Senior advocate and Prabajan Virodhi Manch leader Upamanyu Hazarika on Friday criticized the Assam government’s approach to indigenous issues, highlighting recent incidents in Sonapur and other areas. Hazarika accused the government of failing to address the problems caused by alleged Bangladeshi migrants and encroachers, despite claims of a pro-indigenous stance.
The recent attack on police by non-tribals during eviction operations in the Tribal belt of Sonapur, Hazarika claimed, reflects the confidence and audacity of Bangladeshi origin individuals in Assam. He argued that this is a direct result of the state government's policy of appeasing foreigners for votes over the past eight years. According to Hazarika, this policy has emboldened encroachers to the extent of attacking the police, even though they are acknowledged as encroachers without rights over tribal lands.
Hazarika criticized Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for his contradictory statements and actions regarding indigenous issues. He pointed out that Sarma, who recently made pro-indigenous statements and pledged to implement 57 out of 67 recommendations of the Justice Biplab Sarma Committee under Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, had previously dismissed the same report. In 2021, Sarma had criticized the committee's recommendations as unrealistic and not aligned with Supreme Court judgments. Hazarika described Sarma's flip-flopping on issues as driven by political expediency.
In recent developments, Hazarika noted that the Chief Minister’s efforts to woo Bangladeshi Muslim migrant votes in the last general elections had failed, resulting in a loss of indigenous votes in Upper Assam. Consequently, Sarma has been announcing various measures for indigenous people, but the actual ground situation in areas like Sipajhar, Mangaldoi, and Chaygaon tells a different story.
In Sipajhar, Hazarika highlighted that 77,420 bighas (approximately 26,000 acres) of land had been encroached upon by individuals of Bangladeshi origin, with over 60% of these encroachers not included in the NRC. Despite promises by Sarma to clear encroachments and establish an agricultural project, the eviction operations recovered only about 2,000 bighas. The relocated encroachers were given land in Dalgaon without proper verification of their citizenship. The local graziers and cowherds, deprived of their traditional grazing lands, continue to face difficulties, and recent assaults on local cowherds further highlight the ongoing issues.
In Chaygaon, Hazarika noted that land restored due to river erosion was encroached upon by Bangladeshi migrants, leaving original inhabitants deprived of their rightful land despite numerous complaints and appeals.
In Mangaldoi, an incident on April 24, 2024, saw Jiten Deka and his son Sasanka Deka assaulted by shopkeepers of Bangladeshi origin. Hazarika criticized the lack of police action and response from the Municipal Board despite video evidence of the assault.
Hazarika also criticized the government's diversion of National Highway No. 37 before Jakhalabandha, which he claimed would harm the local economy and indigenous inhabitants, allegedly benefiting influential politicians and bureaucrats who have purchased land along the new diversion.
Hazarika suggested that the Chief Minister's recent pro-indigenous announcements might be an attempt to influence public opinion ahead of the Supreme Court’s expected judgment on the validity of the cut-off date of March 25, 1971, for granting citizenship to Bangladeshi migrants. The Supreme Court's decision on this highly emotive issue in Assam could significantly impact public sentiment and the government's strategies.
Hazarika's comments underscore the disconnect between government promises and the actual ground realities faced by indigenous communities in Assam.
