Fresh violence reported in Assam's Kokrajhar district, 4 more bodies found

Acc0rding to locals, two auto-rickshaw drivers from a Muslim village on the border of Chirang and Bongaingaon were missing since August 4 after they took some passengers to Kokrajhar. Their bodies were found on the banks of Champa river, on the border of Chirang and Kokrajhar district. Two other bodies were found in Kokrajhar.

As the riot-hit Bodoland Territorial Autonomous District (BTAD) areas in Assam were limping back to normalcy, four more bodies have been found in Kokrajhar and Chirang districts.

It is suspected that the two bodies are of the three Muslims from Laugang village in Chirang who were missing since August 4. "We are yet to confirm the identities of these bodies," said a police source.

In a fresh incident of violence, miscreants burnt down 13 houses at Chengnala village in Dotoma in Kokrajhar on Sunday. All the villagers have fled their homes.

Meanwhile, a medical emergency has gripped the 278 relief camps sheltering over 4 lakh people in the BTAD areas.

The inmates of these camps have complained of insufficient food, drinking water and medicines. Two people, including a two-year-child have already died at the relief camps.

However, Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told Mail Todaythat all possible measures had been taken to tackle health-related problems in the relief camps. "We are aware that around 6000 children of a total of 8000 in the camps are below normal health parameters. We have deployed 117 additional doctors apart from the 200 already working in those districts. Please understand that the government has just over 1,000 doctors at its disposal in the entire state," Sarma said.

Courtesy: indiaToday 

India: Did media bias black out Assam riots?

Tweeters and bloggers have accused Indian TV news channels of ignoring the ongoing ethnic riots in Assam, due to a bias in favor of the Congress Party.

Indian Army Soldiers Helping Flood Victims In Assam 

According to FirstPost, many have contrasted TV's late attention to the story to the rapid response and 24/7 blitz following the Gujarat riots of 2002, noting that Assam is a Congress-ruled state while the BJP is and was in power in Gujarat.

Of course the Indian media is biased to some degree, just like Fox News or the New York Times. And there might well be a tilt against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who continues to take the blame for an unspecified role in the 2002 riots despite various court rulings that there is not enough evidence to hold him responsible.

Yet since the first tweeters drew attention to the spotty reportage, all the main newspapers have moved the Assam riots to their front pages, various web-only publications have opened up the debate on the causes and larger ramifications of the conflict, and even the international media have zeroed in. (Anybody who still expects to get their news from TV should stop reading here).

Thursday's Times of India reports:

Even with the state machinery out in full gear and soldiers maintaining vigil in four districts, violence in lower Assam continued unabated on Wednesday, with the conflagration scorching new areas in Kokrajhar and Chirang districts where eight more bodies were found.

The toll of those killed in ethnic and communal clashes, fuelled by animosity between Bodos and the rising population of Muslims who settled on tribal land, now stands at 40. The killings have led to one of the largest ever exoduses in Assam's recent history, with officials saying 1.7 lakh (170,000) people from 400 villages in Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dhubri districts are now homeless and sheltered in 128 camps that dot the conflict zone. 

So are the critics overstating the case for a bias-inspired media blackout because TV coverage was tardy?

Since Partition -- the bloody 1947 division of India and Pakistan -- the occasional flare-ups of violence between Hindus and Muslims have been seminal news events, while the riots in Assam involve a usually ignored tribal group that is vying for a separate state and a Muslim population that includes illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Moreover, not only Assam but the whole of India's northeast rarely receives national news coverage, for the simple reason that so-called "mainstream India" hardly bothers about the region or its people, who are distinct enough ethnically to seem, anyway, to hail from another country altogether.  Gujarat, on the other hand, has always been part of the mainstream.

But these arguments have not gone down with critics.

The suggestion that the number of deaths in the two riots – Gujarat 2002 and Assam 2012 – established a hierarchy of news interest received extraordinary pushback, and was subsequently retracted. (Only 40 people have been killed so far in the Assam riots, whereas the toll in Gujarat was in excess of 1,000.),FirstPost reports.

