AAMSU diametrically opposed to AASU

Constitutiol safeguards

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, March 25: The All Assam Minority Students' Union (AAMSU) and the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) are diametrically opposed to each other, at least, in so far as the issue of providing constitutiol safeguards to the 'indigenous' people of Assam is concerned. 

After meeting Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on this issue, AAMSU president Abdur Rahim Ahmed, who led the AAMSU team, today told newsmen: "The AASU's proposal for constitutiol safeguards to indigenous Assamese based on the 1951 NRC it not at all acceptable to us. If the Assembly Speaker accepts the AASU's proposal and goes ahead, he will be responsible for the mistake."

Ahmed said: "The 1951 NRC isn't a correct document that hasn't included the  mes of a large number of indigenous people of Assam. And as such, the constitutiol safeguards to the people of Assam should be based on 1971 voters' list, not on 1951 NRC."

Ahmed said: "The Assam Accord never used the phrase indigenous Assamese. What the Accord says is - 'Constitutiol, legislative and administrative safeguards, as may be appropriate shall be provided to protect, preserve, and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people'. We're not going to accept a wrong explation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord as given by the AASU."  

The AAMSU president further said: "We doubt, by raising the issue of indigenous Assamese, a section of leaders and organizations are out to put hurdles in the NRC update work."

Ahmed said: "As per Historical Assam Accord, 1985, all persons except those who will be detected and deported by due process of the law and who are permanently residing in Assam, assimilating themselves with Assam's socioeconomic, cultural aspects irrespective of their caste, creed, religion and language are thinking for the well-being of Assam shall be defined as Assamese." 

Meanwhile, Asomiya Muslim  Kalyan Parishad (AMKP) general secretary Faizul Haque said in a press meet in Guwahati today: "The debate over constitutiol safeguards and the word Assamese have been diverse in the state. These two issues shouldn't be clubbed together. Even a non-Assamese may be an indigenous citizen of Assam. These two issues shouldn't be politicized. The AASU's demanding for treating 1951 NRC and 1952 voters' list as base documents while defining indigenous people of Assam is against the interests of the Assamese."