‘Illegal’ Immigrants With Valid Papers

Riot affected Muslim men show various documents that they say proof their Indian citizenship in Bedlangmari, around 25 km from Kokrajhar in Assam.

BEDLANGMARI VILLAGE (DHUBRI DISTRICT OF ASSAM): Bedlangmari is a stunningly beautiful patch of land on the periphery of Kokrajhar, populated by Bengali-speaking Muslims. And almost all of them are today in refugee camps, accused of being illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.

But the entire lot is armed with reams of what look like valid government documents - from electoral rolls with their father's name in it to birth certificates, ration cards and judicial stamp papers signed by easily identifiable magistrates. Some even have land tax records and live in Indira Awas Yojana houses. If they are illegal immigrants, who gave them valid papers? And if the documents are fake, then where did they get them from and who are the signatories of what is clearly original data?

'Powerful patrons help migrants get ID papers'

It's a question that both the Bodo Territorial Council in Kokrajhar and the Tarun Gogoi government in Guwahati will soon need to answer if they want to see the end of Bodo-Muslim conflicts that can spiral out of hand any time. For, if Muslims are illegal occupants of tribal land, who gave them the various papers attesting their Indian citizenship? And if, like them, the documents, too, are fake, where did they get it from and who are the signatories of what are clearly original data? Is there a staggeringly huge business in these parts of providing such papers to new Bangladeshi entrants or is there a larger, more sinister force at play here that no one can pin?

Illegal immigration of Bangladeshis, for long a divisive issue in Assam with its nearly 30% Muslim population, is once again at the heart of communal clashes that have ravaged large parts of Lower Assam, driving out lakhs of people yet to find the courage to go back home. But while those from Bangladesh entering India through Dhubri and other places illegally may already have made their way to the cities — as no one can stay undetected in the villages for too long, what with local groups after the formation of BTC keeping an eye on the movement of people and the areas crawling with intelligence men—many who've suffered are poor, genuine Bengali-speaking Muslim citizens.

People like Kalimuddin Sheikh. The 62-year-old, for instance, has a paper signed by the electoral registration officer at Dhubri that says Sheikh is eligible to cast his vote at 29, Bilashipara, East Constituency. There's another paper signed, this time by the Gaon Panchayat, which certifies his Indian citizenship. Then, from a plastic bottle he uses to store all these things that might some day stop him from being expelled or even killed, he takes out a 1966 voters list that has the name of his father Ramzan Ali Sheikh at entry number 20.

As people crowd around Sheikh armed with their own sets of papers, Mohammad Kholil, small and gaunt, reeking of beedi smoke and sweat, pushes his way to the front to show a laminated document that is signed by the executive magistrate, Bilashipara. In it is written: "I, Md. Kholil Sk, s/o Afazuddin, aged 37, by caste Muslim, by profession daily waged labour, a resident of village Bedlangmari, PO Silgara, PS Chapar, Dist Dhubri (Assam), do hereby solemnly affirm and declare that I am a permanent resident of the aforesaid locality and a citizen of India by birth..."

The Bodos, however, aren't convinced. Kampa Borgoyari, deputy chief of the Bodo Territorial Council, asks, "If the number of Muslims in Kokrajhar is 2.36 lakh and only half have been displaced, how come there are over 4 lakh Muslims in refugee camps? They are all filled with Bangladeshi infiltrators pushed into these parts by anti-India agencies, helped in the documentation process by powerful patrons."

Of course, land is the key in all this. Many Bodos, who often leave their dead in open tracts between villages for this purpose, say they have lost these to the Bangladeshis as no one earlier bothered to own what was communal ground. The Adivasis, practicing shifting agriculture until some decades ago, may also have sold land to the newcomers. In fact, it was one such piece of land marked out for namaz that started off the violence two months ago. While the Muslims said it was space for an idgah, the Bodos said it was forest land that is rightfully theirs. Now the BSF guards the plot day and night.

The issue of foreigners here has always been prickly to discuss and harder to solve. The Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act enacted in 1983 was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2005. The IMDT Act, meant to protect minorities from harassment and unique to Assam, made the deportation of illegal immigrants well nigh impossible as the burden of proving guilt rested with the accuser and the police. Providing a ration card was enough and it excluded those who entered India before March 25, 1971. But deportation even for others who came in after '71 was extremely tough. Under the Foreigners Act the onus is on the accused to free himself of all the charges.

The Supreme Court, setting aside the IMDT Act, had said that it was a big hurdle in the identification and deportation process of illegal migrants. It also observed that conviction rate under the IMDT Act comes to less than half per cent of the cases initiated. On August 9 this year, the SC heard a PIL on the deportation of illegal migrants - there are officially 1.50 lakh doubtful voters in Assam but the petition put the figure at 40 lakh - and posted the matter for further hearing on November 6, 2012.

But between the law, votebank politics, a nefarious border trade that eases people into India for a price and an increasing rage against a large number of men and women simply called Bangladeshi immigrants, there are thousands of poor, genuine Indian citizens who are being persecuted and bullied. Intelligence agencies also say extremist groups are now looking to exploit the situation with radical elements on both sides making openly caustic speeches against each other.

While there seems to be no immediate solution to this, the Bodos here, the government in Guwahati and Muslim groups will have to seriously think of a way to contain the growing animosity between the restive blocks. If remedies are not strong and urgent, there are signs that the face-off between Bodos and Muslims here will snowball into something that might engulf communities and regions far beyond Assam.

