camps and children deaths are reported.
It is reported that 172 villages has been torched and 44 killed as per official record. Unofficial records quoted 150 deaths and many more missing.
A woman(name withheld) says was observing the holy month of Ramadan and the very first day of ramzan she had to run away for safety. She along with her family reached a school campus where hundreds had gathered for safety. No security forces were on the school campus and so the group decided to go back to their villages and stay in groups for protection. Later, the woman went back to a shelter camp as she came to know that her village has been completely burnt down.
An eye witness in Kokrajhar narrated that several people gathered near Hekaipara mass grave and requested the SP to send security forces. SP assured to send security forces to the location mentioned but it was too late. Security forces reached after 3 hours and by that time four persons were already killed by the armed miscreants. Inhabitants of Hekaipara were later shifted to shelter camps in trucks. Once the inhabitants left the village, their houses were looted and then torched.
Dead bodies were collected after 48 hours.
Fear and trauma spread among the Muslim population. 'Administration has no control over the situation and there is no security at all', said an eye witness.
Stop Bangladeshi influx from Assam: Meghalaya citizen groups
With ethnic violence continuing in neighbouring Assam, political parties and student bodies have urged the Meghalaya government to pre-empt any possible 'influx' of Bangladeshi migrants into the state. "The government should alert the police and take all necessary steps to prevent any possible influx of refugees into Meghalaya," said Paul Lyngdoh, working president of the United Democratic Party, a major constituent of the Congress-led Meghalaya United Alliance government. The party has cautioned the government against any 'complacency' in view of the ongoing turmoil in Assam.
Tighten check-points
Khasi Students Union (KSU) submitted a memorandum to home minister HDR Lyngdoh urging the government to tighten vigil at checkpoints along the inter-state border. In the wake of reports that Bangladeshi Muslims were trying to enter Meghalaya following the communal flare-up in Assam, the KSU urged the state government to strengthen its anti-infiltration wing. "We fear that Bangladeshis will enter the state to avoid the clash in Southern Assam," a student leader said. "The government should act before it is too late. We will not allow Meghalaya to become another Assam, where the indigenous population has been reduced to a minority," he emphasized.
Police sources said vigil has been mounted along the inter-state boundary with Assam to thwart any possible influx of riot victims into Meghalaya from the violence-hit neighbouring state. "We are maintaining constant vigil to ensure that no illegal Bangladeshi migrant enters the state from Assam," a police officer said.
Boundary dispute
Meanwhile, chief minister Mukul Sangma convened an all-party meeting today to discuss the boundary row with Assam. The two neighbouring states have 12 areas of dispute along the inter-state boundary, which has often led to flare-ups including killing of four Khasi villagers at the disputed area of Langpih by Assam police personnel a few years back. At present, chief-secretarial level talks are on between the two states to resolve the boundary dispute, over which chief minister Sangma and his Assam counterpart Tarun Gogoi have also held talks.
http://newsneteast.com/assam-riot-refugees-unwelcome-in-meghalaya/
VHP International working president Dr Pravin Togadia has demanded president's intervene in the Human Rights crisis created by Ethnic Cleansing of original tribes in Assam. In a letter addressed to the president of India, he requested tribunal to deport all Bangla Deshi Muslim Infiltrators from Assam in the background of horrible arson & murders by Infiltrators.
Here is the full text of the letter.
From: Dr Pravin Togadia, International Working President, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Sankatmochan, Sector 6, R K Puram, New Delhi
July 26, 2012
To:
Hon. President of Bharat
Shri Pranab Da Mukherjee ji
New Delhi.
Subject: Ethnic Cleansing of Original Tribes, Other Hindus & Non-Muslims in Assam & current violence there.
Reference: The ongoing violence in Assam currently.
Hon. Shri President of Bharat,
Nomoshkaar! At the outset, let me wish you congratulations for becoming the 13th President of Bharat – The 1st Citizen of Bharat. I am sure with your long experience in insight in Bharat, now Bharat will try to solve the problems faced by Bharat's citizens.
