EVEN the middle aged Assamese nationals remember that Assam agitation was initially propagated as ‘Bohiragata Kheda Andolan’ (literarily meaning agitation to deport outsiders) and later redefined as an agitation against illegal migrants (from East Pakistan/ Bangladesh) by the intellectuals and media barons based in Guwahati. After decades, the issue of outsiders (read non-Assamese Indians) came alive with an incident in Sibsagar of eastern Assam, where a community was compelled to apologize for a crime committed by some individuals (belonging to that group). The accused individuals, who physically assaulted a minor female arm wrestler at Babupatty were already arrested but even then the entire community (read Marwari) was made responsible for the crime. Shockingly a responsible State minister was also present on the occasion, where some aged male & females were forced to kneel down to convey their apology.
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The Sibsagar incident was enjoyed by a number of parochial Assamese individuals terming it as an example of Asomiyagiri (domination of Assamese community). They made it clear that anyone living in Assam must respect the Asomiya language and culture. Otherwise they have to leave the State, the exact narrative that inspired the people of Brahmaputra valley to join the students led agitation.
Amazingly, some people in Assam still nurture a day-dream of crafting the State as a land of Assamese speaking people only. They bluntly defy the argument that hundreds of thousands of Assamese families (precisely students) today live outside the State as proud Indians. The development however annoyed a large number of logical Assamese personalities who outrighly denounced the attitude of the agitators to construct a strong divide between Asomiya and non-Asomiya nationals. Many social media users pointed out them as senseless and trouble makers in the society. Some urged them to raise voices against the illegal Bangladeshi Muslims, who have emerged as a threat to the locals of Assam where no Asomiyagiri will be allowed if those illegitimate foreigners start dominating the politics of Bharat in future.
The Sibsagar incident was immediately followed by a horrific rape incident of a minor at Dhing area in central Assam. The high school student faced the gang rape as she was returning home from tutorial classes in the evening hours. At least three youths belonging to the Muslim community on a two-wheeler chased the victim girl and finally overpowered her. Locals found her in an unconscious condition on a roadside and sent her to a nearby health centre. Later she was shifted to Nagaon town for better treatment. Expressing serious concern over the incident, hundreds of Assamese women spontaneously hit the street and condemned the police forces for its repeated failure to protect the women in their locality. They accused the habituated rapists as being suspected migrants and demanded justice for the victim girl.
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Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, also in charge of the State home portfolio, made a stern comment through his social media handling over the Dhing incident and directed the State police chief GP Singh to rush to the location and ensure swift actions against the monsters. He asserted that the Dhing incident was a crime against humanity and the government will not spare the perpetrators.
Shockingly, the very next morning news broke that the prime accused in the gang-rape Tafajjul Islam died by drowning as he tried to escape police custody by jumping into a pond. He was taken to the location to recreate the crime scene. Tafazzul reportedly attacked the police personnel on duty and tried to flee. After two hours of search by State Disaster Response Force personnel, his body was recovered from the pond. Meanwhile, a number of protest rallies were organized in different parts of Assam supporting the demand of Dhing-lady agitators. A group of indigenous people’s organisations even issued a deadline to Miya Muslims (indicating Muslims of Bangladesh origin) to leave upper Assam within a week. They were loud & clear that the Dhing rape was committed by the Miyas only and urged the government to do the needful to safeguard the indigenous population in Assam.
A serious issue that the government needs to deal with, carefully and urgently!
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(Nava Thakuria is a senior Indian journalist who contributes to various media outlets including print and digital platforms of India and across the world.)
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