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ple of Assam (more precisely the civil ment Bill, 2016. They came out with them that the BJP leader would
society group representatives and a clear demand that the Narendra protect the interest of Assamese
media stalwarts in Brahmaputra Modi-led government’s move to grant people. Many protesters argued that
valley) are fantasising of another citizenship to those religious asylum the amendment would go against
uprising. This time it is against the seekers (including Hindu, Sikh, Bud- the spirit of Assam accord and AASU,
Centre’s initiative to grant citizen- dhist, Jain, Parsi and Christians from Asom Sahitya Sabha, Asom Gana
ship to the religious asylum seekers the three neighboring countries who Parishad along with many ethnic out-
from Bangladesh, Pakistan and had taken shelter in India prior to 31 fits of the State made it clear that they
Afghanistan. Hundreds of Assam based December 2014) must be abandoned. would not accept any migrants after
organisations, including few from The logic include that Indian citi- 25 March ’71.
other parts of the region, are on the zenship cannot be conferred on the Even, Centre has assured that
streets asking the central government basis of religion as it is a secular Assam or northeast region will not
to withdraw the Citizenship Amend- country and if done it would go against face implications if the Bill is imple-
the spirit of the constitution. The mented, there are people who are
other one, which has been supported opposing the exercise. The repeated
• Identity at stake The agitation is being led by by 95% agitation organisations, argues assurance of the Assam government
All Assam Students Union and supported by at that Assam has already taken the that it would not go against the inter-
least 28 other organisations burden of numerous illegal migrants est of the people only indicates of a
resolution expected to surface soon.
The influential minister in Sonowal’s
Protests have cabinet, Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma,
become the order has made it clear that the state gov-
ernment will take a position over the
of the day in matter only after the release of
Assam since a Joint National Register of Citizens (NRC)’s
final draft which will by 30 June. The
Parliamentary updating of NRC is presently going
Committee on the on in Assam with the direction and
monitoring of the Supreme Court. “The
Citizenship Bill 2016 final draft will provide a clear picture of
the volume of people taking shelter in
visited the state the state without valid documents,” Sar-
ma said. One of the government sourc-
es pointed out that those without valid
(from 1951 to 1971) and it must not get papers would not only be Bangladeshi
more migrants, as there is a threat to Muslims or Hindus, but a mix of Ra-
Assam’s demography and Assamese as jbongsi, Hajong, Jayantiya, Bishnupriya,
language. Chakma, Garo, Khasi, Boro, Adivasi, etc.
The protest escalated when the Joint people. Locals in the region would find
Parliamentary Committee (JPC) arrived it difficult to raise voices against the eth-
in Guwahati for the hearings. A num- nic families. Therefore, the anger will be
ber of indigenous organisations, local concentrated on Bangladeshi migrants
politicians, intellectuals, media per- (Muslims or Hindus) only. If the amend-
sonalities, etc. assembled on the venue ment identifies only the Muslims as the
to raise their voices against the Bill. illegal settlers, then the government
However, subsequent hearings in should take the responsibility in inden-
Silchar of Barak valley witnessed a tifying Bengali speaking Hindus from
different picture as most of the or- Bangladesh. This seems to be relatively
ganisations came out in support of the an easy solution for the governments in
Bill. Media organisations in Assam Dispur and New Delhi.
came out to oppose the Centre’s
move. Even, some of the editors of The author is a Guwahati based political
Assam’s prominent newspapers and commentator
news channel met Chief Minister
Sarbananda Sonowal who assured letters@tehelka.com

tehelka / 15 june 2018 47 www.tehelka.com

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