Similarly:

The reasoning that logistical challenges to getting live cameras in place across the trouble spots in the northeastern State too was met with cynicism. In the perception of the media critics, the fact that in this day and age of advanced technology and 4G connectivity,television cameras couldn’t get to the scene of the crime quickly enough and beam live images was merely an extension of their political bias.

There are, indeed, points to be made against both arguments. It is a morally repugnant reality that 1,000 deaths make a bigger story than 40.  But it is a reality. And it is absurd that India's "national" TV media devotes 80 percent of its time to events taking place in New Delhi.  But that, too, is a reality.  And it's the result of solipsism and ethnocentrism rather than a blinkered allegiance to Congress Party-style secularism (which is the Indian equivalent of America's multiculturalism, or, in its worst form, political correctness).

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/india/india-media-assam-riots

Figures say Bodos most affected - TV Media says Muslims

Looking at her two children playing with a toy-gun on the floor in the auditorium of Commerce College, Kokrajhar, 20-something Jamuna Basumatary has no expression in her eyes. For, her thoughts are on what could have happened and what ought not to happen to her husband and father-in-law, who have been missing ever since her Baswary village, on the outskirts of this Assam township, was attacked by miscreants on Tuesday.

Jamuna is not alone. There are many other women in this camp who complain of missing male members of their families. Adding to their anxiety are daily reports of more bodies being found on fields and in rivers. Jamuna said a 500-strong mob entered her village in broad daylight, forcing the people to flee. Clutching her two children, she ran for life. Her only prayer now is to see her husband Soga and father-in-law Dumay alive and well.

Stories of such horror are repeated in this camp. The reason: 26 villages with a predominantly Bodo population have been burnt, and many more ravaged. And it is not that innocent Muslims have not fallen prey to this mindless cycle of violence. As many as 22 families living at Chandamari Bagicha (tea garden) here suffered the same fate, as their Hindu neighbours settled old scores. Here again, the attack took place around 1 p.m. on Tuesday, and — as it has become a common refrain by now — security personnel were nowhere to be seen.

While so far most of those killed have received injuries from sharp weapons, there have also been instances of gunfire used by the miscreants.

Neelkamal Basumatary, who reached the camp along with his wife and four children three days ago, said the mob that invaded his Bamungaon Halipara village near the Dhumbri district border set fire to all houses. “They had come with the intention of looting and burning. We just ran out and fled. I have come with only this dhoti and T-shirt,” he said, tears rolling down his eyes. “We spent the first night at a police camp and then came here.”

Sushanto Nargary, Head of the Department of History at Government College, alleged that in some cases, the police watched as the houses of Bodos were torched. “Why were they supporting them? Who knows?” He has been working as a volunteer at the camp for the past many days.

In fact, there are others like Manik Chandra Basumatary and Masewary Arwary who have been spending time at the camp as volunteers, distributing medicines. Those at the camp insist that government aid has been grossly inadequate. “But for the water tanker they have stationed here and the fact that the government school has been opened up, nothing has been done to provide those affected with clothing or monetary aid,” alleged a volunteer adviser.

A few kilometres away, at Magurmary High School, the violence has brought Bodos, Adivasis, Nepalis and Bengalis together like never before. For, they have a common enemy in the invaders who made them flee their homes. Bebo, who studied in the same school and who resides at Seshapani, said it was around 8 p.m. on Saturday when the village was raided. “We heard gunshots and fled. First, we ran to the police camp and stayed there overnight, and then we came here.”

Educated up to Standard VII, Bebo wants to pursue her studies and return home. But she will be happy to be in the camp till such time normality returns. “At least, we have safety and food here.”

It appears that this is the case with almost each of the 89,812 refugees who have reported in the 75 camps opened in the Kokrajhar, Gossaigaon and Parbatganj areas.

Of the 27 camps in Kokrajhar, 21 are being used by Bodos and five by Muslims. The remaining one is occupied by others. Of the 33,517 people residing in these camps, 26,117 are Bodos, 5,700 Muslim and 1,700 others. This just gives the magnitude of the scale of human suffering.