In Assam, Over 2 Lakh People Are Still Refugees

By Abhinav Bhatt
Kokrajhar, Aug 22 : It has been more than a month since ethnic violence broke out in parts of lower Assam. Ever since then people there have been tense, angry and scared. Nearly two and a half lakh people, both Bodos and minorities, are still in 224 relief camps, although two lakh people have returned to their homes.

There is a sense of distrust running deep among people who were neighbours till a few weeks ago, and that is preventing them from returning to their villages. Large scale destruction is yet another reason that's keeping people away from their villages and in relief camps.

"Our biggest challenge is reconciliation. People have to realise the interdependence, that they need each other. We are organising meeting among leaders," said Jayant Narlikar, Deputy Commissioner, of Kokrajhar.

For now, there is safety in numbers in these camps. At the Hapsara relief camp in Bongaigaon district, the government has provided water filters, hand pumps and a mobile medical unit with doctors. This may blunt the attack on the state government, blamed for the poor hygiene in the relief camps, but camps continue to be over crowded, with people cramped in claustrophobic space.

"What improvement? We are all living here without any self-respect, women and children... There's no power and we live in darkness," said one of the inmates of the relief camp.

In Kokrajhar, one of the worst affected districts, the Titaguri relief camp just outside the Kokrajhar town now wears a deserted look. Some of the men have returned to their villages a few days back, but the women are still here. One of them wonders, why can't life be the way it was.

"So many leaders like Sonia Gandhi and Tarun Gogoi have come, and many others too. They said that they will help us find a solution to all these problems, but nothing has happened. We just want to live a normal life," said Chandana Goiyari, an inmate of the relief camp.

Different camps, different stories. But all have the same feeling - how soon can they return and why live as refugees in their own land?

In Assam, Even 1000 Doctors Would Not Be Enough

By Alok Pandey
Guwahati, Aug 8 : In seven days from now, on Independence Day, the Assam government hopes that the four lakh people packed into 250 relief camps will return to their homes. Ask any of the families who are living in squalor at these camps and they will tell you that is not the case.

Many have no homes to return to. Entire villages were wiped out in Assam's worst communal violence in more than a decade. Those whose homes survived the cycle of attack and revenge between the Bodo tribals and Bengali-speaking Muslim settlers don't believe they will be safe outside the schools and colleges that have been turned into shelters.

They are not paranoid. On Monday at 11 pm, a group of 30 men appeared in the Raniguli village, just 30 kms away from the main Kokrajhar town, which functions as a sort of capital of this part of Lower Assam.

The men came from the hills; they opened fire; three people, sitting on a bench, were killed.  Two others are struggling for their lives in hospital. A few minutes after their mass-shooting, the gunmen disappeared. Raniguli is now a ghost town - every single family has escaped to relief camps nearby, pointedly skipping the one whose wall borders a section of the village. On the phone , the Assam Home Secretary, Gyandendra Tripathi,  said  forces had secured the village today. But at 10 am, there was not one policeman or security officer visible. 

The Army, the Central Reserve Police Force, the Border Security Force are all meant to be on guard to prevent more clashes - 60 people have died in the last month.  But last night, there was nobody to protect the innocent. In parliament tomorrow, the BJP will seek an explanation from the government.  Among the lapses acknowledged so far is a nearly five-day delay by the army in responding to the first calls of help from the Assam government. 

The relief camps offer dangers of their own. Diseases are spreading quickly. Five children have died in the last few days. Many are diagnosed with malaria. There are just 117 doctors available for the 400,000 inhabitants of the camps. Many of the doctors travel with police escorts from one shelter to another. They say they have run out of supplies -all they have now for patients are generic medicines for a cough or cold. "Even 1500 doctors would not have been enough," one says.

Assam Women Top Drinkers in India

By Kounteya Sinha

Around one in 10 adult women in Assam reported drinking alcohol followed by Jharkhand (8.2%), Chhattisgarh (7.4%) and Odisha (4.5%), says a survey.

New Delhi, Aug 7 : To associate Uttar Pradesh (UP) with guns and alcohol is commonplace.

But in a startling finding, the prevalence of alcohol consumption has been found to be among the lowest in the country's most populous state.

India's latest Annual Health Survey (AHS) — the world's largest demographic exercise with a sample size of 20.1 million people from 4.1 million households, which has for the first time conducted a district-wise "personal habits" — says only 6.8% adults (above 15 years) in UP consume alcohol.

In comparison, the prevalence is almost three times in Chhattisgarh (19.7%).

UP's consumption is second lowest among the nine states surveyed (Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Assam), with Rajasthan recording the lowest prevalence at 3.4%.

The survey, conducted by the Registrar General of India (RGI) across 284 districts in these states that account for about 48% of the total population, 59% of all births, 70% of all infant deaths, 75% of under five deaths and 62% of maternal deaths in the country, also found that men from Chhattisgarh love their drink, recording the highest percentage prevalence at 31.6%, followed by Jharkhand (24.6%) and Assam (23.8%).

When it comes to women, however, no one could beat the Assamese.

Around one in 10 adult women in Assam reported drinking alcohol followed by Jharkhand (8.2%), Chhattisgarh (7.4%) and Odisha (4.5%).

Fleeing Violence, Assam's Displaced Face Disease, Death in Camps

By Biswajyoti Das

Guwahati, Aug 7 : Hundreds of thousands of people sheltering in squalid, overcrowded camps in India's northeast desperately need food, water and medicines after fleeing some of the worst communal violence in a decade, officials and aid workers said on Monday.

