AASU's 'Satyagraha' heats up: Students hit streets against CAA, illegal immigration

Biswanath/Golaghat/Nalbari, Sept 16: Continuing its “Satyagraha” campaign against illegal immigration, the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) staged demonstrations across multiple districts of Assam on Tuesday, demanding the expulsion of undocumented Bangladesh immigrants and warning against any attempt to bring the state under the ambit of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

In Golaghat, members and volunteers of the district unit took out a rally through the streets, carrying placards reading “Bangladeshi Go Back” and shouting anti-CAA slogans.

Protesters also pressed for the urgent implementation of the Biplab Kumar Sarma Committee’s recommendations under Article 6 of the Assam Accord.

“The government is burdening us further by extending the CAA deadline to December 2024 and pushing Bangladeshi Hindus into Assam. We are already struggling with decades of illegal immigration. Assam must be kept outside the purview of such laws,” said one protester.

AASU protestors in Biswanath Chariali

Similar rallies were held in Biswanath and Nalbari. At Biswanath Chariali, members of the Biswanath District Students’ Union (DJSU) hit the streets, accusing the government of neglecting the Assam Accord and “paving the way for illegal Bangladeshis to settle in Assam.”

“The government is trying to bring illegal immigrants to Assam. Had the clauses on detection and deportation in the Accord been implemented earlier, the state would have been far more peaceful,” a protester said.

Another added, “We oppose the extension of the CAA deadline by 10 years. If we don’t resist it now, it may be pushed further. The Indo-Bangla border must be sealed.”

In Nalbari, nearly 200 students staged a sit-in demonstration, shouting slogans such as “Assam Accord implementation” and “Down with CAA”.

Addressing the gathering, AASU member Riyazuddin Ahmed said, “It has been 36 years since the Assam Accord was signed, yet many clauses remain unimplemented. Instead, the government is pushing CAA, which we will never accept. If CAA is not acceptable in other Northeast states, why should it be forced on Assam? If the Prime Minister wants to provide shelter, let him do so in Gujarat, not Assam.”

AASU protestors in Nalbari

AASU vice-president Bhabajit Bezbaruah echoed the sentiment, declaring, “Assam will never accept CAA. The Accord is our lifeline to safeguard indigenous identity, and until all its clauses are implemented, our existence remains under threat.”

AASU launched its “Satyagraha” campaign on August 27, demanding, among other measures, the expulsion of illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh. The agitation began with an 11-hour hunger strike at district headquarters on September 4.

Tuesday’s demonstrations will be followed by human chain formations across AASU’s regional units on September 20. The campaign will culminate in mass rallies in all district headquarters on September 23.