Latest news with #Bengali-origin
Scroll.in
4 days ago
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Video: The crisis of constitutional governance in Assam
Play Is the Assam government functioning according to constitutional values and principles? As Muslims of Bengali-origin in the state are being targetted and thousands have been declared foreigners, the many lapses and violations of constitutional governance are the focus of this discussion in the latest episode of Yeh Daag Daag Ujala series. In discussion with writer and peace activist are Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty, National Affairs Editor of The Wire; Aman Wadud, an advocate in the Guwahati High Court; and Paresh Malakar, general secretary of Asom Nagarik Samaj and editor in chief of the North East Now news portal.
Scroll.in
4 days ago
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Two Assam women allegedly pushed out of India towards Bangladesh brought back
Two Bengali-origin Muslim women from Assam, who were allegedly forced into the no man's land between India and Bangladesh by the Border Security Force, have returned to their homes. One of them, Shona Bhanu, a 59-year-old resident of Barpeta district, was dropped on the highway around 11 pm on Saturday, 120 km from her home, her brother Ashraf Ali told Scroll. The second woman, Rahima Begum, from Upper Assam's Golaghat district, was brought home by the police on Friday night, her family said. Only three months ago, Begum had got a favourable ruling from the foreigners' tribunals, her lawyer said. On Friday, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had admitted that Assam has been 'pushing' back to Bangladesh persons who have been declared foreigners by the state's foreigners tribunals. Foreigner tribunals are quasi-judicial bodies unique to Assam, which rule on citizenship cases. They have been accused of arbitrariness and bias, and declaring people foreigners on the basis of minor errors in documents. As Scroll has reported, at least three of these expelled from Indian territory, including Bhanu, have their cases pending in the Supreme Court. Neither the Border Security Force nor the Assam police have explained why the two women have returned. Scroll sent questions to BSF and police officials. The story will be updated if they respond. Case in Supreme Court Shona Bhanu was among 14 people, including the Morigaon teacher Khairul Islam, who were allegedly forced out of Indian territory on May 27. She returned home on Saturday night, her brother Ali, said. 'I received a call at 11.30 pm that she had been dropped on the highway. I hired a vehicle and brought her home last night.' Bhanu had been summoned to the Barpeta SP's office on May 25, from where she was taken to the Matia detention centre. Bhanu had been declared a foreigner in 2013 by the foreigners' tribunal in Barpeta. The decision was upheld by the Gauhati High Court in 2016. However, in 2018, the Supreme Court stayed the high court's order, Guwahati-based advocate Sauradeep Dey, who was associated with her challenge to the tribunal ruling, told Scroll. 'Caught in a crossfire' Begum, a 50-year-old resident of Village No 2 Padumoni at Sarupather, told Scroll that she was picked up from her home on the morning of May 25 by the police and taken to the Matia detention centre in Lower Assam's Goalpara district, 425 km away. On Tuesday night, Begum told Scroll, those detained along with her were fed khichdi and handed Bangladeshi currency notes. 'The [BSF officials] asked me to go to Bangladesh and asked us to admit that we are Bangladeshi,' she said. Around dawn, they were then separated into groups and 'pushed forward'. 'We did not have any other option but to listen to them,' she said. 'We were pushed across the border by the BSF. As soon as we crossed, villagers on the other side came and asked us where we had come from. The Bangladesh border police came and questioned us and asked us to return the same way. I was also beaten up by the Bangladesh police,' Begum told Scroll. Begum said she did not know where in Bangladesh she had been forced into. When they tried to return to the Indian side, Begum said, they were caught in crossfire between the two border forces. 'We were terrified and stayed in an open field in no man's land the whole day in the scorching heat,' she said. Around 6 pm, BSF officials brought them water. 'Then they asked us to come back to the India border and we were brought to the BSF camp where they gave us food and water. They later asked to return the Bangladeshi money,' Begum said. An Indian citizen Begum is a Sylheti Muslim and she and her husband Malek Uddin Choudhury had migrated from Cachar in Barak Valley to Golaghat. Her advocate Lipika Deb said that Begum was able to satisfy the Jorhat foreigners' tribunal that her family had entered the state before March 24, 1971 but after January 1, 1966. Both those dates are crucial to determining citizenship status in Assam, as laid out in Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955. The section was enacted in 1985 to implement the Assam Accord, signed between Assamese leaders and the Indian government, which put an end to a popular movement against 'illegal immigrants' from Bangladesh. The law created two categories of citizens: those who entered Assam before January 1, 1966, and those who arrived between January 1966 and March 24, 1971. Both were granted citizenship, but the latter group had to register at the foreigners' regional registration office within 30 days and were denied voting rights for 10 years after being identified as 'foreigners'. 'A Jorhat tribunal on March 26 this year ruled that her family came to the territory of Assam between January 1966 and March 24, 1971,' Deb told Scroll. 'After that I helped her enroll at the foreigners' regional registration office on April 8 within 30 days.' Deb said her family had shown the FRRO order to some officials but they did not 'accept it'. 'They said it was a fake document,' she said. Begum's daughter said her mother is in trauma and questioned the police action. 'The government should do an inquiry before harassing people like this. Not a single Indian should go through this.'