At least 12 people, including four children, have died and thousands are sick with diseases such as diahorrea and malaria caused by poor conditions in government-run camps in Assam state, where up to 400,000 people have taken refuge.

"We are in a state of high alert," said Assam's Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. "People in the camps are suffering from diahorrea, dysentery, malaria and high fever. We are concerned about the condition of the babies and pregnant women."

Violence between Bodo tribespeople and Muslim settlers from neighbouring Bangladesh erupted on July 20 when unidentified men killed four Bodo youths. In retaliation, armed Bodos - which dominate Assam's Kokrajhar district - attacked Muslims, suspecting them of being behind the deaths.

The fighting has tested the ability of India's security forces to restore order in Assam, famed for its tea plantations and home to the constituency of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who visited the state in late July to appeal for calm.

So far 61 people have died - some hacked to death with machetes, while dozens of villages have been razed to the ground, forcing both Bodos and Muslims to flee to schools and community centres which have been converted into relief camps.

Sarma said around 8,000 children under two-years-old are sick, while hundreds of others have tested positive for malaria. There are also around 4,000 pregnant women in the camps who need medical support, he added.

FEARFUL TO RETURN HOME
Aid workers described the camps as "suffocating" with livestock living alongside people, few toilets and little access to clean water. Many people sleep in the open and women have little privacy, forced to wait for dawn or dusk to find a place outside to defecate.

Authorities have been overwhelmed by the numbers of displaced -- camps designed to accommodate 400 people are brimming with five times that amount, said aid workers.

"The government is lost and they are somewhat overwhelmed by the number of people who are displaced. They came in hordes and while relief is being distributed, it is totally inadequate," said Mrinal Gohain, northeast manager for the charity ActionAid.

Authorities are encouraging some of the displaced to return home, saying that the situation is under control with police and army patrols, as well as a curfew in some areas.

But aid workers distributing relief in the camps say survivors are too scared to return, especially after reports that five more people were killed over the weekend.

"There is a serious safety issue. Despite what the government says, people are traumatised and fearful and unwilling to return," said Geeta Majumdar from the charity Catholic Relief Services.

"Given the conditions inside the camps and the lack of security and safety outside, we are extremely concerned. Health is a priority and we are worried about epidemics occurring with such unsanitary conditions in such cramped spaces."

Northeast India Ethnic Unrest Toll Rises To 50

Guwahati, Aug 6 : The death toll from ethnic unrest in India's northeast rose to 50 on Saturday while at least 400,000 languished in relief camps as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited the conflict-hit area.

The national government has dispatched medical teams to Assam to tend to the victims of the fighting that erupted eight days ago between indigenous Bodo tribes and Muslim settlers over long-running land disputes.

The chief minister of far-flung Assam state, Tarun Gogoi, said the region was now calm after what he called "unprecedented" violence as the focus shifted to providing relief to the 400,000 people who fled their homes.

The death toll climbed to 50 as police reported in a statement that the bodies of five more people killed in the riots had been recovered.

Singh, who represents Assam in the Indian parliament's upper house, was slated to tour relief camps on Saturday accompanied by ruling Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi.

The chief minister described the violence as the worst crisis his government has faced, with rival groups from both sides attacking villages, beating people to death with sticks and burning down homes.

People in the camps have said they were afraid of returning to their homes.

"We are living in fear and we can't even think about going back to our homes," Bimla Basumatary, one of the displaced, told India's NDTV television network.

Gogoi has blamed Singh's government for the escalation in violence, saying it failed to send troops immediately after the unrest erupted.

Now at least 3,000 extra soldiers and paramilitary personnel are patrolling the region.

The international rights group Human Rights Watch said tensions had been building for more than two months between the Bodo and Muslim communities, which have clashed in the past over access to land and resources.

The group urged authorities to rescind the "shoot-on-sight" orders and "promptly investigate and prosecute those responsible while addressing the underlying causes of the clashes".

Assam CM Gogoi Ignored Warnings On Impending Riots

By Kaushik Deka

Tarun Gogoi, Chief Minister of Assam 

Sinlung is in possession of an exclusive document which shows that Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi ignored warning of a possible riot in Bodoland Territorial Areas District (BTAD) areas in the state.

On July 7, the president of the Kokrajhar unit of Congress had sent an urgent fax to Gogoi, requesting him to send CRPF forces to the region as he feared that riots could break out any moment in the state. But the chief minister did not respond to the mail.

Assam Pradesh Congress Committee vice-president Y.L. Karna had also submitted a report to Gogoi warning him of an impending riot after he visited Kokrajhar on July 7 to inquire into the incident of killing of minority students in the district a day before.

Interestingly, on July 27, the chief minister had put the blame on the central government for the delay in sending army to the riot-affected areas.

The very next day when reporters asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his reaction to Gogoi's allegation, the CM grabbed the microphone and said he hadn't said this.

Meanwhile, the death toll in the Bodo-Muslim violence has reached 71. Meanwhile, home minister P. Chidambaram is set to visit the violence-hit areas of the state for two days beginning today (Monday) and review the security situation and relief and rehabilitation measures.

Chidambaram, who has been monitoring the Assam situation ever since clashes between Bodos and immigrant minorities broke out, will hold meetings with top civil and police officers and take stock of the law and order situation in the four riot-hit districts Kokrajhar, Chirang, Dhubri and Bongaigaon.