Now, without wasting more time in formalities, I wish to draw you urgent attention & immediate intervention to the gruesome plight that Bharat's original citizens in Assam have been facing. As you are aware, last few days, Assam is burning. Lakhs of Original Tribals have been attacked & forced to flee their homes, villages & towns. Their homes burnt, their little land grabbed & their loved ones lost in the horrible arson & murders by Bangla Deshi Infiltrators now settled in Assam. The relief camps are pouring with the victims of this Ethnic Cleansing of original citizens of Bharat by the Infiltrators. With your kind sensitive heart, if you see the wrinkled faces & tear-filled eyes of those old tribal women & those young worried nursing mothers holding their new-borns in their hands, you will realize the agony & pain they are going through.
This is not the first time it has happened in Assam. It has been going on for over 2 decades. Karbi Anglong, Khasi, Dimasa, Bodo, Jaintia & many other local Tribes who have made Bharat's North East eco-friendly with their environmentally simple life styles, who have made Bharat rich with their great art & culture are being brutally attacked, their jungle habitats burnt, their women raped, their men fired at in close range & ultimately they are forced to either die at the hands of Bangla Deshi invaders or leave their age-old traditional habitats.
Unfortunately, just like the authorities ignored first, then neglected & then manipulated the ethnic cleansing in Kashmir done by Pakistan supported separatist groups, the Assam's systematic ethnic cleansing of local tribes, other Hindus & other Non-Muslims is being ignored by the authorities knowing fully well that the happenings in Assam are the systematic efforts of Bangla Desh helped by Jehadi elements to create Greater Bangla Desh & socio-politically occupy Assam & many parts of North Eastern Bharat.
Mr. President, coming from Bengal, you are well aware of the plight of Bangla Hindus in Bangla Desh. Kashmir situation has gone out of control & now Assam too going the same direction. Unfortunately, the citizens of Bharat are made into minority there by the invading Bangla Deshi infiltrators (Please see the Annexure – total 9 – attached here for more important details.)
Bangla Deshi infiltration is a known fact in Assam. They have settled there with the help of local politicians who have been using this large group as their vote bank. Therefore, the ethnic cleansing by these infiltrators is although not directly state sponsored in a technical terms, but it has a socio-political blessing of those who win based on these votes. (See Annexure 1 & 9)
Terror outfits supported by HUJI in Bangla Desh & ISI, Al Qaeda in Pakistan are fully deep-rooted by now in Assam namely like MULTA (Muslim Liberation United Tigers of Assam) & others. (See Annexure 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 & 9). Internationally & even by domestic agencies this has been clearly explained. Yet for vote bank politics, they have been allowed not only enter Bharat, but settle in a sensitive & militarily important state like Assam thereby not only hurting the local population there but putting nation's safety & security at risk.
Despite continued blasts, other jehadi attacks by such groups & the systematic Pak / Bangla Desh sponsored activities like burning big habitats of local tribes, hoisting Pak / Bangla Desh flags, reducing local population to minority by directly killing them & also by adding more to Bangla Deshi Muslim population there by continued illegal influx, both Union Govt & the state Govt of Assam have been claiming that there have been no hand of Bangla Desh in Assam violence. Sir, Mr. President, this is not mere violence between two groups like Bodo & Muslims as both the Govts are trying to project (This refers to the statement given by the Union Home Secretary & also by the CM of Assam on July 26, 2012 that there had not been any hand of Bangla Desh in violence in Assam). This is a systematic Ethnic Cleansing of local age-old tribes & other citizens of Bharat as it happened in Kashmir during partition & around 1990. Similarly, the Govt was in denial about Kashmir regarding Pakistan's hand in Kashmir Ethnic Cleansing. Today, Pakistan has been responsible for umpteen jehadi attacks in & on Bharat where many innocent lives are lost almost daily in Kashmir & in other parts and this is now the official Govt stand. Therefore, Mr. President, without wasting much time – already it is late - you in your capacity as the Constitutional Head of the nation & as the 1st Citizen of Bharat, need to immediately intervene in Assam situation to stop Ethnic Cleansing of local tribes & other original citizens of Bharat there. (Please see Annexure 6 & 9 along with other attached papers & photos)
There needs to be immediately formed a Tribunal to deport all Bangla Deshi Muslim Infiltrators from Assam & also from other states in Bharat to prevent further Ethnic Cleansing of Bharat's own citizens. The tribunal should have members from the Army, those retired & served most part in Assam so that they are well aware of the situation there, the socio-cultural experts to understand the importance of original tribes in Bharat & the legal experts to give justice to all the tribes who have been facing attacks by Bangla Deshis. This tribunal also should set the deadline for time as to until when the Bangla Deshi Infiltrators will be deported fully without getting into the ploy that they have voter ID so they are Bharat's citizens because for vote bank, many have been given such documents which otherwise are given to Bharat's other citizens with much verifications.
