In solidarity with Assam

Ringo Pebam *

A Gamusa made from Pat silk with intricate designs :: Pix - Wikipedia/Priyankoo

When Assam and parts of North East burnt and lives were lost in the last some days, many ordinary Manipuris here in Manipur felt the pain, and I am one among them.

It was also very disheartening to hear the deafening silence in Manipur when Assam erupted in protests once the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, was passed by both houses of the Parliament.

Manipur and Assam and the rest of the North East were together, like brothers-in-arms, in protest against Citizenship Amendment Bill for a long time.

But once the Inner Line Permit regime got extended to Manipur, we became muted and Assam with a few other North East states was left to fight alone.

They must have surely felt smaller and hurt. Ordinary common men in Manipur did feel bad for Assam. All the while, many Manipuris’ hearts were beating for Assam, reading and watching news updates online, and via print media and television.

A group of like-minded individuals from different walks of life in Manipur, without the involvement of any Civil Society Organisation (CSO) staged a silent protest in front of Kangla Fort in the heart of Imphal on 14th Dec in solidarity to Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya, in the wake of the violent protests in the said states.

Similar democratic protests by the group of individuals were again held the following two days in Imphal. Those symbolic democratic protests were not covered by most media outlets, but their acts deserve to be applauded for standing up for the cause and showing solidarity to the brothers and sisters of the North East when CSO sponsored anti Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 protest almost died down in Manipur.

The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, violates the Assam Accord, which was signed to end illegal Bangladeshi migration, irrespective of the immigrant's religion. Under this Accord any person who came to Assam after March 24, 1971 would be considered as foreigner.

National Register of Citizens (NRC) of Assam will also be nullified by this Act. The final draft of NRC excludes nearly 19 lakhs, but this Act will grant citizenship to all the Hindus who came from Bangladesh even after the NRC cut off date of 24th March 1971.

The widespread protest and loss of lives in Assam and the North East are not entirely in opposition to the religion of immigrants, or for violation of Article 14 of the Constitution, but because of the threats being posed by the illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

The Citizen (Amendment) Act, 2019, will disturb the region’s demography, burden the resources, disturb employment, and it will give rise to loss of livelihood opportunities and erosion of indigenous culture.

With the heavy influx of Bangladeshis in the past decades, the North East people’s own culture, language and identity are getting extinct in their own homeland.

The political rights of the North Eastern people are at stake. Illegal immigrants who will become citizens will determine the future of the region.

By now, a dozen or so petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court against the Act. Let us hope that Supreme Court delivers justice soon.

It has been good to see the news reports of late of the various protests by the students’ communities of Manipur, giving the much needed solidarity to Assam and Jamia Millia Islamia.

As I write this article today, the 17th Dec, here in Imphal, there goes on singing songs of protest in democratic way in Assam.

May more power be with the people of Assam who are fighting with heavy hearts against the Act.