The home minister is expected to visit a few relief camps and review the relief and rehabilitation steps taken for those who lost their kin and suffered losses during the violence. Chidambaram is likely to hold separate meetings with state governor J.B. Patnaik, the chief minister and his council of ministers.

source: dailymail

Extended Vacation For Schools in Riot-Hit Assam Districts

By K Anurag

Guwahati, Jul 30 : Educational institutions in Assam's violence-ravaged districts of Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa and Dhubri are likely to have an extended summer vacation.

Over four lakhs riot-hit are lodged in 278 relief camps in the violence-affected areas and out of those over 200 relief camps have been set up in educational institutions.

According to an official source, out of the 64 relief camps in Chirang district, 54 are located in educational institutions.

Similarly, over 150 educational institutions in Kokrajhar and Dhubri districts are now housing the riot-hit.

With there is hardly any chance of the riot-hit going back home within the next few days, the re-opening of these educational institutions on schedule on August 1 seems highly unlikely.

State Education Minister Dr Himanta Bishwa Sarma informed that in view of the prevailing situation summer vacation has been extended by another seven days.

In case, the relief camps in educational institutions still remain operational beyond the extended summer vacation, the education department will take further steps to make these institutions functional.

Most relief-camp inmates, whose houses have been burnt down, will not be able leave camps till their houses are rebuilt by the authorities and that will not be possible within seven days, an official in Kokrajhar said.

On the other hand, some of the panic-stricken relief camp inmates, whose houses have not been damaged, maintain that they would return home provided they are given adequate security over.

A statement issued by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi's [ Images ] office said that the situation was becoming normal in the violence-hit districts where 20 columns of army personnel along with 65 companies of central paramilitary forces are keeping vigil round the clock.

Too Late: 11,000 Security Personnel for Assam

Sinlung: Indian Govt is but a reactive force, the cauldron of ethnic fire will keep boiling every now and again.

No government has ever taken steps till date for a preemptive approach.



Northeast will face similar situation again. In another state, in another district.

New Delhi: The Centre has authorised the Assam government to deploy more than 11,000 paramilitary personnel in the state's violence-hit districts and dispatched a C-135 heavy lift aircraft with medical teams and supplies.

So far 7,300 personnel of paramilitary forces have been deployed in strife-torn Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dhubri districts after moving them from other states in the wake of clashes between Bodos and minority immigrants there.
In addition, the state has been authorised to use 11,600 men of paramilitary forces to bring back normalcy in the worst affected areas.
Home Secretary R K Singh said teams of National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) along with experts in drinking water and sanitation issues have been rushed to the affected areas in the same aircraft.
Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth reviewed with Assam Chief Secretary Naba Kumar Das during a video conference last evening the relief and medical arrangements for the victims of one of the worst ethnic violence witnessed in recent times in lower Assam districts.
The meeting was attended by senior officers of the all concerned Ministries and Departments.
"Two teams comprising physician, gynaecologist, paediatrician, public health specialists, resident doctors and nurses have been airlifted from Delhi at 5.15 PM yesterday," an official spokesperson said.

Assam Riots: Curfew Relaxed in Kokrajhar, No New Violence

Kokrajhar, Jul 30 : The situation in the strife-torn districts of Western Assam is limping back to normal with authorities relaxing curfew in the worst-hit Kokrajhar district today.

The indefinite curfew has been relaxed for the day while night curfew between 6 PM to 6 AM will continue in the other affected districts, official sources said.

The official death toll remained at 53 and there was no report of any fresh incident of violence.

Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dhubri districts are the worst hit among five affected districts, the two others being Bongaigaon and Baksa.

More than three lakh people have been affected in the violence that went on for eight days and most of them are sheltered in relief camps.

With the law and order situation improving, the district administrations are now taking measures to persuade victims to return to their homes.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday visited Kokrajhar and announced a Rs 300-crore rehabilitation package and declared that a probe would be held to ascertain the cause of the clashes.

'Misogynist' Jibe at Assamese Outside State

By Gaurav Das

Guwahati, Jul 17 : As if derogatory terms like 'chinki' or 'junglee' weren't enough, people of the Assamese community, both students and working professions, are facing flak for the GS Road molestation incident in places like Bangalore and Delhi in the form of verbal taunts and jibes.

The city has now become synonymous with the July 9 incident. Just type 'g' and 'u' on search engine Google and the first links that come up are on the Guwahati molestation.

"I have been living in Delhi for the past 24 years, and I had created an impression in front of my non-Assamese friends that we, as a people, are free and open-minded; we have no dowry system and women get a special respect in our community. But after this incident, the non-Assamese people who know me have begun asking me whether this is the way the Assamese men treat their women. With this incident, the image of our people has taken a severe setback," said Ashim Dutta, a Delhi-based web designer and entrepreneur.

And it is not just the molestation incident that is behind this loss of face for the Assamese. The recent public thrashing of MLA Rumi Nath, which was caught live on camera, had sent shock waves across the nation. And the incident which was still fresh in the minds of people when the young girl was publicly molested by a mob on GS Road last Monday. The entire episode, which was recorded on camera, resulted in a massive national outrage.

The footage of the assault, which was being repeatedly aired by major national broadcasting networks, has not only enraged the general populace but put the spotlight on Assamese community. The incident has smudged and tainted the image of the docile Assamese, and this at a time when the state was just emerging from decades of insurgency, which had earned it the sobriquet of being 'strife-torn'.

