GUWAHATI: North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) Assam Students’ Association has joined the protest by students unions to oppose the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016.
Speaking to The Shillong Times on Thursday, the association’s general secretary, Kobid Lahon categorically maintained that the association vehemently condemned the move to pass the Bill in Parliament, which would harm the interests of Assam and its people.
“At a time when indigenous people in Assam and their existence are at grave risk, it is not right to just sit back. As it is, people and organisations in Assam has been raising its voice against the proposed legislation for quite a long time and now is the time when citizens have to be on their guard to see that the Bill is not passed in Rajya Sabha,” Lahon said.
The association general secretary said that a concerted effort would be made to initiate awareness campaigns against the Bill among students of all communities of the Northeast once the university reopens in February.
As it is, students in Assam have hit the streets to register their opposition to the Bill. Members of the Cotton University Students Union have since Wednesday resorted to an indefinite hunger strike against the contentious legislation.
The union also had a meeting with students unions of various colleges of Guwahati to launch a united student movement against the Bill.
Meanwhile, the Shillong Socio-cultural Assamese Students’ Association has condemned the Citizenship Amendment Bill by stating that the bill is an attempt to suppress the identity of the people of the region.
“The people of the region have protested the bill and their voice and their mandate have been ignored yet again by those in their seats of power,” the association said. “This bill is an insult to the sacrifices made by martyrs who laid down their lives to ensure that we may live in peace,” it added..
The association has also urged the Assamese, Khasi, Garo and other indigenous communities of the region to stand together in opposition to the bill.
