The opposition in Assam to the notification of the Citizenship Amendment Act on March 11, 2024 deserves a dispassionate study. To know the real reason behind the students’ movement of 1979 to 1985 and current discontentment one needs to trace the origin of the problem. And how the whole issue has been shrewdly deflected.
At the very outset it should be understood that Assam emerged as a sort of economic powerhouse during British India and that too without witnessing industrialisation – unlike in the case of what was then Bombay and Bengal. It is another thing that after the creation of East Pakistan, it lost Dhaka and Chittagong ports and became a landlocked state. Thus started the economic decline of Assam.
Partition in 1947 and the subsequent creation of Bangladesh in 1971 after nine months of liberation struggle forced a large number of Hindu as well as Muslim Bengalis to settle in the state. But Assam was not the lone state to see such infiltration. West Bengal and other northeastern states also witnessed surge in population of people from across the border.
But since the ground situation in Assam was somewhat different, it led to widespread discontentment and by late 1970s, started the movement against the ‘outsiders.
The preparation of the electoral roll before the 1979 Lok Sabha polls was the immediate cause for All Assam Students’ Union and Assam Gana Sangram Parishad to launch a civil disobedience movement which at times turned violent too.
Economic exploitation
However, the process of economic exploitation had actually started in early 19th century, that is before the advent of railways and automobile. The British colonisers started looting the rich forest wealth of the northeast just years after occupying it in late
the 18th century. As it was quite easy to directly transport timber, bamboo, cane, tea and cash crops from the deep interiors of Assam by ships through the river Brahmaputra to Britain, the region attracted a lot of attention.
The British introduced the cultivation of poppy in Assam and Bengal to produce opium which was smuggled to China, from where Britain was facing trade deficit. This led to two Opium Wars in the mid-19th century. The British grew rich by this totally unethical means but the poor people of Assam had to pay dearly. The local farmers were forced to produce cash crops which benefited the British as well as traders from north and west India.
Though the state saw a lot of economic activities, it became the centre of exploitation of labours, both local and indentured ones brought mainly from Chotanagpur region of east-central India. A large number of them were Adivasis, mostly Santhals, forcibly uprooted from their land and sent to work in tea gardens in Assam. The imperialist power wanted to hit two birds with one stone. They crushed the rebellious Adivasis of what was then Bengal, now Jharkhand, in 19th century and at the same time replaced the local aboriginal people of Assam who were also the victims of the exploitative land revenue policy of the British masters.
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The British also brought with them educated Hindu Bengalis from Bengal who occupied the second and third rung of bureaucracy. The rise of business activities in Assam facilitated neighbouring Bengal too. A sense of alienation started gripping the people of the northeast, in particular Assam, even in the pre-Independence era. They eagerly took part in Gandhiji’s peaceful struggle for freedom.
Post-Partition scenario
However, after Partition, the situation turned worse as Assam lost the naval opening following the loss of East Pakistan ports. Now far-away Kolkata became the only place from where trade could be done. A road or rail journey to any place in interior Assam from
Kolkata takes a much longer time.
Besides, as British rulers were keen to develop Kolkata, the then capital of India, they set up head offices of tea companies and tea processing plants here.
A sense started prevailing among the Assamese that their state has become a colony of not just British masters but also of better educated Bengalis and traders from north and west India. Assam gradually started losing attraction following developments in the post-1947 years. When the students’ movement was launched in 1979 it was not communal in nature. As there was widespread resentment among the people not only against migrants from East Pakistan or later Bangladesh but against all those from the rest of India too, whom they dubbed as exploiters. In the tea gardens too, there was a thin dividing line between poor Santhals brought from Chotanagpur belt more than 150 years ago and the aboriginal tribes of Assam. The tragedy is that these Santhals and other Adivasis from outside do not enjoy Scheduled Tribes status in Assam. Only the indigenous tribes get this facility. The bloody Bodo-Santhal clashes are common phenomenon even now.
Assam Accord
As per the August 15, 1985 Assam Accord between the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the leaders of the students’ movement March 24, 1971 was fixed as the cut off date for detecting illegal foreigners. This date is significant as on March 25 that year the
Pakistani army launched a brutal crackdown on the victorious Awami League supporters in the then East Pakistan. This sparked off a civil war which continued till December 16, 1971 when Pakistani army subsequently surrendered to Indian forces. In the process, lakhs of refugees from there crossed over to India.
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In short, the story of Assam is complicated. From the very beginning in early 1980s attempts were made by vested interest to communalise the whole situation. Those who were controlling business and other sectors of Assam, were mostly from outside the state.
They tried to give a new twist as the students’ movement was actually directed against them too. The Sangh Parivar became active since then.
The Citizenship Amendment Act passed in December 2019 did not solve the real problem of the people of Assam. That is why the state exploded forcing the government to cancel the Narendra Modi-Shinzo Abe Summit in mid-December in Guwahati. Five people were killed in that violence.
As far as the CAA is concerned in Assam the BJP is caught in a bind. But the saffron party may try to cash in on it in the rest of India.