Chandan Medhi, an Assamese software professional based in Bangalore, said, "The G S Road episode has given a chance to those who love to term Assam as some sort of savage land. Since the incident I've been barged with questions like 'Is this a regular affair?', 'Is this the way you all treat women for having a peg or two?', and the worst one - 'Are we misogynists?"

Anger in India After Floods Leave 109 Dead, 400,000 Homeless

* Brahmaputra River floods devastate Assam state
* PM Singh calls floods worst in recent times, promises aid
* State rich in oil, gas and timber


By Biswajyoti Das

PAZARBHANGA, July 17 :  India's annual monsoon has claimed 109 lives since rains started in June and left at least 400,000 people homeless in the northeastern state of Assam, in a tragedy experts say was made worse by corruption and poor management of the Brahmaputra River.

A senior member of the Assam Human Rights Commission, a government body, told Reuters it suspects millions of dollars meant for flood control have been siphoned off by state water department officials in the last five years. The commission has demanded a high-level investigation by the government.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who represents Assam in the upper house of parliament, called the floods the worst in recent times and promised $1,800 to each victim's family in compensation. Critics say that much of the money will evaporate.

"Corruption is rampant before and after a flood," said Arup Misra, a prominent environmental activist in the state and a professor at Assam Engineering College. "Some officials eagerly wait for floods as they could make money on repairing of embankments and relief distribution."

Over the past 60 years successive governments have built levees along most of the length of the volatile Brahmaputra, which is Assam's main river and is fed by Himalayan snow melt and some of the world's heaviest rainfall. Experts say these embankments are both criminally under-maintained and a discredited form of flood management.

Assam is famed as a tea-growing region and rich in oil and timber. It is also home to the Kaziranga National Park that hosts two-thirds of the world's Great One-horned Rhinoceroses.

LEVEE BREACH DESTROYS HOMES
Nearly a decade ago, Hannan Sikdar's father lost his home and farm to floods in Assam. On June 28, the same fate struck Sikdar and his family of 10 when the Brahmaputra b u rst through a dike and swept away their home and everything they owned in the middle of the night.

Assam's population is on the rise, and like millions of others, Sikdar lived in a danger zone right next to the river's mud embankment. Millions of dollars were assigned to keep levees in good shape. But in eight years living there, Sikdar says nobody even came to talk about the risks.

"This was the place where we made our home when my father lost his property several years ago," said the 30-year-old, looking down at the wreckage of his bamboo and wood house from a new makeshift hut further along the embankment.

"We were never told that this embankment could break."

Rajiv Sinha, an expert on river dynamics, said the levees prevent the river from spreading silt in its natural flood plain, causing the river to clog up and increasing the frequency and intensity of floods. Similar embankments downstream in Bangladesh have also been blamed for devastating flooding.

"In the last fifty years, two things have happened -- the expenditure on flood control has increased tremendously, and at the same time the damage caused by floods has also increased exponentially," said Sinha, who teaches geosciences at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur.

Globally, flood management trends are moving away from levee-type measures to natural storage areas such as swamps and wetlands. But Assam has failed to come up with any modern, long-term plan to harness the river.

Entire villages, such as the one Sikdar belonged to, have cropped up in flood-prone areas and their only layer of protection is a neglected, crumbling mud wall.

As heavy rains continue, officials fear a second spell of floods soon, but victims such as Hanan Sikdar continue to live in tiny straw and tin shelters next to the broad river.

"People are living in danger zones out of compulsion," said Chandan Talukdar relief worker w ith Sikdar. "Till alternative land is found, these people will remain on embankments."

(Writing by Diksha Madhok; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Ed Lane)

Guwahati Outrage: Mob Molests Girl, Caught On Camera

Three of the molesters were arrested on the basis of the video footage.

A minor girl was molested, groped at and beaten up by a mob for half an hour in full public glare in Guwahati on Monday night,  and police have arrested three persons based on video footage put out by a television news crew that filmed the shocking incident.

The outrage happened on GS Road in the Christian Basti area of Guwahati. The girl, a class 11 student, was set upon by a group of young men when she was about to return home from a party in a city bar. Evidently, the girl had had an altercation with one of the men who had passed an obscene remark at her.

As a huge mob watched without making the slightest attempt to intervene, the 20-or-so men groped her,  ripped off some of her clothes, beat her – and teased and taunted her for drinking. From eyewitness accounts, it appears that the mob molested her for about half an hour; some passersby appear to have joined in groping her.

A camera crew from Newslive, a local television station arrived at the scene, and filmed parts of the outrageous attack. (The two-part video is available here and here.)

After the video clips went viral on the Internet, police were forced into action. Over the course of two days – Wednesday and Thursday – they arrested three persons, whom they identified on the basis of  the video footage, and are on the hunt for others who are absconding.

Newslive reported that one of the molesters (who is absconding) had been identified as Amar Jyoti Kalita, an employee of the state government-run IT agency Amtron. Authorities at Amtron had sacked Kalita and had filed an FIR against him, it added.

Kalita was identified by matching the video footage from the incident with his Facebook profile, where he had posted a photograph of himself, evidently from the night of the incident.

The fact that the television news crew filmed the molestation without intervening to help the girl gave rise to some criticism, but Atanu Bhuyan, editor-in-chief of Newslive, defended his team’s action by noting that they had helped to identify and arrest the culprits.

On his Twitter feed, Bhuyan said:

“Mainstream news channels are flooding me with phone calls asking for the footage of the molestation incident. Some of them questioned me as to why my reporter and camera person shot the incident and didn’t prevent the mob from molesting the girl. But I’m backing my team since the mob would have attacked them, prevented them from shooting, that would have only destroyed all evidence.”