All the local tribes, other Hindus & Non-Muslims who have been attacked over the years & also now staying in Relief camps should be given Ru 7,00,000 minimum compensation for each person in the family died in the violence against them without hassling them for documentation, those who are injured must get immediate medical help at Govt cost & also Ru 4,00,000 as compensation, those who have lost the bread-earner in the family should get – apart from the Ru 7,00,000 compensation – Govt job at least to one member of the family or in case of being illiterate – enough financial aid for agriculture / jungle produce trade / business depending their skills. Govt should also rebuild their houses at the same place where they lived. These facilities should be given ONLY to the local tribes, other Hindus & Non-Muslims.
There is no reason other than infiltrators' invasion for such a big Muslim population there which is the second largest at 31% now – the unnatural growth in population due to systematic heavy influx of Muslim Bangla Deshi Infiltrators from invading Assam's border districts like Kokrazar, Dhubri, Chirang area & many others. Almost 11 constituencies in Assam, this election, had majority votes of these Muslims. (See Annexure 1, 3 & also other documents attached apart from much more information Govt agencies already would have but are not letting public of Bharat know of it.)
Mr. President I urge you NOT to ignore or discard my letter, the information attached & also the pleas made by all of us about Assam to immediately deport ALL Bangla Deshi Muslims there. Please do not discard these merely because we may differ in some parts of ideologies. But as a patriotic 1st Citizen of Bharat, YOU and those who do care for keeping Bharat safe from Bangla Desh's & Pakistan's shrewd & horrible invasions – WE, all together can make a difference if we keep our some differences aside when it comes to such national issues. We all are more than willing to extend our helping hand, however small that help may be, to you if & when you take up the issues of national security & local population's safety in Assam & in all such troubled states rising above any political compulsions.
In your new tenure as the President of Bharat, we wish you all the best & again urge you to intervene in the Human Rights crisis created by Ethnic Cleansing of original tribes, other Hindus & non-Muslims in Assam. Kindly do take out time from your busy schedule to go through the documents attached to this letter to get a glimpse of the huge security threat from bordering countries to North East & therefore to Bharat. Original people of Assam – the citizens of Bharat – are waiting for you to show your kind heart & diplomatic acumen in saving them from the modern day invasion from Bangla Desh & Pakistan. Be their savior in their agony & pain, Mr. president, so that citizens of Bharat in other states would not have to nationally & internationally raise such issues but focus of taking Bharat to newer heights.
