Aasu Protests Order To Lift Foreigners Tribunal Cases against Hindu Bangladeshis

Guwahati: The All Assam Students’ Union (Aasu) on Friday registered a statewide protest against the Assam government’s recent directive 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 also burnt copies of the government’s directive across all district headquarters on Friday.

The 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,” said Mr Sharma.

The Aasu asserted that the solution to Assam’s long-standing foreigners 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 students leader said.

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

It is significant that most of the North-eastern states have been exempt from CAA due to its potentially harmful impact on indigenous populations while 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 exempted from the purview of the CAA. Even 98 percent of Meghalaya, 70 percent of Tripura, and the entire Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) and hill districts of Assam are also exempted from the CAA.

“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?” the Aasu leaders questioned, while warning that its implementation would be counter-=productive for the ruling party.

Joining the issue, Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Assam assembly and Congress leader 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,” said Mr Saikia.

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