Bhuyan further said: “My reporters informed the police, who saved the girl before it was too late.” His justification of his team’s action, he added, was “very simple. In case of a bomb blast, my reporters would have shot the visuals rather than donate blood.”

Had his team not not filmed the molestation incident, “the molesters would have been roaming scot-free,” he pointed out.

Assam Director General of Policy (DGP) Jayanto N Choudhury told CNN-IBN (here) that the video shot by the television crew had “provided vital evidence about the accused people”, on the basis of which a charge-sheet would be filed in the case.

According to the latest statistics put out by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Assam recorded the second highest rate of crimes against women – at 36.9 percent in 2011, only 0.1 percent behind Tripura, which topped the charts. (The rate of crimes against women is an index of the number of crimes against women for every one lakh population.)

Crime Upstages Insurgency in Assam

By Samudra Gupta Kashyap

Guwahati, Jul 12 : Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi frequently says that law and order has improved drastically since he took over 11 years ago — “People now can move around fearlessly till late at night” — but only insurgency is down, not crime, which records show has gone up.

The National Crime Records Bureau’s latest statistics place Assam third among states in terms of the rate of violent crimes (number per unit population) in 2011, behind only Kerala and Delhi. The NCRB “Crime in India 2011” report points out that while the all-India rate of violent crimes per one lakh population stood at 21.2, the rates for Kerala, Delhi and Assam were respectively 44, 37 and 36.6. Assam’s rate represents a jump from the 33.5 of the previous year.

The NCRB defines “violent crimes” as those that affect the life and safety of people and induce a sense of insecurity and fear. Crimes such as murder, attempt to murder, dowry death, kidnapping, dacoity, rape, riots and arson fall under this category.

Crimes under the IPC too have gone up in Assam, as have crimes against public order. Crimes against women, however, have dropped marginally, from a total 11,555 in 2010 to 11,503 in 2011.

On the last of these counts, too, Assam’s rate of 36.9 per lakh is far higher than the national average of 18.9. Assam in fact is behind only Tripura, which had a rate of 37 crimes against women per lakh population. Kerala (33.8), Andhra Pradesh (33.4), West Bengal (31.9) and Delhi (31.2) are other states that have a high rate of crime in this category, the NCRB report said.

The rate of violent crimes in 13 other states is higher than the national average. These are Manipur, Jammu and Kashmir, Chandigarh, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Haryana, Bihar, Tripura, West Bengal (22.3), Jharkhand, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Those with rates below the national average include Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

In Assam, the number of murder cases had gone up from 1,223 in 2010 to 1,321. Kidnapping cases have risen from 3,250 to 3,785. Other violent crimes that have gone up include dacoity (248 to 310), robbery (662 to 841), and riot incidents (2,183 to 2,347), the NCRB said. The only two violent crimes where Assam has seen the rates drop are dowry deaths and rapes. The number of dowry deaths came down from 143 in 2010 to just 35 in 2011; that of rape cases fell marginally from 1,721 to 1,707.

“Poor governance, coupled with corruption and growing frustration among the youth are a few reasons that have contributed to the rising crime rates in the state. Corruption has been almost institutionalised in Assam in the recent years, while the police have also failed to discharge its duties in the true sense of the term,” said Dr Indrani Dutta, former director of the OKD Institute of Social Change & Development.

Assam Police director-general J N Chaudhury differs. “Registration of cases is much easy in Assam than a lot of other so-called mainland states. Common people in Assam can walk into a police station without fear. Moreover, with 498(A) in place, the rate of registration has gone up, with people, especially women rushing to the police station with the slightest provocation,” Chaudhury said.

In crimes against public order, Assam, with a rate of 6.41 per one lakh population, ranked fourth among all states with a rate of 9.09. In IPC-related crimes, Assam with 214 has ranked 11th among all states.

Assam Floods: Unhappy Human Rights Panel Demands Report

By Simantik Dowerah

The year’s first wave of devastating flood exposed the woeful lack of preparedness of Assam’s Water Resources Department to protect the state from a disaster which has become an annual feature. The loss to life and property has been so high that it drew national attention, prompting the Assam Human Rights Commission to take a landmark decision to take suo motu action.
“The newspapers have come out with reports how crores of rupees were spent in the name of flood control measures in the state. But the result is there for all to see. People and animals are swept away, crops are damaged, houses are ravaged, it is complete devastation,” Assam Human Rights Commission member Jyoti Prasad Chaliha told Firstpost from Guwahati over phone.

