New Delhi: Members of Hindutva groups disrupted a discussion on evictions in Assam at the Constitution Club of India Tuesday evening. The event, titled People’s Tribunal on Assam: Eviction, Detention and the Right to Belong, saw panelists discussing the ongoing detention and displacement of Muslims in the state as part of an anti-Bangladeshi drive.
It was disrupted for about 15 minutes when around 30–35 protesters associated with Hindutva organisations stormed the hall around 4 pm, carrying placards and shouting slogans like Jai Shri Ram, Vande Mataram, and ‘ghuspethiyon desh chhodo (infiltrators, leave the country)’ and ‘desh ke gaddaron ko goli maro‘ (shoot the traitors).
One placard read: Assam ki sanskriti, Assam ki shaan, nahin hone denge koi nuqsaan (Assam’s culture, Assam’s pride. We will not allow any harm to it.)
“These people (the panelists) are a threat to the security of the nation. They should all be thrown out,” said one protester, while speaking to ThePrint.
Civil society activists including Harsh Mander, Prashant Bhushan, Jawhar Sircar, Syeda Hameed, Wajahat Habibullah, Ritumbra Manuvie, and Fawaz Shaheen were part of the event organised by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights and Karwan-e-Mohabbat.
Earlier this month, they had visited Guwahati, Goalpara, and Kamrup districts in Assam to interact with people displaced by various eviction drives carried out by the state government over the past two months, and were caught unawares by the disruption.
“If any Bangladeshi comes here and tries to impose their dictatorship, we will not tolerate it,” said Ankur, who claimed to be an RSS member. Another protester added, “This country does not belong to Rohingyas or Bangladeshis. This is our land.”
Former Planning Commission member Syeda Hameed said it is “regrettable” that such a protest could disrupt an event at a venue like the Constitution Club of India. On the situation in Assam, she said the state was not what it has become now. “The word ‘miya’ has now turned into a curse,” she said.
‘Pushback process’
The activists claimed displaced residents of Haseela Beel village in Goalpara district said that on 13 June, they were asked through public announcements and banners to vacate their homes within 48 hours. No individual notices were served, the activists claimed.
They alleged that on 16 June, the district administration carried out a demolition drive, razing their houses without giving them a chance to present land documents or defend their right to stay.
The families are now living under makeshift tents in the monsoon, relying on neighbours’ charity for food, shelter, and healthcare, while the state government has made no arrangements for their rehabilitation or children’s education, the activists said.
They noted that many residents showed land records that they had lived there since 1948. They added that a similar pattern of eviction was seen in Ashudubi village. When the team was on the ground, officials even tried to stop their work, they said.
Author and activist Harsh Mander held the state government responsible for the current situation and accused it of spreading hatred. “Assam’s condition is extremely bad,” he said. “They speak of all kinds of conspiracies. They call floods ‘flood jihad’, describe rising vegetable prices as ‘fertiliser jihad’, keep delivering hate speeches. How can a constitutional authority (CM Himanta Biswa Sarma) say such things and not be challenged?”
“People have committed suicide out of fear of detention. You are forcibly branding them Bangladeshis. You are making them stateless,” he said.
Former Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar said Assam has “outdone even Uttar Pradesh in oppressing minorities” and that “it is not just Muslims”.
Abdul Samad, an advocate at the Gauhati High Court, alleged rule of law is not being followed in Assam. “We have become Assamese. Yet, the CM talks about expelling us. They call us ‘Miya’ Muslims and Bangladeshis, which we are not,” he said. “The chief minister wants to incite everyone. There is no Bangladeshi there. I challenge this. Maybe two or three people could be Bangladeshi, I won’t deny that. But apart from that, no one is.”
“We cannot sleep at night,” said Samad.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
Hindu Bengalis are being subjected to pogroms on a daily basis in Bangladesh ever since Sheikh Hasina’s ouster. Bengali Hindu women are being subjected to abductions, forced conversions/marriages and gangrapes. Hindu men are being murdered and property owned by Hindus destroyed. Temples are being attacked and idols decapitated. And this has continued unabated over one whole year.
But these activists never ever raised their voice. Not once did they speak out against such egregious treatment meted out to Hindu minorities in Bangladesh.
No such convention hapoens when hindus gets butchered in Bangladesh. This harsh mandar is ssne guy who incited people against CAA. He is a traitor. Should be put behind bars