People's Democracy

ASSAM

State Level Convention Highlights Woes Of Muslims

Demands Implementation of Sachar Committee Recommendations

Isfaqur Rahman

THE Assam state committee of the CPI(M) has organised a state-level convention in Guwahati on July 3 to highlight the extent of Muslim woes and worries, deprivation and discrimination. The convention also demanded immediate implementation of the Sachar Committee recommendations and chalked out a demand charter for the advancement of the Muslim community.

The huge proportion of Muslim population in Assam who constitute 30.9 per cent of the state’s population has seriously and woefully been lagging far behind in terms of most of the crucial human development indicators such as levels of literacy, education, health etc. While the perception of discrimination and deprivation is widespread among Muslims, there has been no sincere and systematic effort to analyse the socio-economic and educational conditions of the community. The course correction has been a far cry.

The massive convention was indeed unique in terms of solemnity and solidarity, participation and deliberation. Around one thousand delegates, cutting across linguistic and religious barriers, came from nook and cranny of the state and participated with all seriousness at their command.

The convention was inaugurated by CPI(M) Central Committee member Hemen Das and was conducted by a three-member presidium consisting of Dr. Mahodar Pathak, Nizamuddin Khan and Monoranjan Talukdar.

The convention started with a condolence resolution in memory of all those who were recently killed in bomb-blasts and other forms of extremist violence in different parts of Assam. The resolution also unequivocally condemned the terrorist and extremist activities all over the world.

In his inaugural address, Hemen Das said, the Indian constitution was committed to the equality of citizens and the responsibility of the state to preserve, protect and assure the rights of minorities. But, unfortunately, almost 60 years after independence the country has failed to promote and protect the rights of Muslim minorities in particular. The community exhibits deficits and deprivation in all dimensions of development, he added.

While explaining the pathetic socio-economic conditions of Muslims in Assam, Hemen Das stressed the need for addressing the security concerns of the community. “Muslims are gripped by insecurity in the state”, Das said and added that instead of being ‘pampered’ or ‘appeased’, the Muslims in Assam have always been persecuted and harassed.” Their citizenship is being questioned and large sections of immigrant Muslims who have settled in Assam even before the birth of Bangladesh are being dubbed as ‘Bangladeshi foreigners’. Narrating his own experience, Hemen Das said, “in the mid-sixties of the twentieth century when the PIP scheme was in force, lakhs of Indian muslim citizens were branded as ‘Pakistani infilrators’ and were deported to erst-while East Pakistan quite arbitrarily and without legal scrutiny.”

The draft resolution of the convention was placed by Uddhab Barman, state secretary of the CPI(M). While explaining the contents of the resolution, Barman underlined the need for initiating special measures to uplift the backward sections of the Muslim community and said, Rajinder Sachar committee made a big contribution in understanding the socio-economic and educational status of the backward community. Lambasting the delaying tactics of the UPA government at the centre in implementing the Sachar recommendations, the CPI(M) secretary said, it must not meet with the same fate as earlier reports and commissions, including the Dr. Gopal Singh committee constituted by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi which submitted its report in June, 1983. The convention is the part of CPI(M)’s struggle to strengthen democracy and secularism, Barman asserted.

The convention was held in the auditorium of Rabindra Bhawan which was packed to its capacity. Quite a good number of non-Muslim intellectuals, educationists, social activists also participated in the convention with a spirit of sympathy and solidarity with their Muslim brethren. Unity and struggle for ‘equality, democracy and secularism’ was the clarion call and principal message of the convention.

Addressing the convention, former advocate general of Assam Suchendra Bhuyan explained the constitutional provisions for the upliftment of the Muslim community and lamented the role of the state in promoting and protecting their rights. Eminent historian and thinker Dr. Amalendu Guha, while pleading for advancement of Muslim community, also urged upon the enlightened sections of the community to launch a massive campaign for reform from within. Prominent scientist Dr. Chandra Mohan Sarma, educationists Abdul Mannan and Dr. Moonirul Hussain also referred to the Sachar committee reports which were essentially based on three types of issues relating to the identity, security and equality and hailed its recommendations. The speakers laid special emphasis on issues of equality and security for Muslims in Assam.

The delegations from districts also participated in the discussion on the draft resolution which dealt extensively on the precarious conditions of the overwhelming majority of the Muslim population in Assam. The startling revelation of facts and situation in Assam completely shattered sustained campaigns of the Hindutva oriented Sangh Parivar accusing secular parties of promoting a policy of ‘Muslim appeasement.’

Apart from the national level demands incorporated in the CPI(M)’s charter for advancement of Muslim community, the Assam convention also highlighted the state-specific demands like speedy developing of ‘Char’ areas (riverine area), immediate survey and allotment of land and pattas to the inhabitants of ’Char’ areas, inclusion of Maimal, Kiran, Jola and Baida communities in the SC list etc. On the issues related to protection and security of the Muslims, the convention demanded the updating of the National Register of Citizenship (NRC) taking 1971 as the base-year, to stop harassment to the Indian citizens in the name of detection and deportation of Bangladeshi infiltrators, to detect and deport illegal foreigners who migrated to Assam after 24th March, 1971, issuance of identity cards to protect the rights of the displaced persons affected by frequent floods and erosions, adequate relief to and rehabilitation of the victims of ethnic violence.

Finally, the convention unanimously adopted the resolution and called upon all democratic and secular forces to join the struggle for the advancement of Muslim community.