Flood affected. Reuters

A division bench of the commission comprising chairperson Justice Aftab Hussain Saikia and Chaliha has ordered the state government to form a high-level committee to enquire and submit a report in 12 weeks to the commission on the amount of money spent and nature of work done for flood control between 2005-06 and 2011-12.
“The three-member committee must be headed by an additional chief secretary rank officer, with one additional director general of police rank official and a technical expert from IIT or any engineering college in Assam as members. We want senior officers to do the enquiry. We do not want it to be done by junior officers who may be easily manageable,” Chaliha said.
The commission was baffled by the fact that despite huge funds from different state and Central government agencies the state Water Resources Department perenially complains about shortage of funds.
“Crores of rupees are released by the state and Central governments in the name of flood control. Where does this money go? The department does not use it during the dry season and starts working late April or May. This results in very little time for implementation of corrective and protective measures before the monsoon set in,” he said. The monsoon enters Assam by June.
“It is quite obvious that the patchy work stands no chance before the flood fury and is obviously swept away by the strong currents,” Chaliha said.
Expressing dissatisfaction with the state Water Resources Department, the member said, “We want to stop the corruption that is going on in the department. The loot of such astronomical amount has led to massive violation of human rights.” The panel was also unhappy with the tenure of officers in the department.
“As per government norms, officers should not stay for more than three years at one location. However, there are many instances where they have stayed for over five to seven years at one place. In fact, when they are transferred by the Election Commission during polls they manage to return within two or three months,” Chaliha said.
“This gives the unscrupulous lot to evolve a system to loot public money,” he said.
“People are saying that the Rs 500 crore relief announced by the prime minister recently is insufficient. Let me tell you Rs 500 crore is no less a figure if used properly,” the commission member said.
When asked about the action after the report is submitted, Chaliha said, “That will depend on what the report finds.”
Till date, Rs 33,000 crore has been spent for flood control since 1954 in Assam. So far in this wave of flood, 125 people have lost their lives.

Declare Assam Flood Problem National Calamity

New Delhi: Expressing concern over the flood situation in Assam and the North-East, the BJP on Wednesday said the relief package of Rs 500 crore announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was meagre and demanded that the government declare the problem as a 'national calamity'.

"Of the 27 districts in Assam, 23 are affected by floods. 20 Lakh people have been displaced, crops destroyed, fields filled with sand (making them infertile), several cattle have died or been lost.... The relief package of Rs 500 crore announced by the Prime Minister is too less," BJP general secretary Vijay Goel told reporters.
Goel was a part of the team sent by BJP president Nitin Gadkari to Assam to study the flood situation there. General Secretary Kiran Maheshwari and Meerut MP Rajendra Agarwal were the other members of the team.

Goel maintained that the extent of damage in Assam was such that an amount of Rs 2000-4000 Crore will be required to deal with the destruction caused by the floods.
He said the amount of Rs 10,000 for those whose houses have been completely damaged and Rs 5,000 for those partially damaged is inadequate. This should be increased to Rs 50,000 and Rs 25,000, respectively, he said.
"The floods should be declared a national calamity", Maheshwari demanded through a statement.
Goel said two rhinocerous and several deer had died in the Upper Assam region due to the floods.
The party also charged that though floods are a regular feature in Assam but no efforts have been made to find permanent solutions like building and strengthening dams and studying the behaviour pattern of the Brahmaputra river.

Cash Grows in Assam Wetlands

Money might not grow on trees, but it emerged from water in Assam's capital on Monday - in currency notes of Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 500 denomination.

A group of fishermen was the first to strike it rich at Silsakho, a wetland and popular fishing site close to the office of a central intelligence agency in Sasal area of Guwahati.

They caught money along with a handful of fish around 11am.

News of the floating money triggered a frenzied treasure hunt. At least 500 people dived in to fish cash. While some said they made Rs. 10,000-15,000, a few claimed to have laid their hands of entire bundles totaling Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 1 lakh.

"God must have taken pity on us and showered his blessings," said daily wager Rajen Deka, without disclosing his catch.

Locals claimed the notes, estimated to be worth several lakhs, were genuine, but many assumed they were fakes. Police did not rule out the possibility of the cash being connected to a tribal hill council scam that the National Investigation Agency is probing.

City superintendent of police Apurba Jiban Barua said, "We hope investigations will reveal the source of the money. Of course, the Reserve Bank of India would be verifying the genuineness of the notes first.

" Police have seized cash from three treasure hunters for investigation.

Lumding-Silchar Trains Cancelled Due To Landslides

Silchar, Jun 4 : Torrential rain in the Barail Hill range for the past many days triggered landslides at least five places along the Lumding-Silchar section of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) early on Sunday. Authorities have suspended and regulated services of all the trains in this 214-km section until tracks are cleared.

A senior official of NFR here said at around 3am on Sunday, a large amount of soil and mud, boulders and trees came down the Borail Hill on the tracks at five different places in Dima Hasao district. The affected places are between Harangajao and Mailongdisa, Bandarkhal and Chandranathpur, Maibang and Daotohaja, Lower Haflong and Bagetar and between Mahur and Migrendisa.

Sources said tracks have been washed away along a 130-metre stretch due to impact of the landslides. Large areas of the tracks have also gone under four-five feet of debris.

Soon after the incident, hundreds of workers, along with engineers and other NFR officials from Badarpur and Lumding rushed to the place. Work to clear the debris is on at a war footing.

The sources said so far the tracks have been cleared at three places including the areas between Maibang and Daotohaja, Lower Haflong and Bagetar and Mahur and Migrendisa.

The other two places are the worst-affected because of washing away of tracks. "Our officials and engineers will first make an estimate of the extent of damage of the tracks. After this, restoration work will be taken up at these places as well," said a senior NFR officer.

Services of all the trains in this section have been cancelled for an indefinite period as there's no time-frame for restoration of the tracks, officials said.

While the Silchar-bound Cachar Express was brought back to Lumding from Jatinga station, Silchar-bound Barak Valley Express came back to Lumding from Maibang station and the Lumding-bound Tripura Express had to go back to Agartala from Chandranathpur station.

Authorities are making arrangements to ferry the stranded passengers to their destinations through alternate means of transport.

Landslides in the Lumding-Silchar section that runs through Borail hill range are a common phenomenon during monsoons due to failure of the drainage system along the route and unmaintained tracks. This has been causing a lot of harassment to the people.

