Are you aware of the recent situation in Assam? If yes, what is your opinion on it?
Hi, thanks for asking. By the recent situation in Assam, I assume, anon is asking about the eviction of over 600 families, most of whom are Bengali speaking Muslims, in the districts of Goalpara and Bongaigaon. It's difficult to answer within a Tumblr ask about such a complicated topic. In order to understand the situation, one needs to study the history of Assam, its districts and ethnic groups, its history (mainly the colonial and post-colonial period), post-partition political scenario, economics, migration patterns and its relation to East Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Let us skip the pre-medieval (cultural flow with the Shungas, Kushanas, Palas etc.) era and medieval period of the Ahoms, Kamarupis, Kochs, Kamatas, Kacharis, Jayantias, Nagas, Chutias, etc. and their conflicts with the Muslim Ghaznavids and the Mughals.
Let us focus on the British East India Company annexing Assam to Bengal province in its empire after the Anglo-Burmese War.
During the British colonial rule, the economic dynamics changed dramatically. Migration to and from the state occurred, and created new ethnic divisions of labour. I highly recommend you read the book Sons of the Soil by Myron Weiner. Then happened the partition of India. The All India Muslim League could not come to agreement with the Indian National Congress, there were of course the Two-Nation Theory which has its roots in the Aligarh Movement, "Ahl-i-Hadith" and "Ahl-i-Quran" movements and, ultimately, Shah Waliullah Dehlawi's ideology.
The bottom line was that the Mohammedans of the Indian subcontinent could not accept a Hindu majority rule, therefore Pakistan was formed. Violent pogroms preluded the partition and equally violent migrations across the newly drawn borders followed. This was a huge tragedy of India. Hindus lost chunks of their holy motherland, and subcontinent's Muslims too were at the crossroads when they lost their previous glory and place in the new world order.
Sylhet referendum, and partition of Bengal, millions of Hindus had to leave East Pakistan, following violent riots (1950s and 1964 anti-Hindu pogroms in East Pakistan were the most notable cases), and many settled in West Bengal as well as in Assam. The latter caused ethnic tensions between the Bengali Hindu refugees and some tribes of Assam, as both had to compete for same jobs and resources.
The situation wasn't helped when many Bengali speaking Muslims migrated to Assam for economic reasons. Under the rule of Muhammed Saadullah, many Bengali speaking Muslims were granted free land. During the rule of B.P Chaliha, the PIP act of 1962 was brought in as there were rising ethnic, religious and political tensions. During the 1964 Hazratbal riots when over 800,000 Hindus were forced to leave their homes and flee to India, this caused enmity in the border regions and deportation demands of Bengali speaking Muslim migrants in Assam. At the time, Pakistan's president condemned India heavily in the UN for attempting to deport Muslim migrants, while Indian representatives were sitting ducks in the UN. This situation kept inflaming tensions, Assam Agitation took place in the 1980s, violent clashes and separatism, Assam Accord by Rajiv Gandhi. Fast forward to this day. There are both ethnic and religious tensions still. Most people, who comment on Assam, believe that this is an anti-Muslim issue fuelled by BJP when it's not. Over the decades, there have been cases like the Silapathar massacre of Bengali Hindu refugees by tribals. Most social justice commentators always see Indian ethnic clashes through the lens that tribals are oppressed and Hindus are bad guys, so this Silapathar case might open up another perspective. Diffusing this complex ethnic conflict is a mammoth task. Assam as a state is extremely volatile, it was only recently (2020) that separatists such as ULFA laid down their weapons, thanks to current central governance.
Now, we come to the recent case. Apparently, mostly Bengali speaking Muslim migrants had encroached land that was not theirs in the first place. It is likely they will be given compensation as this has been the case previously too. The whole situation is of course extremely unfortunate. People suffering due to the long reaching shadow of history.
As a child of Bengali Hindu refugees, though, please don't ask me to feel for Bengali speaking Muslim migrants or support the likes of Maulana Bhashani. This is akin to asking a Congolese to feel for the Belgian refugees during the 1960 Congo crisis.
