Assamese vow a peaceful protest

Hyderabad: People from the Assamese community gathered at Dharna Chowk in the afternoon to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

The protestors criticised the controversial legislation for encouraging migration into Assam as the Act welcomes as Indian citizens people of all faiths, except Muslims, who face discrimination in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

The protestors contended that Assam has been heavily burdened with illegal immigration through the decades. They said the BJP government cheated them by ignoring the Assam Accords.

The CAA has changed the cut-off date for non-Muslim immigrants eligible for citizenship, from 1971 to 2014. This clause, the protestors said, was a violation of the Assam Accords which aimed to deport illegal immigrants of all religions from Assam.

Said Mr Pranjal, one of the organisers of the protest: “Assam has been plagued with migration for several decades. Our cultural Assamese identity is under threat because of this. Currently, Assamese have all but become a minority in their own country. We are not against legal internal migration of Indians from other states, but only illegal migration, mostly from Bangladesh.”

The protestors shouted slogans against the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah, but more of the slogans were reserved for Bangladeshi immigrants of either faith. “Bangladeshi go back!” was a popular slogans among the young protesters.

One elaborate placard read: “Illegal Bangladeshis are everywhere. Assam has lakhs of them, but don’t think you are safe. They have spread to the rest of India. They are your taxi drivers, security guards and construction workers. By the time you recognise them, it will be too late!”

When asked if their protests were not xenophobic, the protestors said the campaign was only against illegal migration. When one of them was asked what would happen to the lakhs of immigrants who had settled in Assam decades ago, he said they should be deported.

Many others said the same thing. Mr Sachin, a protestor chose to answer with caution: “We don't know what should be done with them. But Assamese culture is at risk here. We Assamese will fight until these people leave.”

Mr Abhinav, a protester, said, “We Assamese are peaceful people. We will not give up. But there are some elements that want to portray the protests in Assam as violent. This might escalate the danger.”

There was also fear that insurgent groups such as the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), which has weakened over the years, could emerge stronger from the chaos.

“We don’t want any insurgents to fight our cause. We will do it ourselves. Peacefully,” said Mr Pranjal.