The Opposition AIUDF in Assam has written to the state police chief to ensure the safety of “bonafide” Indian citizens who are being “threatened” to leave Upper Assam by certain organisations that are branding them as foreigners.
In a representation to Assam director-general of police (DGP), H. Singh, on Sunday, the AIUDF stated the “deeply disturbing incidents” being reported from various parts of Upper Assam where certain groups and organisations are threatening “bonafide Indian families” hailing from Central and Upper Assam, who are mostly residing in rented houses.
The party claimed that the members of these organisations are forcefully entering their houses and defaming them by falsely branding them as “foreigners”.
They are reportedly creating pressure on the house owners to ask the “Miya occupants” to vacate their rented houses and leave Upper Assam, “creating an atmosphere of fear, insecurity and communal disharmony”, the letter stated.
The letter was signed by six AIUDF leaders, including four MLAs.
Miyas are Bengali-origin/Bengali-speaking Muslims, who are often branded as Bangladeshis illegally settled in Assam.
Though the AIUDF has not named anyone or any organisation, the letter was submitted on a day when a video surfaced showing a leader of the Jatiya Sangrami Sena purportedly threatening a Miya person “to vacate Upper Assam within 24 hours”.
The AIUDF letter stated: “These actions are not only illegal and unconstitutional but also pose a serious threat to the law and order situation of the state. Innocent Indian citizens are being harassed without any legal basis, which is a clear violation of their fundamental rights and a challenge to the secular fabric of our society.”
Seeking the DGP’s strong intervention, the AIUDF has requested him “to identify and take strict legal action against the individuals and groups responsible for these unlawful activities” and also “ensure the safety and protection to the affected families, particularly those being wrongly targeted”.
The AIUDF has also urged the DGP to “issue clear instructions to the concerned district police authorities to monitor and prevent such incidents from recurring” and also “restore confidence among the public, especially the such targeted community, that their rights and dignity will be safeguarded”.
The ultimatum to Miya people to leave Upper Assam this time comes amid intensified eviction drive in the state to clear forest land across the state.
Most of the around 5,300 affected families in the seven eviction drives carried out since June 16 are Bengali-speaking Muslims who have accused the state administration of being selective in their drive by sparing non-Muslims.
Sarma had said on Saturday that unauthorised occupation of public land by indigenous people will not be considered as encroachment. The next day, he said state administration will not evict any Indian or Assamese people.
Sarma has repeatedly claimed the land is being cleared to secure the future of indigenous Assamese people. However, who is to be called an indigenous Assamese is yet to be defined legally. According to the 1985 Assam Accord, the cut-off date for determining citizenship in Assam is March 24, 1971.
Assam has a Muslim population of around 34 per cent, of which Bengali-speaking Muslims form the majority chunk.
A similar “Free Upper Assam” drive was launched in August 2024 by organisations “representing” the interests of the indigenous Assamese people. They had asked Miya people to leave Upper assam within seven days.