Courtesy: THE HINDU 

Boats With Arms and Ammunition Coming From Bangladesh

Revealing a ploy that could destroy more lives in the BTAD and trigger similar violence in other border districts of the State, pro-talk ULFA leader Mrinal Hazarika on Wednesday said the involvement of anti-India forces from the neighbouring country (without naming Bangladesh) in the current ethnic strife in the BTAD as claimed by BTC Chief Hagrama Mohailary was “true”.

On Tuesday, BTC Chief Mohilary suspected the involvement of the illegal immigrants in the current communal clashes in the BTAD and also demanded sealing of the Dhubri-Kokrajhar border. Mohilary also said the outside forces were involved in the BTAD violence.

The pro-talk ULFA leader said a particular community in the State was seeking the help of another particular community for carrying out the communal violence in the BTAD.

“As per the information received by us, one particular community telling another community that they have enough arms and ammunition with them and they have brought these arms consignments by three boats through the Brahmaputra. One boat has already reached through Dhubri district and two more boats will be reaching soon,” said Hazarika.

When the reporters asked from where these boats reached Assam, he said, “These boats reached Assam obviously from Bangladesh.”

The pro-talk ULFA leader said groups like Muslim United Liberation Tigers of Assam (MULTA) and Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) might be involved in triggering the clashes in the BTAD.

He further told the Chief Minister to take the information given by the BTC Chief and the pro-talk ULFA seriously; otherwise, the entire situation would go out of control.

Our Kokrajhar Correspondent adds: BTC Chief Hagrama Mohilary did not rule out the possibility of ferrying arms and ammunition to the State through Dhubri by the Brahmaputra. Hagrama said, “Our people from Dhubri border also informed me about the arms and ammunition being ferried and the government should take it seriously.”

On the other hand, the AASU also supported the demand of Hagrama Mohilary for sealing the Dhubri-Kokrajhar border and told the Chief Minister to make his decision on Mohilary’s demand public.  

Defence Ministry Confirms Bangladesh Infiltration

In its latest “Annual Report”, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has admitted that checking illegal migration from Bangladesh is a major challenge “considering the porous nature of the international border”. But then, it is only one part of the story. Here, the government wants us to convey that it is trying its best to check the illegal immigration, but that is proving to be a difficult task given the nature of the border that features “riverine areas, hills and jungles”. But then, there is another part of the story which the present UPA government does not say fully. And that is the fact that it is afraid of taking any remedial measures, let alone preventive steps, in deporting back the “illegal Bangladeshis” in India.

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on March 21, 2012, Minister of State of Home Affairs Mullappally Ramachandran said: “There are reports of Bangladeshi nationals having settled in India without valid travel documents. As entry of such Bangladeshi nationals into the country is clandestine and surreptitious, it is not possible to have a correct estimate of such illegal immigrants living in the country. A number of Bangladeshi nationals who have entered into the country on valid travel documents have been found to be overstaying. As per information available, 28,667 Bangladeshi nationals were found to be overstaying as on 31st December, 2010”.

What about the number of those Bangladeshis who have entered illegally? Here, the UPA government is prevaricating. For instance, Ramachandran was quoted to have said sometime in 2011 that “almost 1.4-million illegal Bangladeshis have migrated to India over the past decade alone”. But Home Minister P Chidambaram has suggested on many occasions that there is no official number of the illegal Bangladeshis and that the cited numbers are only “estimates”. And this despite the fact that on July 14, 2004, in reply to an unstarred question in Parliament, the then Union Minister of State for Home Shriprakash Jaiswal had stated that out of 1,20,53,950 illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators all over India, 50,00,000 Bangladeshi were present in Assam alone as on December 31, 2001. West Bengal topped the list with 57, 00,000 Bangladeshis. The figures were based on Intelligence Bureau reports”.

Another Indian Home Minister, late Indrajit Gupta (a veteran Communist), had disclosed in Parliament on May 6, 1997 that “there were upwards of ten million illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators who have made India their home”. Late J N Dixit, a Foreign Secretary and National Security Advisor of India wrote in 2000 that “We have definite information that between seven to nine million Bangladeshi foreign nationals have not only migrated illegally but also registered into India.” And an Indian Home Ministry estimate prepared in 2001 had said: ‘Approximately, 150-170 lakh Bangladeshi infiltrators have crossed into India illegally since 1971.’

