GUWAHATI: Hundreds of people belonging to indigenous communities assembled at a citizens’ convention here demanding legal safeguards against foreigners’ influx, re-verification of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) draft and scrapping of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016.
Participants at the convention held under the aegis of Prabajan Virodhi Manch, an anti-infiltration forum, at Latasil playground on Saturday afternoon, also took an oath to take the “movement” against influx forward in the coming days and demand implementation of the three-point agenda by January 31, 2019.
“Two governments (in 2014 and 2016) have been elected by voters from indigenous communities and the promises to protect indigenous communities and their rights have not been kept. Worse still, there is fear and apprehension among indigenous people to carry out activities such as farming on their own lands. The tribal belts too are not safe and it does not help if the government itself is not adhering to law and giving refuge to foreigners,” Manch convener and senior lawyer of the Supreme Court of India, Upamanyu Hazarika, said.
Representatives of districts, which have had to bear the brunt of “Bangladeshi” influx, such as Barpeta, Morigaon, Nagaon, Hojai and Darrang, shared their tribulations and bitter experiences at the two-hour convention.
Pratap Das of Kawoimari still dreads to visit his own land where suspected illegal migrants have encroached upon and built structures. “I have to take police escort to just visit the land allotted to us at Kawoimari Reserve which is under encroachment,” Das, who had earlier written letters to even the Prime Minister, said.
Representatives from Jamunamukh (in Hojai), where only about 20 per cent indigenous people remain, as well as Barpeta, Morigaon and Darrang, also spoke about the need for a legislation to protect them from the onslaught of “suspected Bangladeshis”.
“We suspect that many Bangladeshis in Barpeta have been included in the complete draft NRC. Therefore, we demand that the government should re-verify this draft for an error-free NRC,” a representative from Barpeta, said.
Men and women of all ages, carrying placards, left their homes early in the morning, to attend the convention.
“We want protection from the government against foreigners, which is why we have assembled here. We do not want to be a minority in our own land as there are many suspected Bangladeshis in Mayong not to mention the district,” said Jiten Engti from Dhekiabari village near Mayong in Morigaon district.
The Manch convener reiterated that if the state was serious on protecting indigenous population from becoming a minority, a legislation, just like the Manipur People Act, 2018 enacted by Manipur Assembly earlier this year, has to be enacted reserving land, government benefits and jobs, trade permits considering 1951 as the cut-off year.