20 groups set August-15 deadline for suspected immigrants to leave Upper Assam
The indigenous groups announced plans to hold a massive rally on August 20 to decide the next phase of their agitation
Representatives of the groups at a press meet in Sivasagar on Friday. (AT Photo)
Sivasagar, August 9: With vigilante actions on the rise in Upper Assam, 20 indigenous groups have given suspected illegal immigrants from Bangladesh an August-15 deadline to leave the region.
The decision was taken at a chinton-baithak (consultative discussion) at KPM Hall on Friday, even as the Sivasagar district administration recently appealed to all individuals and organisations to exercise restraint in the interest of peace and harmony.
The meeting, attended by leaders of various ethnic groups, adopted an 11-point resolution calling for what it described as an “illegal citizen-free” Upper Assam.
The groups announced plans to hold a massive rally on August 20 to decide the next phase of their agitation.
Among its key demands was the identification and deportation of all “suspected citizens” illegally residing in the state, with participants urging that the base year for detecting foreigners be shifted to 1951, instead of March 24, 1971, as provided under the Assam Accord.
The groups also voiced strong support for the state government’s eviction drives to clear government land, forest reserves, tribal belts, ancient monuments, debuttar land, swamps and reservoirs of encroachers.
Specific eviction demands were raised for the Jamuna canal, Khatopathar Chintamonigarh, and stretches near the Dikhow river close to Durbar Field in Sivasagar town.
The resolutions further sought the deletion of “suspected citizens” from Assam’s voter lists, document verification of tenants in Upper Assam, and deportation of suspected individuals.
The meeting also called for checks on “suspected citizens” working in private contracting, brick kilns and dumps, with police notices served to them.
Another resolution urged Assamese landowners not to sell land to “foreign suspects” and appealed for cooperation between indigenous organisations and indigenous Muslims to achieve the stated goal of a “foreigner-free Assam”.
The groups announced plans to hold a massive rally on August 20 to decide the next phase of their agitation.
The Sivasagar district administration has yet to respond to the fresh August 15 ultimatum, which comes amid its ongoing appeals for peace in the district.
The directive follows Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s August 6 call for the Assamese community to speak out against illegal immigration and encroachment in culturally significant areas of Upper Assam, while keeping protests within the ambit of the law.
“The community must lead movements against such developments without taking the law into their own hands. Law enforcement should be left to the police and the courts,” he said.
Earlier last week, Sarma had also warned against offering shelter to evicted individuals, cautioning that such actions could undermine the gains of recent eviction drives.