Indian Express
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
In Assam, scheme to issue arms licences to ‘indigenous people'
The Assam Cabinet Wednesday announced that it has approved a scheme to issue arms licences to 'indigenous people' in parts of the state where their population is in the minority, with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stating that the government 'will encourage' them to apply and take arms licences. While listing examples of such 'vulnerable areas,' Sarma named districts such as Dhubri, Morigaon, Nagaon, Barpeta and South Salmara. Bengali-origin Muslims account for the majority in these areas. Samra stated that 'indigenous people are in the minority' in these areas and often 'have to confront the question of their security.' Sarma was speaking after an Assam Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday evening. 'Particularly in light of the incidents in Bangladesh, they can be victims of an attack from the side of Bangladesh and can be victims of an attack in their own villages as well. In light of this, the Cabinet has taken a decision today that in all such vulnerable areas in Assam, indigenous people will be given arms licences… For that, today we announce the 'special schemes for grant of arms licences to original inhabitants and indigenous Indian citizens in vulnerable and remote areas of Assam',' he said. 'In Dhing, Rupohi, Lahorighat, in the pockets in these areas in which our Assamese people are still there, they always have to leave the area out of fear. They sell their land and leave. Now we are telling them that the government will give you licences so that you can continue living there with some courage,' he said. Sarma called the decision a major step towards securing 'jati mati bheti' (community, land and hearth), the slogan on which the BJP had come to power in Assam. 'These demands were there from the days of the Assam Agitation (1979-1985), and if then itself we had given arms licences to our indigenous people, maybe people would not have sold their homes and land,' he said. Sarma said that this would be notified on an immediate basis. 'Once we take a cabinet memorandum, it will take a maximum 24 hours to sign. After that, it is notified,' the Chief Minister said.
Indian Express
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Congress sends message to Himanta Sarma, picks arch foe Gaurav Gogoi as Assam chief
Throwing down the gauntlet to Assam Chief Minister and BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma, the Congress Monday named Gaurav Gogoi as its state president. Sarma and Gogoi have a bitter past, and the CM has been engaged in a personal war of words with Gogoi for the past several months. The MP from Jorhat, Gogoi takes over a year ahead of the Assembly elections in Assam, and at a time when the party's fortunes are flagging. It won just three out of the 14 seats in Assam in last year's Lok Sabha elections; the high point for the party in the polls was Gogoi's win from Jorhat, after a contest in which Sarma vigorously campaigned against him. The Congress also lost all the five seats in key Assembly by-elections held last year as well as had a dismal showing in the recent panchayat elections. Apart from naming Gogoi as the PCC chief, the Congress appointed three working presidents – Sarukhetri MLA Jakir Hussain Sikdar, former Sarupathar MLA Roselina Tirkey, and Abhayapuri South MLA Pradip Sarkar. While Sikdar is a Bengali-origin Muslim, Tirkey is a tea tribe leader and Sarkar is a Bengali Hindu – all representing key voting populations in the state. The charge of the Campaign Committee in the state has been given to outgoing PCC chief Bhupen Kumar Borah, and the charge of the Coordination Committee to Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia. The Congress named Nagaon MP Pradyut Bordoloi as its Manifesto Committee chairperson, and gave the charge of its Publicity Committee to Md Rakibul Hussain. In a post on X, Gogoi, 41, thanked the Congress top leadership for the appointment. 'It is a blessing to work with so many dedicated and inspiring senior leaders and workers in the Congress party in Assam. Their wisdom, experience and dedication to the party has taught me many things… Joi Ai Axom! Jai Hind!' he posted. While Saikia and Bordoloi were seen as hopefuls for the PCC chief post, a senior Congress leader from Assam said a large section of the party pushed for Gogoi to take over the reins in Assam. 