My sources in the IB say that at present, there must be at least 30 to 40 millions of illegal Bangladeshis must be in India. They have silently invaded India, but our “secular” government at the Centre will have nothing to do with it. And this despite the fact that the then Governor of Assam Lt. Gen (Retd.) S. K. Sinha had authored a “Report” in 1998 and titled it “Illegal Migration into Assam”. This “Report” was submitted to the President of India. In it, the Governor “warned that if the present trends are not arrested, the indigenous people of Assam would be reduced to a minority and there may, in course of time, be a demand for the merger of Muslim dominated bordering districts with Bangladesh”. Governor’s report called the infiltration a “national threat”. This assessment, it is important to note, has been shared subsequently by the Assam High Court and the Supreme Court of India.

It may be noted here that the Muslim population in Assam in between 1971 and 1991 increased 77.42 percent as against the figure of 41.89 percent by the Hindus. In between 1991 and 2001, the corresponding figures were 29.3 percent for Muslims and 14.95 for Hindus. It is not surprising therefore that today, out of the total 24 districts of Assam, six districts have 60 per cent Muslim population while another six have above 40 per cent of them. And, out of the 126 assembly seats, election of 54 MLAs (Members of Legislative Assembly) depends on the Muslim vote bank. And all this has been due to the influx of the illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh. In fact, the trend is similar in West Bengal. In between 1981 and 1991, the census figure shows that the Muslim population in the state rose by 36.67 percent as against that of 21.05 percent of Hindus. And in between 1991-2001, the corresponding figures were 26.1 percent for Muslims and 14.26 percent for Hindus.

Coming back to Assam, it is becoming increasingly evident that because of illegal Bangladeshi voters, the political landscape of the state is set for a big change. The illegal voters are about to not only pose a serious threat to the socio-cultural identity and stability of the State, but may also be in a position to form their Government and have their own Chief Minister. The threat was clearly enunciated when on July 23, 2008, the Guwahati High Court stated in a judgment: ‘Bangladeshis have become kingmakers in Assam.’

Whatever the reasons behind the huge number of Bangladeshi nationals in India, experts say that their overall presence in the country, and the east and northeast regions in particular, is shattering of the socio-economic balance in the region, not to speak of distorting the region’s politics. Illegal immigrants not only occupy char areas in the riverine belt, but also lead to the growth of unauthorised settlements in Government lands, agricultural lands, grazing reserves and forest areas. They compete with genuine Indians for jobs, thereby worsening the already serious unemployment problem.

Besides, Indian intelligence officials have often complained that Pakistan has fished in the troubled water in the sense that it, with active grassroots- support of Harakat ul-Jihad-I-Islami-Bangladesh (HUJI-B), Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and Jaish-e-Mohammad(all are notorious fundamentalist terrorist outfits in South Asia ), it has used its “agents” in the guise of immigrants to exacerbate the communal disharmony between the Hindus and Muslims in parts of the country and promote secessionist- terrorist activities. Besides, many of these immigrants have indulged in smuggling, trafficking, drug peddling, illegal cow smuggling and trans-border gang robbery.

Interestingly, there is also a linkage between immigration from Bangladesh and the division of British India in 1947. This is particularly true in the case of Assam. There were serious attempts at the time of partition to see that Assam went to Pakistan, because always people over-populated East Bengal (which became part of Pakistan) had traditionally migrated to Assam for work. And this trend continued even after partition. So much so that the Muslim population in Assam , which was about 190,0000 in 1947, increased to about 360,0000 within 25 years of Independence by 1972. In 1971, Bangladesh emerged as a sovereign nation after liberation war against Pakistan with the help of Indian Army. But its first Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman remained consistent with his views that, “without the inclusion of Assam the East Bengal economy could not be balanced”.

