History of Assam: Politics of Muslim lovers, CAA and reality

Partha Pratim Mazumder

(parthapratimmazumder1988@gmail.com)

Not only me, one day many will be forced to speak out for the sake of people. It will not be an exaggeration perhaps to suggest that the Citizenship Act, of 1955 is connected to the division of India. The decision of dividing India was a religion-centric one. Only the survivors could feel that midnight. But, later, the minorities of Islamic nations like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan took shelter in India to escape from the religious tortures in those countries. The UNO has also urged all the nations to show sympathy towards the refugees. Article 14 also talks of 'Equality amongst equals' and NEVER 'Equality amongst unequals' – We have always said that 'Refugees' and 'Infiltrators' cannot be equated; 'persecuted migrants' and 'voluntary migrants' cannot be looked at from one prism. And talking of the language of Article 14, there is an 'intelligible differentia' to treat the 'Unequal unequally'.

To understand the context of CAA and Assam, we have to trace back to the era of the Saadulah government which was in power 75 years ago. That Saadulah Government extended its support to Muslim League. That same Saadulah was represented as true Indian by the Muslim League in the Drafting Committee of the constitution. Who was behind the proposal and planning of forming Miyan-land in Lower Assam is no more a secret. In 1948, the Government adopted the Land for Language Policy. To be very specific about the policy, it has decided to grant land for the Bangladeshis who adopt the Assamese language. Viceroy Lord Wavell has clearly stated that "Sadullah was much more interested in growing more Muslims. Land policy adopted by Sadulaah was heavily criticized by Mahatma Gandhi. It is nicely explained in the article with the title "Revisiting Partition: Gandhi's role in integrating the Northeast with independent India."

According to the Immigrants Expulsion from Assam Act 1950, the refugees will get security forever. Was Assam a grazing field of refugees for the then Congress Government? The weirdest fact is that there was no mention of any cut-off date in the Act. In 1983, for the sake of the vote bank, Indira Gandhi proposed the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act in Assam, but later it was repealed by the honourable Supreme Court. But the Immigrants Expulsion from Assam Act 1950 is still on work. At the cost of the blood of 855 martyrs, the then Central Government signed the Assam Accord which decided 1971 as the base year. By signing the Assam Accord, Congress was free to play the politics of the Muslim vote bank. In an interview to Economic Times, the then home secretary of India Ram Pradhan told, "Rajiv Gandhi pursued Assam Accord as it would have impacted Congress vote bank." What can be more embarrassing than this statement? Though Congress was in power for almost 30 years, they don't show any urgency to discuss the 6th clause of the Assam Accord. But the current government in central is concerned about this and formed an expert committee. But, miserably, the intellectuals of Assam have failed to offer a proper definition of Indigenous Assamese people. The Central Government should focus on finding that missing piece in the process. In this regard, the report of Hari Shankar Brahma has compelled the Assamese youth to think in a new way. Is he a political person? The NRC is completed, but what have we got?

We should understand the necessity of the Citizenship Act, 1955. It was a call of time to find a permanent solution for the refugees after the partition of the nation in 1947. But it was a golden opportunity for the people who extended their support towards Muslim League. In 1986, the first-ever amendment of this Act was done. In the 30 years, Congress was busy in politics of vote bank. Though it's quite a tough task to differentiate the indigenous and the refugees, but not impossible at all for the sake of Assam. These illegal refugees are eyeing towards politics of Assam and its administration. And, so a political party AIUDF made its appearance just after the repealing of the IM(DT) Act.

The idea of India and the Idea of Bharat—are two different topics. As 2014 is decided as the base year in CAB notification, its impact will directly fall upon the Immigrants Expulsion from Assam Act, 1950. It will be easier to differentiate between the indigenous and immigrants after taking 2014 as the base year. India has its own identity among the countries in the world. The Central Government must provide shelter for the refugee minorities who flee to India to escape from religious exploitation. When it comes to the citizenship of India, both internal and external security get equal importance. It is as per the mandate of Article 11 of the Constitution, the Citizenship Act, 1955 was enacted and it has provided for various ways of acquiring Indian Citizenship viz, Citizenship by Birth (Section 3), Decent (Section 4), Registration (Section 5), Naturalization (Section 6) and by Acquisition of Property (Section 7). In the year 2003, The Citizenship Act, 1955 was amended and the definition of "illegal migrant" was brought in for the first time – "2 (1) (b)- "illegal migrant" means a foreigner who has entered India – (i) without a valid passport or other travel documents and such other document or 7 authority as may be prescribed by or under any law in that behalf; or (ii) with a valid passport or other travel documents and such other document or authority as may be prescribed by or under any law in that behalf but remains therein beyond the permitted period; Further, by amendments in Sections 3, 4, 5 and 6 which contained the provision of acquisition of Citizenship by birth, descent, registration and naturalization respectively, it was provided that illegal migrants cannot get Citizenship. Under this definition of illegal migrant, all routes for grant of Citizenship got closed for anyone who falls in the definition of "illegal migrant". Why the head of a nation who got a Nobel prize for peace did keep silent at throwing the Rohingyas out—we should think of it. Today, 27 legislative assembly constituencies (LACs) are in the hands of Bangladeshi Muslims. It's not a daydream if we get to see a Jinna in place of Lachit in Dispur near future. The people who opposed the Asom Andolan are opposing the CAB today. In the past, they spoke about considering the Bangladeshi Muslims with humanitarian vision and now they are remarking the CAA as communal just because there is no mention of welcoming the Muslims in this Act.

Which evil spirit welcomed Rhingiyas at Kashmir and Kerala is no more a mystery. Only time will tell how urban Naxalism is taking our youths in its embrace. We must be aware of all these things.

A lot of people question why the Central Government hadn't thought about the safeguard of Assamese people before introducing CAB. It is crystal clear that the Central Government will have to answer a lot of questions at the Supreme Court. There will still be many holes for the immigrants if we get ILP. After the CAA, the responsibilities of the Central government towards Assam have increased. Citizens should keep a strict eye on the works of the government. But, yes, we should have thought about our enemies earlier. Only the unity between the two valleys and hills can keep our motherland secure. Not with emotions, it's high time we contemplated and analysed the past, present and future of Assam with a conscience. A humble request to all, please don't wear coloured glasses at this crucial time. Yes, the time has arrived!