The immigration issue in Assam and conflicts around it

Abstract Assam, the northeastern state of India, has experienced strong anti-outsider sentiment for more than half a century now. What makes the Assam case unique is that it has faced both internal as well as illegal international migration in massive scales giving rise to intense existential fear and apprehension among its smaller indigenous communities. Their lack of the required political authority and the indifferent attitude of the Indian Union government in addressing the issue have only multiplied its magnitude. The article explicates the politico-economic dynamics of the immigration issue in Assam and the social tension and conflicts around it in a historical perspective and suggests that a multi-pronged approach backed by strong political will is imperative to negotiate the challenges of immigration in the state in an effective manner. Keywords: AssameseBangladeshindigenousimmigrantsnortheast Notes 1The issue stems from the fact that the All Assam Students Union in mid-2006 demanded a quick implementation of the Clause 6 of the Assam Accord of 1985 which promises that 'constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards … shall be provided to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people'. 2Gohain, Asamiya Jatiya Jibanot Mahapurushiya Parampara, 11–13, 16. 3See e.g. Gohain, 'Moamoria bidroh aru ahom rashtrar sankat', 45–65; Guha, Medieval and Early Colonial Assam: Society, Polity, Economy. 4Guha, Medieval and Early Colonial Assam, 122. 5Butler, Travels and Adventures in the Province of Assam, 22. 6Weiner, Sons of the Soil, Migration and Ethnic Conflict in India, 92. 8Marwar is a district of the western Indian province of Rajasthan; A Mouzadar was a revenue official in charge of a revenue unit called mouza which comprised of several villages. He was appointed by the British administration from locally influential families. Quotation from Moffat Mills, Report on the Province of Assam, 607. 7The contemporary Assamese intelligentsia straightway held the conspiracy of the Bengali clerical staff in the colonial establishment responsible for this. This is the dominant Assamese nationalist view even today. Later scholars have described this view as rather naïve. (Gohain, Assam: A Burning Question, 174, 178) Though some role of the babus in the matter cannot be altogether discounted, the colonialists must have favoured Bengali as the official language because the overwhelming section of the manpower in the government offices was Bengali-speaking immigrants. 9 Assam Bandhu, a monthly journal, was brought out by Gunabhiram Barua from 1885 to 1886. 10Sarma, Mou, 95–100. 11 Ibid., 113. 12Baruah, India Against Itself, 58. 13Weiner, Sons of the Soil, 93. 14Phukan, The Ex-Tea Garden Labour Population in Assam, 2. 15China already had its tea plantations and enjoyed monopoly over global tea trade. 16Cited in Baruah, India Against Itself, 54. 17It has become a contentious issue in recent times as to how these people should be addressed. None of these nomenclatures are universally accepted. 18The Indian Constitution (Article 342) designates some socially backward groups within Indian society as 'tribes' on the basis of certain yardsticks which entails certain preferential treatment by the state in matters of education, employment and political representation. However, the practice of designating a community as ST has now become highly politicised with increasing number of communities raising demand for the ST status. This phenomenon has generated a lot of inter-community discord in contemporary Assam. 19In this connection, the famous debate between Lakshminath Bezbaroah and Boli Narayan Bora in the periodical Mou as far back as in 1887 may be mentioned. Bezbaroah, the doyen of modern Assamese literature strongly opposed Bora's view that the condition of the plantation workers (referred to as Coolies) were quite all right in the plantations (Sarma, Mou, 77–88). 20The Adivasis are the Santhal settlers of western Assam while the Bodos are an indigenous plains tribe of Assam. The Bodos launched a mass movement in late 1980s demanding a separate 'Bodoland' state. Kokrahjar has been the nerve centre of Bodo identity politics. 21The Bodo Autonomous Council was later upgraded to a Bodoland Autonomous Territorial District with more autonomy and power. 22An Assamese separatist outfit, ULFA was founded in 1979 to fight for a sovereign Assam. 23Baruah, India Against Itself, 56. 24Barman, Asamor Janajati Samasya, 30–31. 25Mullan, Census of India, 1931, Vol III. 26Das, 'Genesis of Tribal Belts and Blocks of Assam', 31. 27 Ibid., 33. 28In 1940, the Muslim League demanded the partition of India after independence into India and Pakistan wherein the Hindu majority states would remain with India while the Muslim majority states would go to Pakistan. Thus, the agenda of the League was to turn Assam into a Muslim majority state so that it could be merged with East Pakistan after partition. That Bangladesh still has the ambition of merging Assam as the necessary lebensraum for its huge population strongly animates the Assamese public discourse. 29See e.g., Sengupta and Singh, Insurgency in North-East India: The Role of Bangladesh, 73; Bhattacharyya, The Silent Invasion, 83. 30The demand for January 1951 as cut-off year was made as it was also the basis of the National Register of Citizens 1951. 31The possibility that Assam might eventually be merged with Bangladesh due to this demographic transition is an issue intensely discussed in the Assamese public discourse. In his controversial Report 'Illegal Migration into Assam' submitted to the President of India on 8 November 1998, the then Governor, Lt. Gen. (Retd.) S.K. Sinha warned that if the present trends of infiltration were 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 (Sinha, Illegal Migration into Assam). 32Besides Assam, where this process began in the Dibrugarh town in May, 2005, there have been a quite a number of cases of deportation of allegedly Bangladeshi immigrants in recent times from the neighbouring states of Assam like Meghalaya, Arunachal and Nagaland. That they invariably enter Assam or allegedly left there by the respective police of these states after such deportation drives has caused public commotion in Assam. 33Sharma, 'Assam: Tribal Land Alienation: Government's Role'. 34To protect the tribal interest a committee led by Gopinath Bardoloi devised creation of special reserved zones for them (known as Tribal Belts and Blocks) in 1946. 35Baruah, Indian Against Itself, 63. 36 Ibid., 64. 37The Bhojpuris are a constituent of the larger 'deshwali' population. 38'As early as the 1930s important Congress leaders like Nehru and Rajendra Prasad had expressed their concern at the continuing influx into Assam …' (Misra, North-east India: Quest for Identity, 76). 39There are regular reports in the Assamese media on this (see e. g., Pratidin Correspondent, 'Asamot Bangiya'). 40The Inner Line system was introduced in the northeast region in 1873 by the British restricting the movement of the plains people into certain hill areas to 'protect' the interest of the hills people. This provision has been continued till today necessitating obtaining of prior permission to enter into these areas by an outsider. 41Hazarika, Rites of Passage, 125–7. 42Barpujari, North East India: Problems, Policies and Prospects, 122. 44 Ibid., 140. 45 Ibid., 140–1. 43Sadiq, Paper Citizens, 139. 46 Ibid., 148. 47 Ibid., 152. 48 Ibid., 155. 49 Ibid., 167. 50Hazarika, Rites of Passage, 261–2. 51IPCC, 'Summary for Policymakers'; Sarwar and Khan, 'Sea Level Rise: A Threat to the Coast of Bangladesh'; World Bank, 'South Asia: Shared Views on Development and Climate Change'. 52Swain, 'Displacing the Conflict: Environmental Destruction in Bangladesh and Ethnic Conflict in India'. 53Barpujari, North East India: Problems, Policies and Prospects, 122. 54 Ibid. 56 Ibid. 55Baruah, India Against Itself, 67. 57 Ibid. 58 Ibid., 68, 203. 59 Ibid., 203. 60See, e.g., Raichoudhury, Asamot Bangladeshi; Gohain, Assam: A Burning Question, 27; Sharma, Migration and Assimilation.