In fact, right since its inception in 1947, Pakistan’s geopolitical design has been to promote ‘Muslim expansionism” in Assam and balkanise India on the basis of religion. Z.A Bhutto had spelt out this design as far back as in 1968. The late Prime Minister of Pakistan wrote about the geo-political aims of Pakistan in his book, The Myth of Independence. He argued that “it would be wrong to think that Kashmir is the only dispute that divides India and Pakistan, though it is undoubtedly the most significant one, at least is nearly as important as the Kashmir dispute is that of ASSAM and some districts adjacent to East Pakistan”

It is not that Indian political leadership and officials are unaware of the problem, but then they, particularly the Congress(including Trinamul Congress of Mamata Banerji, now chief minister of West Bengal ) and the Communists, who between them, have dominated the politics of West Bengal and Assam, have tended to ignore it, the reason being “vote bank politics’. They have even tried to circumvent the Supreme Court which has struck down the Assam-specific IMDT (Illegal Migration Determination Tribunal) Act. When Assam vote-bank politics dictated passage of the Foreigners’ (Tribunals for Assam) Order, 2006, the Supreme Court struck it down again.

The Courts say that India cannot have two different sets of laws to detect illegal immigration. After all, the normal laws of the country say that the onus of proving “citizenship” is always on the accused. But the UPA government wants a different law for Assam where the burden of proving the citizenship or otherwise rests on the accuser and the police. And it justifies this absurdity(rather “illegality”) on the grounds of providing “special protections” against undue harassment to the “minorities”.

What a perverse logic, which is nothing but highly communal in a secular country such as ours!

Relief Camps Update - Assam

11.00am: The influx of villagers into relief camps is increasing, despite the army taking control of the the restive Kokrajhar and other districts that have been witnessing increasing violence in the last few days.

Relief workers said on Wednesday morning they had enough rice and lentils to last in the camps for about a week, but that may change with more people streaming in for shelter.

Officials lifted a 24-hour curfew in the area for a few hours to allow people to collect food.

Officials say that at least two lakh people have already fled to relief camps, and the number is only increasing. Panic-stricken villagers are fleeing to relief camps or wherever their ethnic or religious group is in a majority.

One woman who had gone into early labor was taken by her husband in a pushcart to a camp, where she gave birth to a girl on Sunday. Later, she learned her home had been burned down.

“I am just happy my baby is OK,” said 25-year-old Ela Brahma said Wednesday in the camp, where some 1,000 people were sheltering from the violence.

9.45am: Curfew in the riot hit Kokrajhar district has been relaxed for a few hours, allowing locals to purchase essential amenities. Curfew in the area was relaxed from 8.30am, but will be re-imposed from 12 noon.

Media reports say that the situation in the area is still tense, but no incidents of fresh violence have been reported in the last few hours. The army is conducting flag marches in the area along with a district magistrate.

Meanwhile an all party delegation from the state will visit the riot hit area of Dhubri later in the day.

9.30am: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is set to visit relief camps that are housing tens of thousands of people who have fled their homes in the restive Bodo territories in Western Assam.

Nearly two lakh people have been rendered homeless in the violence and about 125 relief camps set up.

Meanwhile despite a massive increase in military personnel who have been trying to maintain law and order, the death toll has gone up to 40, with the recovery of eight more bodies. Roving bands of rioters are continuing sporadic attacks, ripping apart homes and setting them on fire.

Refugee camp in Assam: PTI

Five more bodies were recovered from Bijni in Chirang district and three from worst-hit Kokrajhar where shoot-at- sight orders and indefinite curfew were in force, police said.

Thirteen columns of the Army were deployed in Kokrajhar, Chirang, Dhubri and Bongaigaon where they staged flag marches accompanied by a magistrate. Defence spokesman Colonel S Phogat said the Army units had identified a number of sensitive and hyper-sensitive areas in the four districts to enable them to better patrol them.

Meanwhile North Frontier Railway spokesman Nripendra Bhattacharjee said passenger and goods trains services had partially resumed as of afternoon and the stalled trains would resume their journey with the ‘improvement’ in the situation.