'There is a perception among workers and those opposed to the BJP that he can take on Sarma and the party… Only time will tell whether he will prove to be a skilled organiser,' a leader said. However, he admitted, there could be a flip side: 'The crucial test for the party with this decision is how we counter the narrative that Sarma has been raking up about Gogoi's family. Because the BJP will double down on this.' Other Assam Congress leaders said the leadership change could boost the flagging morale in the party. 'It's true that the Congress is currently not in a good position and there is very little time for the elections. A lot of party workers are demoralised after the panchayat results, so they should get some oxygen to fight now,' a leader said. Listing the positives in favour of Gogoi, another leader said: 'One is his appeal to young voters, the other is that there is no stigma of corruption associated with him. Also, because of so many jumping ship over the years, people are suspicious about the loyalty and sincerity of many leaders. It's something that the Chief Minister has weaponized, suggesting that this or that leader might actually be working in collusion with the BJP. But the people of Assam believe Gaurav will stick to the Congress and his anti-BJP position.' A Congress leader from Assam told The Indian Express that the Assembly fight in Assam is set to become a one-on-one contest between the two arch rivals. 'The politics in the state and next year's campaign will be focused on Sarma vs Gogoi. Gogoi is quite influential in Upper Assam, which is a weak point for the Congress, while being crucial for Sarma and the BJP. Gogoi is quite popular personally and his elevation should help the party in the region,' said the leader. Old foes Sarma and Gogoi's rivalry goes back to when the former was in the Congress and hoped to take over the party's reins in the state. However, after Gaurav Gogoi actively entered politics under his father and Congress veteran Tarun Gogoi, and his profile began to rise in the party, Sarma made his exit, lashing out at 'despotic family centric politics'. Over the past few months, Sarma has accused Gogoi and his wife Elizabeth, who is of British origin, of links with the ISI. In February, he constituted an SIT to probe the matter. Gogoi has also accused Sarma and his wife Riniki Bhuyan Sarma of being involved in land grabbing and corruption in the state on several occasions. The Congress's Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha, Gogoi is seen as much valued by the central leadership. In August 2023, he had led the Congress's no-confidence motion against the Modi government. Sarma's attacks on him started not long after the 2024 Lok Sabha results when Gogoi won from Jorhat, defeating the sitting BJP MP by a huge margin of 1.44 lakh votes. Sarma had gone out of his way to ensure the defeat of Gogoi, who was believed to be on a weak wicket in Jorhat, having shifted there from Kaliabor, his family's pocket borough that he had represented twice in the past. After a delimitation exercise carried out in Assam as per the 2001 Census, ahead of the general elections, the Kaliabor constituency had been restructured significantly and renamed to Kaziranga.
Indian Express
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Scores picked up across Assam, police call it document verification drive
Police picked up scores of people across Assam over the weekend, with officials saying it was being done 'to verify their documentation'. At least 50 people were picked up over Saturday and Sunday from locations in districts such as Guwahati, Golaghat, Dhubri, Barpeta and Cachar. Neither the police nor the state government have issued any official information on the nature of the drive. A senior police officer said the drive was meant for 'verification'. With a large number of those picked up being Bengali-origin Muslims, the drive has spread panic among many in the community. The action comes close on the heels of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs setting a 30-day deadline earlier this month for states and Union Territories to verify the credentials of persons suspected to be illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar who claim to be Indian citizens. The Indian Express had reported that if their documents are not verified, the ministry has ordered that they be deported after 30 days. The All Assam Minority Students' Union has reacted sharply to the drive, calling it harassment. 'In Assam, we have due process to identify foreigners. There is the border police, the foreigners' tribunals (FTs), and people can appeal against FT decisions in the High Court and Supreme Court. But this is an attempt to create an atmosphere of terror. If they are indeed Bangladeshis, make an agreement with Bangladesh and deport them. (Don't do it) this way,' said AAMSU president Rejaul Karim Sarkar.