Dhanyavaad. Hoping to see serene Durga Pooja celebration in your Presidential palace as well as in the Devi worshiper Assam this time in Navaraatri. Regards,
Sincerely,
Dr Pravin Togadia
International Working President
Vishwa Hindu Parishad
Copy to:
The Prime Minister of India
The Home Minister of India
Hon. Supreme Court of India
The Chief Minister of Assam
Office of Human Rights – United Nations, New York
Office of Human Rights – United Nations, New Delhi
The Leader of Opposition – Loksabha
Attached:
A) Annexure 1 to 9 (Total 9)
South Asia Analysis Group – Bangla Deshi Infiltration
Plan to Create Greater Bangla Desh including Assam in it
Pakistani Flag Hoisted in Assam
Muslim United Liberation Tigers of Assam
Militant Attacks in Assam
List of Scheduled Tribes in Assam
Identity Politics and Social Exclusion in India – Assam & Bangla Desh
How BANGLADESHI MUSLIMS wiped the Assamese out in their OWN land
Government Reports about Bangla Deshi Infiltration affecting population growth
Bangla Desh & Pak Terror in Assam
http://indiawires.com/12317/featured/assam-riots/dr-togadia-writes-to-the-president-demands-intervention-in-assam/
Truth behind the Assam Riots by Tarun Vijay
http://hindujagruti.org/news/14645.html
Shravan krushna 5, Kaliyug Varsha 5114
Kokrajhar happens when the State colludes with foreigners to capture power and as a result its own loyal citizens are uprooted and killed, says Tarun Vijay
From our Olympics contingent in London to Kokrajhar in Assam, India has become a free land for trespassers. If genuine sportspersons were overshadowed and embarrassed by the 'lady in the red' in London, native Bodos were killed and devastated by Bangladeshi infiltrators in Kokrajhar.
And while the State apparatus totally failed to protect the honour and lives of Indians from infiltrators in Kokrajhar, the prime minister's visit to Assam proved to be a lame-duck affair, with no word of sympathy for Bodos who are the victims, or no announcement of plans to detect and deport Bangladeshi infiltrators who have become the single biggest threat to India's security and sovereignty.
Unconfirmed reports say more than a hundred have died and 2.5 lakhs have become refugees. The camps have become a torture centre for Bodo refugees with no help available and victims being turned away.
Who feels the pains of an Indian ?
And what have we seen so far? News headlines screamed: Muslim members of Parliament from various political parties met the home minister seeking help for Muslim refugees. Another news report said a secular Muslim leader has blamed the Assam government for 'doing a Gujarat'.
This is how India's secular politicians try to uphold the basic tenets of their variety of secularism.
When I spoke to the energetic MP from the Bodo Peoples Front, Biswajit Daimury, he was in tears and said, 'It looks as if Bodos do not exist for anyone. Nobody says a word about their pains and sorrows.'
Imagine a news report headline such as : 'Hindu MPs from various political parties met the home minister to seek protection for Bodo Hindus'. The media and political bigwigs would have condemned the move, criticised it as communal and editorialised on the shameful conduct of those who are supposed to uphold the secular character of the Constitution.
Kokrajhar happens when the State colludes with foreigners to capture power and as a result its own loyal citizens are uprooted and killed.
Betrayed and bruised
The violence is a direct result of the State apparatus's lackadaisical attitude towards those who swear in the name of the tricolour and Constitution. When the rulers give blind support to those who infiltrate Indian territories to launch a demographic invasion and capture our land, the trust between loyal citizens and their constitutionally appointed protectors is broken.
If it were not so, the Bodos, a highly intelligent and brave people committed to the Constitution and Indian culture, would never have felt the need to have their own administrative area. Even after an agreement was inked on February 10, 2003, they were cheated and ignored by the central government. The grants were not given according to their population ratio, as was agreed to in the agreement.
Nine years have passed yet the Bodos have not been recognised as tribals in the Assam plains, Karbianglong and North Cachar Hills, although several other communities like the Hazong, Garo and Lalungs have been included in the ST list during this very period.
Wages of patriotism
Why should the Bodos remain patriotic when nobody listens to them and every body wants to help and shield the Bangladeshi infiltrators?
Dr Anand Kumar wrote for South Asia Analysis Group in 2008, 'After returning from the 28th India-Bangladesh Border Coordination Conference in Dhaka, the BSF chief A K Mitra disclosed that nearly 12 lakh Bangladeshis who had entered India on valid papers have disappeared between 1972 to 2005. He was quoting this figure from the intelligence reports of the West Bengal government.
