Assam: Gearing up for a massive confrontation

The Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016 which seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955, that regulates citizenship to illegal immigrants belonging to the minority communities of the neighbouring countries, has triggered an uproar in the northeastern state. The proposed Bill states that those immigrants who arrived on or before December 31, 2014 cannot be deported or imprisoned. This contradicts the historic Assam Accord of August 15, 1985, signed by the Government of India and the leaders of the Assam Movement. The Assam Accord stated that any immigrant who had entered Assam after March 25, 1971 were to be deported. So, it is clear that the proposed Bill breaches the constitutional provisions of the Assam Accord. It is this breach that has evoked sharp reactions across the state.

The Bill will also mean the nullification of the entire on-going process of the National Registration (NRC) which has constituted the same cut-off date for deportation of illegal immigrants as set by the terms of the Assam Accord. The provisions of the Bill, however, does not extend to the minorities amongst the Muslim sects.

When the Joint Parliamentary Commission (JPC), chaired by Rajendra Agarwal, conducted public hearing on The Citizenship Amendment Bill in Guwahati and Silchar on May 7 and 8 respectively, the two cities witnessed huge protests. People from all nooks and corners of the state cutting across class and profession have voiced their protest against the Bill. Several regional organisations have registered their grievances by organising mass protests. Peasant leader Akhil Gogoi stated that such a Bill was nothing but an ultra vires.

The leader further added that if necessary, they would take to arms to force scrapping of the Bill. He also criticised the Chief Minister of the state for his deviousness on the issue and accused him of buckling under pressure of the BJP-RSS combine. The Advisor of the All Assam Student's Union, Samujjal Bhattacharya, stated that granting of citizenship based on religious affiliation will never be accepted. Terming the Bill as anti-indigenous, anti-religion, anti-constitutional and anti-Northeast, he said that it would infringe upon the constitutional safeguards of Assam. He also urged the Centre to sign a treaty with Bangladesh for the deportation of Bangladeshi immigrants.

The Assamese film fraternity too had stood upright against the Bill. Barsha Rani Bishaya, a leading actress, stated that the Centre had cast away sentiments of the Assamese people and that Assam could no longer carry the burden of illegal immigrants, irrespective of their religious affiliations. Prastuti Parashar, another renowned figure of the Assamese film industry, said that Assam had always been receiving stepmotherly treatment from the Centre. She added that the Bill, if passed, would see a largescale agitation like those during the language movement of 1960 which witnessed the bloodshed and sacrifices of many.

The stands of both the Congress and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) is firmly against the Bill while the BJP-led government in Assam has taken a non-committal stance on the Bill. Former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said that the proposed Bill would violate the Assam Accord which would also upset the on-going NRC process.

He further stated that such a Bill would also be in breach of the Constitution. He stated that religion could never be the ground for granting citizenship. He expressed his resentment saying that the Bill would only destroy the culture and tradition of the indigenous people. Atul Bora, president of AGP (an ally of BJP) who also happens to be a minister in the BJP-led government in the state, voiced similar words against the Bill. He went to the extent of saying that if such a Bill was passed, it would be difficult for them to continue the alliance with BJP. The state BJP's non-stand has further aggravated the situation. State BJP president Ranjit Kumar Das has refrained from saying anything. He urged everyone to wait till the publication of the NRC report.

Amid the spate of protests, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal's statements on the Bill have been ambiguous. Sonowal, who was at the helm of dissing the IMDT Act, which earned him the title of 'Jatiya Nayak', had long played the role of a mere spectator until May 13 when he finally brok his silence on the matter at an Editor's meet. He said that it made no sense for him to remain as the Chief Minister if the interest of the State was unattended to. However, on May 28, during the celebration of completion of two years of the BJP- led government in Assam, Sonowal urged people to be patient till the publication of the NRC report on June 30. He stated that the government would never do any anything against the interest of the people of the state.

However, the neighbouring state of Meghalaya have clarified that they are against the Bill.

At a time when the public protest against the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016 has reached its zenith, the state government's voicelessness is detrimental to the regional sentiments of the people. Such an attitude of the state government is leading people to lose faith in their own representatives.

While the government of Assam should have stood against the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016, the Chief Minister's escapist attitude stands out. The indigenous people are scared of their fate, frightened at the thought of growing minorities on their own soil. They just hope the state government will see the light before it’s too late.

(The story was first carried in this week’s edition of NH on Sunday).