In the wake of the flaring of ethnic riots in Assam, the Supreme Court was approached on Friday for protection of the Hindu, Buddhist, Christian and Sikh migrants forced out of erstwhile East Pakistan before the creation of Bangladesh and settled in the state for the past several decades.
Senior advocate M.N. Krishnamani, appearing for NGO Swajan — which filed a PIL highlighting the plight of these migrants who were the “minority” in East Pakistan — sought an interim order from the Supreme Court for their “protection” in the wake of the latest civil disturbance in Assam due to the ethnic clashes.
However, a bench of Justices P. Sathasivam and Ranjan Gogoi, who himself is from Assam and is well aware of the problem, told Mr Krishnamani that the migrants belonging the four communities mentioned were also settled in West Bengal and Meghalaya but the two states were not made respondents by the NGO. The bench said that the issue could not be taken up in isolation and confining to one state, hence, the other two states also should have been made the parties in the case.
As Mr Krishnamani offered to amend the PIL and name West Bengal and Meghalaya also as respondents, the top court adjourned the hearing on the crucial issue for two weeks.
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Bodo deputy chief blames ‘immigrants’
Age correspondent
Guwahati, July 27
The deputy chief of Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), Khampa Borgoyari, on Friday held the “immigrant Muslims” responsible for the present situation of Western Assam. Warning the state administration to refrain from forcing the people in relief camps to go back to their respective villages, Mr Borgoyari told reporters that people those fled their villages and taking shelter in relief camps should not be forced to go back until the law and order situation improves.
In an obvious reference to Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi’s remark that there was no “immigrants or Bangladeshis” who fled their homes after the conflict, Mr Borgoyari also regretted that Bodos are always blamed whenever such incidents take place in BTC area. He said that hundreds of Bodos have been displaced and fallen victim to the violence that was instigated by immigrants. He however admitted that priority should be to instil confidence and provide relief to those affected in violence.
Mr Borgoyari also welcomed Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s proposed visit to violence hit Kokrajhar on Saturday.