This is one of the few official figures about the illegal Bangladeshi immigrants whose number has been estimated to be around 20 million and growing by the day. Out of this number nearly six million illegal Bangladeshis are residing in Assam, where they have turned five of the bordering districts into migrant-majority areas. What is however, most concerning is that these illegal immigrants are now threatening to swamp the tribal and rural areas of Assam and other parts of the country.'
This shows how successive governments have failed to detect and deport foreigners. To such levels has the frustration of Indian citizens reached that DN Bezbaruah, an oldtime friend, former president of the Editors Guild of India and a celebrated editor of The Sentinel, said to me, 'Tarun, you Delhiwallahs' India begins at Vaishno Devi and ends at Kolkata. You people really don't care for the pains and travails of north-eastern citizens.'
Even the Guwahati high court in a judgment delivered on July 23, 2008, had observed that the Bangladeshi migrants have become the kingmakers.
This time in Kokrajhar, the hands of the All Bodoland Minority Students Union and the All Assam Minority Students Union in instigating violence were quite visible from day one; still the Assam government chose to keep a blind eye and did nothing.
An independent news report as this stated: 'Dhubri, in fact, is central to this clash between Bodos and immigrant Muslims over land. Over the last five years, the Muslims from Dhubri have migrated to Kokrajhar in huge numbers, raising the hackles of Kokrajhar residents'.
The report further said, 'Curfew had to be clamped in Dhubri as violence erupted during the 12-hour BTAD (Bodoland Territorial Area Districts) and Dhubri district bandh called by the All Bodoland Minority Students Union and All Assam Minority Students Union.
'At Golokganj market, the police resorted to lathicharge and blank fires after a clash broke out between AAMSU activists and shop-owners. At Gauripur, AAMSU activists set ablaze 35 houses along with the office of the Bodoland Peoples' Front.'
For four days, neither Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi nor the police chief found time to visit the violence-affected areas. Later, when questioned, Gogoi blamed the central government's lethargy and made an almost blank visit to Kokrajhar. It's noteworthy that the police remain a state subject outside the control of the Bodo Autonomous Council.
And in spite of the Bodoland agreement signed in February 2003 by the then deputy prime minister LK Advani with Bodo leaders, which assured the inclusion of Bodos in the scheduled tribe list, nothing has been done in that direction so far, as stated earlier.
A major Assam daily, the Sentinel, wrote in its editorial last week: 'In the last three decades, we have been witness to a callous indifference to the disasters that have overtaken people as a result of the actions of politicians directed solely at electoral gains even with the help of foreign nationals. At this point, any objective and dispassionate penal action against rioters would seem to be quite impossible because of their electoral clout and the inability of the government to punish wrongdoing on the part of the so-called minorities who are actually in a majority in several of the districts of Assam.'
The affected area
Situated on the northern banks of the Brahmaputra river, Bodoland includes the Bodoland Territorial Areas District, which is administered by the Bodoland Territorial Council. The territory consists of four districts, viz, Kokrajhar, Baksa, Chirang and Udalguri, with Kokrajhar serving as the capital. Tension among Bangladeshi infiltrators and native Bodos has been simmering in the region.
BDIs are further backed by the Muslim United Liberation Tigers of Assam, a terrorist organization, and also by the All Minority Student's Union, who get government support. A new faction from the AMSU was created to cater exclusively to Muslims of the Bodoland region and was named the All Bodoland Minority Students Union, which is the main culprit behind the current situation in Assam.
The violence has since spread to over 400 villages in the BTAD region. Houses have been burnt down and abandoned. People live in refugee camps in their own country because of hostilities from the people of a foreign land. The conditions in the refugee camps are extremely poor. Food supply is scarce, there are no medicines available and as if that was not enough, the security in the camps is woeful. The Centre has deployed 29 companies of paramilitary forces to control the situation, which is turning extremely hapless by the day.
