The All Assam Students’ Union today described Dispur’s recent white paper on the foreigners issue as a “half truth” and alleged that important historical facts had been suppressed to mislead the people of Assam.
AASU adviser Samujjal Bhattacharyya told reporters at a news conference here today that though the Tarun Gogoi government had made an attempt to disclose some facts and figures about illegal migration, some important historical facts about the problem had not found place in such an important document. The student body also distributed a document on the history of the anti-foreigner movement in the state among the reporters.
“We are not rejecting the white paper but at the same time, it is not a foolproof document. It cannot be the basis for research and study on the illegal migration issue in the future,” Bhattacharyya said.
On October 20, chief minister Tarun Gogoi had released the white paper, ostensibly aimed at neutralising the bid to revive the anti-foreigner agitation in the wake of the July BTAD riots.
The white paper, according to the government, spells out in detail the steps taken to detect and deport foreigners, to check infiltration, seal the international border and a commitment towards implementing the 1985 Assam Accord.
The document, the first of its kind on the foreigners’ issue, also mentions the road ahead, including update of the 1951 NRC within three years, completing the issuing of citizens identity cards under the Aadhaar project, fencing the border and strengthening the foreigners tribunals, among others.
Bhattacharyya said the white paper did not mention the very important report on the danger of illegal migration from Bangladesh to Assam that was submitted to the then President K.R. Narayanan by former governor Lt Gen. (retd) S.K. Sinha in 1998.
According to AASU, Sinha’s report was very important considering the fact that it had said deportation of the illegal migrants was not possible, as the Bangladesh government did not accept their presence. The governor had recommended declaration of the migrants as stateless citizens with no voting rights and no rights to acquire immovable property.
“Now illegal migrants are seen occupying or purchasing land from indigenous people in the state. If such a situation continues, the migrants will dominate the state politically and economically in days to come. But the white paper does not mention anything about such a situation,” Bhattacharyya said.
He said it was ridiculous that the chief minister, soon after releasing the white paper, told reporters that the foreigners issue was not the number one problem in Assam, unemployment was. “In 2005, the Supreme Court had observed that Assam was facing external aggression and internal disturbance on account of largescale migration of Bangladeshi nationals.”
He termed the white paper as nothing but an attempt by the government to mislead the people on the foreigners issue and added that the AASU would never allow the situation to go out of hand.
AASU adviser Samujjal Bhattacharyya told reporters at a news conference here today that though the Tarun Gogoi government had made an attempt to disclose some facts and figures about illegal migration, some important historical facts about the problem had not found place in such an important document. The student body also distributed a document on the history of the anti-foreigner movement in the state among the reporters.
“We are not rejecting the white paper but at the same time, it is not a foolproof document. It cannot be the basis for research and study on the illegal migration issue in the future,” Bhattacharyya said.
On October 20, chief minister Tarun Gogoi had released the white paper, ostensibly aimed at neutralising the bid to revive the anti-foreigner agitation in the wake of the July BTAD riots.
The white paper, according to the government, spells out in detail the steps taken to detect and deport foreigners, to check infiltration, seal the international border and a commitment towards implementing the 1985 Assam Accord.
The document, the first of its kind on the foreigners’ issue, also mentions the road ahead, including update of the 1951 NRC within three years, completing the issuing of citizens identity cards under the Aadhaar project, fencing the border and strengthening the foreigners tribunals, among others.
Bhattacharyya said the white paper did not mention the very important report on the danger of illegal migration from Bangladesh to Assam that was submitted to the then President K.R. Narayanan by former governor Lt Gen. (retd) S.K. Sinha in 1998.
According to AASU, Sinha’s report was very important considering the fact that it had said deportation of the illegal migrants was not possible, as the Bangladesh government did not accept their presence. The governor had recommended declaration of the migrants as stateless citizens with no voting rights and no rights to acquire immovable property.
“Now illegal migrants are seen occupying or purchasing land from indigenous people in the state. If such a situation continues, the migrants will dominate the state politically and economically in days to come. But the white paper does not mention anything about such a situation,” Bhattacharyya said.
He said it was ridiculous that the chief minister, soon after releasing the white paper, told reporters that the foreigners issue was not the number one problem in Assam, unemployment was. “In 2005, the Supreme Court had observed that Assam was facing external aggression and internal disturbance on account of largescale migration of Bangladeshi nationals.”
He termed the white paper as nothing but an attempt by the government to mislead the people on the foreigners issue and added that the AASU would never allow the situation to go out of hand.
The All Assam Students' Union on Monday accused chief minister Tarun Gogoi of not incorporating important historical and factual aspects related to influx in the white paper which he released recently.
Terming the white paper on the foreigners' issue a "bundle of white lies", the students' body accused the state government of deliberately not incorporating the important aspects to give impetus to their vested interest to retain their vote bank, and also of not maintaining a clear and consistent stand on the issue.
But Aasu didn't outwardly reject the document. It said it was not foolproof, prone to factual errors, not historically correct and was aimed at diverting the people's attention from the core issue. Furnishing documents to highlight their points and counter the white paper, Aasu, too, came out with a publication that "included" all "factual" and "historical" aspects that were apparently missing from the government-prepared document.
"Three months ago, the core problem of influx took a new turn when violence broke out in Bodoland. The state government knew about it but didn't take precautions. Gogoi had said there were no Bangladeshis in Assam but later changed his stance. The violence resulted in the second wave of Assam agitation where people took to the streets to raise their voice. Gogoi has hidden all the core facts in the white paper," said Aasu president Shankar Prasad Rai.
Comparing some of the aspects of the white paper with that of its own publication, Aasu put forth arguments challenging Gogoi and his government. Aasu adviser Samujjal Bhattacharjya said some of the clauses in the document were contradictory. "There are some aspects which are wrongly published in the white paper. For example, in page 28 of the document, the government has put the setting up of IIT and Numaligarh refinery in Clause 7 of the Assam Accord whereas in reality it wasn't put in Clause 7 of the accord. The government, on page 19 of the document, states that survey and surveillance is generally carried out in areas of new settlements, construction sites, encroached land, government land, forest land and other uninhabited areas. We ask why the government is overlooking the encroachment in Kaziranga and why there has been no eviction. It is nothing but a lie and filled with anomalies," said Bhattacharyya.
"They have also excluded the 1951 census report and also what Mullen had said about the seriousness of the influx problem in 1931. But the most important were bipartite and tripartite talks, the verdict of the SC; suggestions that were put forwarded by Inderjit Gupta, erstwhile home minister and others were all left out. It is an attempt to divert and create confusion among people. It cannot be used as a research basis," added Bhattacharjya.
The white paper was released by Gogoi on October 20. It is a 94-page booklet consisting of facts and figures about the foreigners' issue. The document is considered to be an important benchmark in as so much because it is the first such document to be initiated by any state government on the state's history and first one to be taken on the floor of the assembly.
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