People's Democracy

Violence in Assam

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on July 25, 2012:

THE Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) expresses its grave concern at the escalating violence in Assam which is taking a communal turn and is spreading from the Bodo Territorial Administered District and Kokhrajar to neighbouring districts and areas. It is indeed deeply disturbing that over 35 people have lost their lives, several are untraced, over 50 villages have been burnt, thousands have been forced to flee from their homes. Tragically, the insecurity is so high among all communities that even those in relief camps do not feel safe.

This is a monumental failure of the Congress led government in Assam, which refused to take timely action allowing the tensions to increase from the first incident on July 6. Even earlier, the warning signs of distrust and tensions among different communities were ignored. The central government must explain why it too delayed its response to the violence.

The CPI(M) also strongly condemns the motivated propaganda that seeks to justify the violence against the minority community in the name of illegal migration from Bangladesh. This is a total fabrication since the large majority of people in these areas are Indian citizens who have been living in the area for decades, having been displaced from their own areas due to the erosion of their land by the Brahmaputra and other rivers. It is the tragedy of Assam, a state which has multi-lingual, multi-religious and different communities that the dominant political parties should practice a politics which divide and weaken people’s unity, leading to repeated bouts of violence.

It demands that the government take immediate steps to restore law and order. All those who are directly involved in the violence must be identified and punished severely. The government must give full compensation to the families whose members have been killed. It must give compensation to those injured. Proper arrangements must be made for relief in the camps where security must be ensured. The CPI(M) appeals to the people to restore peace and to put an end to this fratricidal violence, isolating the trouble makers.

A delegation of MPs from the CPI(M) will be visiting Assam shortly.