Forty years elapsed; foreigners continue to afflict Assam: AASU

Signing of Assam Accord

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: Even after 46 years – six years of the Assam Agitation and 40 years after the signing of the Assam Accord – the problem of illegal migrants continues to afflict Assam. The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), one of the four signatories of the historic accord, blames it on the failure on the part of the successive central and Assam governments.

AASU president Utpal Sarma said, “The problem of illegal immigrants has deteriorated manifold due to the non-implementation of the Assam Accord in the past 40 years, leading the illegal Bangladeshis to encroach upon tribal belts and blocks, xatra lands, forest lands, and agricultural lands, besides bringing a massive demographic change in Assam. The situation has come to such a pass that the indigenous people of the state have been losing their political power. One of the threats for the entire country is fundamentalists entering the state and blending seamlessly with illegal Bangladeshis.”

Sarma said, “One of the popular slogans of the Assam Agitation was – save Assam today to save India tomorrow. However, the government continues to ignore the voice of the people of Assam, and now all of India is afflicted by illegal Bangladeshis, let alone Assam. And it’s now the central government that has instructed all states to deport illegal Bangladeshis.”

Sarma said, “The Assamese have been struggling for the past 46 years to ensure their dominance on their own land. This is why we demand that the Centre and the state government (i) implement every clause of the Assam Accord within a certain time stipulation, (ii) seal the India-Bangladesh border (the Assam Sector) in its entirety, (iii) implement every recommendation of the Justice (retd) Biplab Sharma committee for constitutional safeguards of the indigenous people of Assam, (iv) update the NRC flawlessly, and (v) exempt Assam from the purview of the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act).”

The Assam Accord was signed on August 15, 1985, among the Indian Government, the Assam Government, the All Assam Students’ Union, and the All Assam Gana Sangram Patishad. It aimed to address the issue of illegal immigration into Assam and protect the political, social, economic and cultural rights of the Assamese people.

Utpal Sarma said, “The Assam Accord will complete 40 years on August 15. In that evening, the AASU will light a lamp each in memory of the 860 Assam Agitation martyrs in every district headquarters.”

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