(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of India
(Marxist)
Vol. XXXII
No.
41
October
19, 2008
Behind
The Recent Communal Violence In Assam
Uddhab Barman
Rampant violence and mayhem swept across many areas in the two
districts of Udalguri and Darrang in Assam for three consecutive days
starting on October 3, 2008. A total of 54 persons were killed in the
clashes between Bodos and Muslims, including 25 in police firing. The
toll in Udalguri district was 31 persons (including 11 killed in police
firing) and in Darrang district 23 persons (including 14 killed in
police firing). Those killed mostly belonged to the Bodo and the Muslim
communities. Hundreds of houses belonging to people of both the
communities were burnt rendering thousands of people homeless.
According to official spokespersons, around two lakh persons were
forced to take shelter in 82 relief camps set-up after the clashes. Of
these, 42 camps were set up in Udalguri district and 36 camps in
Darrang district. While the majority of people living in the relief
camps belong to the Bodo and the Muslim communities, there are also
some who are Assamese, Nepalese, Adivasis and Bengalis. Many of those
who were injured in these clashes are being treated in different
hospitals, including in the Guwahati Medical College Hospital.
With the clamping of curfew and deployment of the army and paramilitary
forces, the situation has been, by and large, brought under control
now. But a sense of insecurity and tension continues among the people.
Simmering fear and apprehension, distrust and disbelief still persists.
The inmates of the relief camps belonging to both the communities
alleged that groups of armed gangs looted and set their houses on fire.
There existed no administration at all in these districts. The DC of
Udalguri district was transferred and SP has been suspended.
DIFFERENT VERSIONS
There are different versions about what sparked off these horrible
clashes. One version is that a group of Bodo youth working as night
watchmen in their village was attacked by a group of Muslims and one of
the Bodo youth, Rakesh Swargiary, was kidnapped and atrocities
perpetrated on him. The attempts by Bodo youth to rescue him led to the
clashes. The other version is that some Bodo youth went to the Muslim
village to steal the hens, goats etc. and Rakesh Swargirary was caught
red-handed and assaulted by the Muslims. The news of assault and attack
on Rakesh Swargiary spread like wildfire. This led to the mobilisation
and clashes between the two communities and subsequent violent
activities of arson, attack and killings. It is to be noted here that
the distrust and fear among these two communities was such that they
arranged night guards to keep a vigil on their own respective villages.
These communal clashes between the Bodos and the Muslims is to be seen
in the background of the present phase of anti-foreigner agitations
rocking the entire state. The so-called initiative of 'detection' of
the suspected Bangladeshis by some organisations led to numerous
harassments and atrocities on people belonging to the religious
minority community in many places in the state. This led to protests
from minority organisations against these harassments, humiliations and
atrocities. As part of these protests, a minority outfit MUSA (Minority
United Students' Association) gave a call for 'Assam bandh' on August
14, 2008 during which clashes occurred between the Muslim youth and
Bodos at Rowta Town in Udalguri district. Seven persons were
killed and many were forced to flee their homes and stay in the relief
camps. Since then there was a simmering distrust and tension among the
people resulting in formation of volunteer squads of both communities
to maintain night-time vigil in their respective villages. All these
arrangements were in fact used as means to keep up the fear and tension
among the people. Strangely, in such a prevailing situation, the
administration failed to take necessary measures to restore the
confidence among the people as well as take other preventive measures
against recurrence of the clashes between the two communities.
GENERATING PHOBIAS
Under the guise of an 'anti-foreigner' agitation, a general sense of
Islamophobia was sought to be generated among the people of the state
by the BJP-RSS, which has built up a wide network in the
districts of Udalguri and Darrang in recent years. These forces
continue to communalise the foreigners' issue and have been trying
under different platforms to mobilise people, particularly those
belonging to the socio-economically backward sections of the society,
for their nefarious designs. They are using a section of the Bodos as a
shield against the Muslims who actually settled in these districts long
back and became a part of the broad Assamese society. A small section
of Assamese, Bengalis and Nepalese are also being mobilised by these
forces against the Muslims.
Hagrama Mahilary, the chief of the Bodoland Territorical Council
(BTC) alleged that the National Democratic Front of Bodoland
(NDFB) has been responsible for the present communal clashes in
the BTC area. The general secretary of the NDFB -- an outfit which has
a ceasefire agreement with the central government in force -- denied
the allegation and said that such charges were being made in order to
cover up the failure of the state government and the BTC authority to
protect the life and property of the people. But two NDFB activists
arrested in connection with the killing of a Muslim woman in Baksa
district confessed to the police about their involvement in the
violence. Strangely, R N Mathur, state DGP said that there is no
concrete evidence of the NDFB involvement in the present killings of
the Muslims in the districts of Udalguri and Darrang. Whatever may be
the truth about the involvement of the NDFB in the killings of Muslims,
one thing is clearly evident -- there is a strong trend among a section
of the Bodo community to ethnically rule the BTC areas as a coherent
homeland.
BREEDING FUNDAMENTALISM
On the other side, with the growth of the BJP-RSS in this region and
their consistent violent campaign against Muslims in the name of
suspected Bangladeshi citizens, sufficient ground has been created for
the growth of communal and fundamentalist forces among the Muslim
community. And this growth of Muslim fundamentalists and their
activities further aggravated the communal situation in these areas.
All these multiple factors contributed to the present communal flare up
and violence in the areas, resulting in the shattering of the unity of
the people who are mostly peasants suffering from the onslaughts of the
economic policies of the government. It remains to be seen whether the
promises of the chief minister to provide relief and rehabilitation to
the affected people and to take stern measures against those creating
the communal violences will build confidence among the people and help
in normalising the situation. But one thing is clear that the rifts and
conflicts engendered by the communal violence among the Bodo and Muslim
communities will be sought to be utilised by the divisive, communal and
fundamentalist forces to their advantage and thus further endangering
the peace and unity among the people.
So restoration of peace and amity among the people is the present
urgent task. All the peace loving, democratic people of the state must
unitedly come forward and endeavour to build confidence and amity among
the people traumatised by the recent deplorable communal flareups and
clashes.
(The writer is CPI(M) Assam state
secretary; October 10, 2008)
People's Democracy