AASU calls statewide protest on August 8 over ‘selective protection’ of immigrants

Guwahati, August 7: The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) has announced a statewide protest on August 8 against the state government’s recent move to withdraw cases pending in Foreigners’ Tribunals against illegal Hindu Bangladesh immigrants.

Calling it a blatant attempt to legitimise illegal immigration and a direct violation of the Assam Accord, the students’ union plans to burn copies of the government’s directive across all district headquarters on Friday.

In a strongly worded statement, AASU President Utpal Sarma expressed outrage over the state’s decision to provide maintenance and protection to Hindu Bangladesh nationals living illegally in Assam.

“This is an unforgivable betrayal of the people of Assam. The government cannot selectively protect illegal immigrants based on religion. There must be no religious filter in determining illegality,” Sharma said.

AASU asserted that the solution to Assam’s long-standing foreigner issue lies in strict adherence to the Assam Accord, which clearly stipulates March 24, 1971, as the cut-off date for detecting and deporting illegal immigrants.

“All Bangladesh nationals, Hindus or Muslims, who entered Assam after that date must be deported. Assam is not a grazing ground for illegal Bangladeshis,” the union declared.

AASU also highlighted the discriminatory implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Assam.

While most of the Northeast has been exempt from CAA due to its potentially harmful impact on indigenous populations, 27 out of Assam’s 35 districts remain under its purview, making it the most affected state in the region.

In comparison, states with Inner Line Permit (ILP) status, Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh, are completely exempt, as are 98% of Meghalaya, 70% of Tripura, and the entire Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) and hill districts of Assam.

“This selective imposition of CAA is discriminatory and unjust. If eight districts of Assam can be exempted due to its anti-indigenous nature, why not the entire state?” AASU questioned, warning that any continued imposition would face heightened resistance.

Joining the narrative, Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Debabrata Saikia also issued an open call to all political parties and civil society groups to resist what he described as the state government’s attempts to “nullify the the Assam Accord”.

Referring to government's July-17 directive asking district authorities and Foreigners’ Tribunals to drop cases against six religious communities - Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, and Parsis, Saikia said that it contradicts the fundamental cut-off date of March 24, 1971, as enshrined in the Assam Accord.

“Granting land and citizenship to new settlers while local communities suffer land loss from Brahmaputra erosion is indefensible. I had written to the President back in 2020 requesting that any refugees be settled outside Assam, but nothing has been done,” Saikia said.

He also urged the Assam government to immediately reverse its directive and uphold the spirit and terms of the Accord.

Echoing Saikia, Congress leader Ripun Bora launched a scathing critique of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s administration, accusing it of subverting the Assam Accord and using CAA as a "tool for demographic manipulation".

“The Chief Minister claims to protect indigenous interests but continues to lease indigenous land to corporates, while ignoring the 56 recommendations of the Biplab Sharma Committee. Three years have passed, and not a single recommendation has been implemented,” Bora said.

He denounced the state’s labelling of individuals as “suspected foreigners” without due legal process, and condemned any form of vigilante justice. “Even if someone is a foreigner, the law must take its course. Vigilante based on suspicion has no place in a democracy,” he added.

The controversy over CAA and the Assam Accord appears to reignite long-standing political and ethnic tension in the state.