The Bharatiya Janata Party is trying to recreate the 2002 Gujarat episodes in Assam, Opposition MLA Akhil Gogoi claimed on Sunday amid reports that some organisations have allegedly been threatening Miya Muslims from Upper Assam to leave the administrative division.
The term “Miya Muslims” refers to Muslims of Bengali origin who are often falsely accused of being “illegal immigrants”.
In 2002, more than 1,000 persons, most of them Muslims, were killed in the communal riots that had broken out in Gujarat after a coach carrying kar servaks was set on fire, killing 59 people. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister of the state at the time of the riots.
“To win elections they [BJP] desire to create a situation of instability and conflict in Assam,” said Gogoi, an independent MLA from the Sivasagar constituency, on Sunday. “We are well aware of those in Assam who are following the diktats of the BJP agenda.”
Threats against a section of the community were issued following the alleged gang rape of a 14-year-old girl in the Dhing area of Assam’s Nagaon district on August 22. A 24-year-old, identified as Tafazul Islam, was among three persons accused in the gangrape case.
Following the incident, the All Tai Ahom Students’ Union announced a movement in the Sivasagar district seeking to drive out Bengali-origin Muslims.
The district is a part of Upper Assam, the heartland of Assamese politics, which is home to several ethnic Assamese communities.
Areas like Nazira in the district also reported incidents of members of the students’ union visiting houses to determine if Muslims with “doubtful citizenship” lived there, Northeast Live reported. Tinsukia district also reported similar incidents.
“We have already sent a seven-day ultimatum to Muslims of migrant origin to vacate their rented houses and leave Sibsagar at the earliest,” Northeast Live quoted members of the All Tai Ahom Students Union as saying.
“We have also urged landlords and the owners of brick kilns, where many of these individuals are employed as labourers, not to entertain them any further.”
The members added that if necessary action was not taken against these “illegal migrants” within the next seven days, the students’ union and 30 other indigenous organisations of the district would be forced to intensify their protest.
Videos shared on Facebook also showed members of the students’ union threatening Muslim workers to leave the district.
They can be heard shouting: “Miya jaati go back” (Miya community go back) and “Have the hangdang [sword] but not wielding. But when I do, would not spare anyone).”.
Meanwhile, the Opposition All India United Democratic Front on Sunday wrote to Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya seeking action against “unknown organisations and fundamentalist groups” issuing threats “against a section of Muslim community” demanding that they leave Upper Assam.
“Such statements are not only alarming but also create a serious threat to communal harmony and safety of the said community in the region,” the party said.
The All India United Democratic Front sought immediate and strict action against the “disturbing elements” for their “inflammatory” statements. “This includes initiating legal proceedings under relevant section of the law.”
It also urged the state government to deploy security forces in Upper Assam and the issuance of a public statement condemning such “hate speech”.
On Monday, the district administration in Sivasagar summoned 27 leaders from several organisations, including the All Tai Ahom Students’ Union, regarding concerns about potential disruptions to law and order in the region, Pratidin Time reported.
The current developments follow the death of the man accused of gang rape in Dhing while in police custody. In the early hours of Saturday, Islam was taken to the scene of the incident near a pond when he attempted to escape by “jumping” into a pond, the police claimed.
“After he was interrogated, he was taken to the crime scene,” Nagaon Superintendent of Police Swapnaneel Deka said. “It is there that he tried to escape and jumped into a lake.”
A day after the alleged gangrape, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that after the Lok Sabha elections, in which the ruling BJP fell short of majority in the Lower House, a section of society felt emboldened to commit crimes. Sarma did not clarify which community he was referring to.
Indigenous communities live in constant fear in regions where they have become a numeric minority, Sarma claimed. “We should identify the real perpetrators behind these heinous crimes and not be stuck in blaming communities within the Hindu society,” the chief minister said.
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