More than 30,000 passengers, who are still stranded in New Bongaigaon, Kamakhyaguri and New Jalpaiguri stations of the NFR section, have complained of a massive food and water crisis.

With inputs from agencies

Roots of Assam violence are too deep for easy solutions

A few days ago, I saw somebody making a comment related to an article written on India-Bangladesh border issues. The comment read: "I do not care about how many Bangladeshi go to West Bengal. You guys are one people. However I have a big problem with Bangladeshis and Bengalis entering Assam. We have never been conquered by any empires of North or East India, be it the Mauryas, Guptas, Mughals or the Nawabs of Bengal. We beat them all when they tried to conquer us. No way in hell are we going to all Bangladeshis to kick us out of our land by trying to out breed us...hell no way. Assam is a tinderbox and when it explodes the immigrant Bangladeshis in our state are going to get slaughtered."

This comment could give an insight into Assam's psyche which boast of a vibrant ethnic nationalism and the violent results that took effect when this nationalism perceived a threat from outsiders.

History of turmoil

During the colonial days, 'outsiders' from Bihar and Bengal were taken to work in the tea-plantations of Assam and they were settled there. The Partition saw a huge influx of refugees from the erstwhile East Pakistan into Assam besides West Bengal and Tripura. In the early 1970s, when the West Pakistani officials started suppressing dissenting voice in East Pakistan, more refugees went to Assam and a large section remained there. More refugees entered Assam in the subsequent years, putting the natives feel increasingly insecure, culturally and politically.

The demographic transformation made the Assamese increasingly apprehensive that they would turn minority in their own land and when towards the late 1970s it became evident that a huge section of the illegal Bangaldeshis in the state had become voters, the Assame started retaliating against the outsiders, starting off a politically volatile situation. The insurgency in the state to protest alleged negligence by the Indian state put the state's socio-political life into further turmoil.

But the recent spate of violence that has hit Assam and which killed 25 people and saw people running for their lives pose a simple question: Why is that the Indian state still unable to resolve a problem that has continued for such a long period? Is 65 years not enough to set into force an administrative mechanism which can ensure a proper rule of law and protect ordinary human lives?

Current problem

On July 6 and 19, four persons from the minority community were killed while on July 20, four ex-Boro Liberation Tigers cadres were shot dead. The situation was gradually turning worse in the sensitive BTAD (Bodoland Territorial Administered Districts) comprising areas like Kokrajhar, Baska, and Chirang but local people said the government was not reacting as quickly as it should have to the problem.

The Assam Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi who is also in charge of the home portfolio, was criticised for not taking the matter seriously and allow adequate forces to be released to man the disturbed areas. The Boros have tried to reassert the same old charge: The outsiders, whose numbers were increasing, had put the natives under threat.

The charge is against the minority community of course, which is considered of comprising outsiders even if such people have been residing in these parts for the last 60 years or more. Those representing the minorities, said on the other hand that the administration was not doing enough for their security.

There were also contradictory versions heard about the July 20 killings. Meanwhile, the crisis went on snowballing and finally exploded in the form of a communal riot, throwing every aspect of public life out of gear. The CM confirmed that 50,000 people found shelter in relief camps.

Govt looks to be not in control

The government, although said it was trying to bring the riot under control, but apparently it looked to be in no position to set a time-frame to effect any change for the better. The Ministry of Home Affairs, as per the Assam government's plea, deployed more troops to the violence-hit areas.

The latest riots exposes the inefficiency of the Indian state machinery in plugging the gaping holes in the process of nation-building and also key border issues in the geopolitically-sensitive north-eastern region, which is marked by a number of international boundaries, particularly with Bangladesh.

Threat perception normal

The threat perception of the native Assamese against the influx of illegal migrants is not abnormal. All across the globe, rise of Islamic militancy and the forces of globalisation have made clash among civilisations a pertinent problem. Bangladesh, today, has failed to provide any hope of sustenance to its huge population, both economically and politically, and the spill-over effects have affected India. In such a situation, extremist political elements in India found it convenient to capitalise on the issue for electoral gains but at the cost of threatening the social fabric of unity.

Author: Shubham Ghosh