Apart From One Pocket, Voices Against the Citizenship Bill are Growing Across the Northeast

Across the Northeast, the opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 is growing. The Bill would enable the illegal migrants to obtain Indian citizenship if they have resided in India for six years. However, there is a pocket within Assam, which is in favour of the Bill – the Barak Valley. The people from this region of Assam are predominantly Bengali speakers, although the language Sylhetti – sometimes referred to as a dialect of Bengali – dominated the area previously. The people of the Barak Valley have long harboured resentment towards Dispur, at times even proposing a separate state.

In Karimganj, on Monday, a convention organised by Citizen's Rights Protection Coordination Committee saw speeches delivered against the National Register of Citizens (NRC) process. The gist of the entire discussion at the convention was that the NRC was a conspiracy to render Bengalis stateless in Assam. Karimganj is one of the districts comprising the Barak Valley. The NRC considers March 24, 1971 as the cut-off year for determining citizenship in Assam, even though 1950 is the cut-off year for the rest of the country. Partition and the Bangladesh War are the factors that have effected this difference in standards. The civil unrest following the anti-foreigners movement in Assam displaced many Bengali speakers internally, many of whom took shelter in the Barak Valley. On May 9, the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) visited the Barak Valley, where they were met with support for probably the only time they have visited the Northeast. Despite their main state units opposing the Bill, the representatives of both the Congress and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) ensured that the JPC was aware of their support for it.

However, the Barmhaputra Valley and the rest of the region is clearly opposed to the Bill, and the opposition in only growing. Mizoram's apex student body – the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), expressed support to the Northeast Students’ Organisation's (NESO) campaign against the Bill. On Monday the MZP general secretary, Lalnunmawia Pautu said that they would stage a protest in Aizawl alongside NESO against the Bill on May 21. On Saturday NESO held a three-hour sit-in against the Bill in Guwahati. Their eight constituent member organisations had also participated in the protest. The members are: the Mizo Zirlai Pawl, All Assam Students' Union, Khasi Students' Union, Garo Students' Union, All Arunachal Pradesh Students' Union, Naga Students' Federation, All Manipur Students' Union and the Twipra Students' Federation.

The pro-talks faction of the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), in violation of the terms of their ceasefire with the Indian government, has also been active in opposing the Bill. Earlier, ULFA leader Jiten Dutta had threatened to shut down the Kakopathar camp if the Bill was passed. General Secretary of ULFA, Anup Chetia had also made similar remarks. On Monday, ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa too joined a sit-in protest against the Bill. At the protest, he said that there is no point in holding talks with the government if the Bill is passed. The talks were towards ensuring safeguards to the Assamese people, however, the Bill would erode whatever little protection the people currently have.

However, the real wake-up call should be the statements made by Hare Krishna Deka. Deka had been the Director General of Police in Assam during the Assam Agitation between 1979 and 1985. According to an interview with The Telegraph, he feels that the present government was voted to power as they promised that illegal immigrants would be deported, and the Citizenship Bill is being perceived as a betrayal. The current mood, according to him, is something the anti-talks faction of ULFA could exploit.