What have we become as a nation? In a nation that celebrates the triumph of Ram on Vijayadashami every year, Ram worshippers are eliminated for vote-bank gains by helping foreigners get fake certificates of citizenship.
http://janamejayan.wordpress.com/2012/08/06/truth-behind-the-assam-riots-by-tarun-vijay/
BJP delegation report on Assam communal riots - Illegal Vote bank Politics
Video Posted By: hindtodaynews on:7/30/2012 12:30:08 PM
New Delhi: 27 July :2012: Friday. All India General Secretary of BJP Vijay Goel lead a high-level delegation consisting of All India General Secretary Smt. Kiran Maheshwari, Bijoy Chakrabarty National Vice President, Dilip Moran and Ranit Dass, Fanindra Dass MLAs from Assam, Ajit kumar Bhattacharya Organisation general secretary from Assam and Debashish Sur senior Advocate to Kokrajhar and Chirang districts along with their surrounding areas to find the facts on 24-25 July. The team visited the affected areas along with the relief camps in the concerned areas. The team on their return to Delhi gave their reports and first hand accounts of their visit to senior leadership.
The delegation in Assam met representatives from the Bodo Community, BATD office bearers, minority community representatives, All Assam Bodo Student Union, Koch Rajvanshi student union, Bengali student federation and displaced people living in the relief camps. Shri Goel has straight forwardly said that had the Assam Government and Tarun Gogoi in particular taken adequate and required preventive steps in time this carnage could very well been prevented.
Shri Goel reiterated the following main points;
- Two people from Muslim community were killed on 6 July and two more were injured on 19 July. Those guilty were never identified but was considered that Bodos were behind these killings. Atmosphere became tense due to these apprehensions by the minority community regarding the Bodos and as the tension prevailed, on 20 July 4 Bodos were killed. Bodos say that they had no hand in the incidents of 6 and 19 July and that situation had not gone out of hand had the culprits nabbed in time.
- Chief Minister of Assam and the Government of Assam never took any preventive steps due to their own indecisive ness. They were having Bodo Peoples Front on one hand as their coalition partner and on the other hand, illegal Muslim population from Bangladesh forms their core vote bank forcing Tarun Gogoi to maintain the silence.
- Tarun Gogoi has claimed that there is politics behind the carnage and one of them seemingly can be his deputies wanting his removal.
- Biggest politics seemingly is the statement of CM that Bangladesh or Bangladeshis have got nothing to do with this violent carnage.
- The people we met at the Kokrajhar relief camps said that these illegal migrants from Bangladesh are very well armed and that they have driven the indigenous people out of their homes. Mrinal Hazarika has claimed that three boats laden with arms have come from outside and that this claim should be looked into.
- Deputy Comissioner of Chirang District Dr. V.P Boker said that he is helpless.
- Bodo Peoples Front has also stated emphatically that timely action could have prevented the carnage.
- The complete issue has illegal Bangladeshi migrants at its core as an issue.
Shri Goel has stated that uptil now the atmosphere is tense and that violence is still continuing. More than three lakh people have been displaced, over 4000 villages have been affected, 75 relief camps are more than 50 have died so far with trains being stopped adding up the panic quotient.
Shri Goel demanded that.
- Number of Military and Para Military forces is not enough and should be increased.
- Army is patrolling only major roads but to build the confidence of people at large they should be moved to interiors in small groups.
- This being the season for rice and paddy sowing in the state and if this gets delayed both tillers and farmers will have to face dire consequences, as this is the only crop that is yielded here.
- It would have been better that he being the Prime Minister; Manmohan Singh should have gone to Assam with an all-party delegation.
- Relief camps are namesake only and that facilities such as medication, food, treatments, shelters are there only in name, and that these basics should be adequately arranged for.
- All arms must be immediately confiscated.
- Indo- Bangladesh border must be immediately sealed as reports are continuously pouring in that speedboats are bringing in supplies of arms from across the border. Vigil must be maintained on religious places so that arms are not kept there.
- Failure of intelligence gathering institutions should also be looked into.
- Adequate protection for Indigenous people of Assam should be provided.
- CM Tarun Gogoi should submit his resignation from the post of CM.
http://hindtoday.com/Blogs/ViewBlogsV2.aspx?HTAdvtId=9535&HTAdvtPlaceCode=IND361ASSAM
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