by A. J. PHILIP
Sanjoy’s resourcefulness was evident in the large number of scholars, academics, journalists and activists from the Northeast and elsewhere who had assembled there. Like a classicist, Udayan Misra, the tallest among the academics present, provided a historical analysis of the conflict in Assam. There was a time when migration to Assam was encouraged by the government. The British needed workers to man the tea gardens for which they brought people from Bihar. “Today some of the leading writers in Assamese are descendants of such workers”.
As he described how the Bengal government encouraged people to go and settle down in Assam and how the West Bengal Assembly passed a resolution to demand opening up of tribal areas of Assam for migration, I remembered a novel I read. It was Vishakanyaka (Poisonous virgin) by S.K. Pottekatt. It dealt with the migration of farmers from Central Travancore to Malabar where land was cheap. Many died of malaria and snakebite.
Today those areas are one of the most developed and the farmers there among the richest in the state. Misra did not like the demonization of either the Bodos or the Muslims. Monisha Behal was at her passionate best when she talked about the closed schools in “Bodoland” and a generation growing up almost unlettered. The Bodo accord mentions providing infrastructure for sports but the accord is as dead as Mauritius’ dodo.
What I noticed was the hesitation the speakers had about opening up; so there was a lot of hedging. Sanjoy was bold enough to recall that massacres were not new to Assam where the Nellie massacre ranks among the worst India witnessed. One report has it that 3000 Muslims were slaughtered on a Friday in February 1983. Gujarat actually pales in comparison. Most of the speakers gave the impression that the problem was on account of the “illegal migrants” in Assam and the illegal migration continuing from Bangladesh. Sanjoy also seems to believe in this. He was one of the first to argue that work permits should be given to the Bangladeshis crossing the borders.
Some political parties argue that all those who came after 1971 should be pushed back. Why this cut-off? It was in that year that India allowed East Pakistanis to arrive following the policy of genocide pursued by the Pakistani army. Assam witnessed a massive agitation that brought the agitators to power. But how many “illegal migrants” were sent back?
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