Madani sings AASU tune, says faith has nothing to do with citizenship

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, April 7: Jamiat-ul-Ulama Hind president Maula Arshad Madani sang the AASU tune today when he made it clear that they would go up to the Supreme Court of India if religion was taken as a criterion for granting Indian citizenship in Assam, violating the cut-off date as mentioned in the Assam Accord.

The Assam Chapter of the Jamiat-ul-Ulama Hind observed a conference on tiol integration at IIT-Guwahati in the city today, amidst the presence of intellectuals, leaders of various organizations, jourlists and others.

Taking part at the conference, Madani said: “We would like to say ‘no’ to the BJP government’s move to bring some to Assam from Bangladesh and send back some to the neibouring country from the State on the basis of religion. The decision of the cut-off date of 1971 was of the Congress, the AASU and various parties and organizations of Assam. It was the decision of the government. The present government says the date is of no use now. Even when people have documents of 1951 and 1971 in their hands identifying themselves to be Indians, besides identifying their parents and children, how come they be identified as foreigners? There’re even people who have been living here since before the creation of India and Pakistan. Deporting foreigners staying illegally in India – be it in Assam, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir – has all along been our standing decision. The problems arising out citizenship in Assam are not known elsewhere in the tion. I’ll raise this issue in Delhi where judges, lawyers, jourlists and others will deliberate.”

Meanwhile, the conference took some resolutions like (1) the Assam Accord that was reached after the sacrifice of as many as 855 martyrs has to be implemented in letter and spirit – taking March 24 (midnight), 1971 as the cut-off date and deporting any foreigners entering the State after the cut-off date. The conference demanded of the government to give up its policy of taking religion as a criterion in determining Indian citizenship.

(2) The NRC update work should be completed soon by taking March 24 (midnight) 1971 as the cut-off date.

(3) The conference entrusted Jamiat-ul-Ulama Hind to organize a meeting at Delhi on the issue of citizenship in Assam so as to build opinion among all stakeholders of society, etc.             

The meeting presided over by Assam State Jamiat Ulama president Mustaq Ahmed Anfor was attended, among others, by intellectual Hiren Gohain, Anta Kalita, Abdul Mann and others.