GUWAHATI: An anti-Bangladeshi sentiment is brewing in parts of Assam after the recent alleged gang-rape of a 14-year-old girl in Dhing area of Nagaon district.
A couple of leaders of local organisations in Sivasagar had issued a diktat to “all Bangladeshis” to leave upper Assam after claiming that indigenous identity was under threat.
Taking cognisance of the “threats”, the minority-based All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) petitioned Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya on Monday, seeking action by the state government against some “unknown organisations and fundamentalist groups” which asked “a section of Muslims” to leave the six districts of upper Assam or “face consequences”.
In a memorandum submitted to Acharya, the AIUDF said such diktats were a serious threat to communal harmony.
As a retaliatory measure, the fish traders of Nagaon decided to suspend the supply of fish to upper Assam indefinitely. They lamented that a community had been targeted for the Dhing incident which was condemned by people across the state.
Jiten Dutta, a former leader of insurgent group United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), welcomed the decision of the fish dealers and asked them not to revoke it.
“We welcome their decision. It is better to not eat than eating poison. The fish traders in Nagaon use urea excessively without being least concerned about public health. We wanted this to be stopped and had appealed to people earlier to not eat such fish,” Dutta, who is from upper Assam, said.
He asked the “Miya” community (Bengali-speaking Muslims) to also stop supplying broiler chicken, egg and vegetables to upper Assam.
“The Miya Muslims migrated from Bangladesh. Not only have they captured the markets in Assam, they have also kept on capturing land in river sandbars to increase their strength and dominate the indigenous communities,” Dutta said.
“Their plan is to make an Islamic nation by including Assam in Bangladesh,” he added.
The Paresh Baruah-led faction of banned ULFA, which is still waging an armed struggle, condemned the act of targeting one community for the recent incidents of rape. The outfit said when people from various communities were involved in the incidents, it was unfair to target one community.
“The incidents call for equal punishment for all perpetrators regardless of their religion,” the ULFA said in a statement.
Three persons were allegedly involved in the gang rape incident. One of them, Tafiqul Islam alias Tafazzul Islam, died by drowning in a pond while attempting to escape from police custody.