In 2010, the route was closed to railway traffic for 34 days after a 300-metre track between Harangajao and Maliongdisa, 78 km from Silchar, was washed away due to a heavy landslide. During 2004, the route was closed for four months due to landslides.

Assam MLA Marries Facebook Friend, Embraces Islam

Guwahati, May 29 : The controversial second marriage of Assam Congress MLA from Borkhola Dr Rumi Nath and her bold conversion to Islam before marrying her Facebook friend has sparked a communal tension in Guwahati.

The Borkhola MLA made headlines after her first husband Rakesh Kumar Singh lodged a police complaint alleging that Rumi was kidnapped from Silchar Medical College and Hospital where she had gone for a medical check-up recently.

However, it was later reported that Nath had willingly eloped with her Facebook friend Jackie Zakir and converted to Islam before marrying him.

Adding an interesting twist to the story, the MLA herself admitted before newsmen on Tuesday that she had entered into wedlock for the second time on April 13 this year with 27-year-old Zakir Hussain alias Jackie.

Zakir Hussain is a resident of Badarpur and works as a clerk in Mohakol Block in Karimganj district.

During the press briefing, she told reporters that she was married in accordance with the Islamic tradition and her new name after conversion to Islamism was Rebia Sultana.

"I want to clarify that I was not under any compulsion to convert to Islam and marry my friend Zakir. I am staying willingly with my husband Zakir. Our minister Siddique Ji arranged the two qazis, Qazi Usman Ali and Qazi Nazrul Islam for the marriage. I want to thank him for his help. I have not married under any compulsion,” she said.

When quizzed about her reported disappearance, she said that she has gone out of the state with her new husband for few days.

Unable to believe the rumours of her wife’s second marriage, Rakesh Kumar Singh alleged that his wife has been held hostage by a gang of criminals, who have pressurized her to admit before newsmen that she has converted to Islam and married for a second time.

Interestingly, the MLA has also earlier rubbished reports about her rumoured second marriage by saying that she was the victim of infighting in the Congress, and all the rumours were the handiwork of a section of her political rivals.

The controversial 32-year old MLA had disappeared on May 13 from the hospital and resurfaced after a few hours, claiming that she had converted to Islam in order to marry Zakir.

Meanwhile, Zakir's father Faizur Rahman, a former police officer, made it clear that his family would never accept Rumi as their daughter-in-law.

Rahman has also lodged an FIR in Badarpur Police Station about his son’s disappearance.

Rumi has a two-year old daughter, Ritambhara, from her first marriage with Rakesh Singh.

Rumi’s reported marriage with Zakir has cause widespread outrage among the Hindu community in Silchar.

Considering the sensitivity of the matter, CRPF troops have been deployed in and around Silchar to thwart any attempt at communal violence because of this conversion.

Gairik Bharat, a saffron outfit, burnt her the effigy to protest the conversion. Other Hindu organizations are also planning protests over this inner-community marriage.

If sources are to be believed, an influential Assam Minister Siddique Ahmad played a key role in Rumi Nath’s nikah with Zakir. The minister also arranged for two qazis to conduct the Islamic wedding.

Rumi met Zakir in the Facebook, and their friendship grew deeper through chatting, and finally they decided to get married.

83 Villages in Assam-Meghalaya Border Take Oath To Fight Insurgency

Villagers blame underdevelopment in the Garo Hills region for the rise in insurgency

Ratnadip Choudhury
Guwahati

At a time when the villages on the Assam-Meghalaya border are witnessing a rise in insurgency, people from 83 villages in the Garo Hills, inhabited mostly by the Garos, took an oath on 16 May to fight insurgency.

“We want to put a stop to insurgency, which brings nothing but misery. We have already suffered a lot and the bitter experience is still alive in our minds. It is resurging after 16 years and we cannot allow it to destroy our future,” said locals Benedict Areng and Xavier Sangma at Kinangaon, a nondescript village near lower Assam’s Boko town.

The Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA), which is fighting for a separate Garoland in Meghalaya, the Rabha Viper Army, a rebel group of the Rabha tribe and the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) have been abducting people and extorting money. A section of the Achik National Volunteer Council (ANVC), has been violating ground rules of ceasefire in the area.

“We know the rebels would not be happy but whatever we are doing, it is to ensure better education, healthcare, food security, and to increase our earnings. Hence, we will not allow the rebels to recruit anyone from our villages, provide shelter to them or agree to their extortion demands. Else the villagers will seek the help the law,” Areng added.

“Nobody, not even the poor, are spared,” Xavier alleged, “and that’s why we have decided to fight back. We have only one weapon that is our will power and the rebels will have to step back. This area is underdeveloped has thus has turned into a breeding ground for insurgency.”

It is becoming a huge challenge for the Garos to keep up with growing extortion demands of the rebel outfits of both Assam and Meghalaya. “When a person cannot sustain his family, how will he pay the extortion money? They blame the Assam government for the rise in insurgent activities along the border. Here, students stop going to schools after class 8 as there are no high schools,” Mintu Sangma, a local said.

For 84 Garo hamlets in the area, there are only two provincial high schools—Gohalkona High School and Hahim High School—and students have to undertake a 20 km trudge every day. Ten out of 14 sanctioned posts are lying vacant in Gohalkona High School.

However, this fight against the rebels in the area is not new. In 1996, the villagers of Kinangaon had reportedly captured a group of militants and handed them over to the police.

This time as well, the villagers are sure the rebels will retaliate but they are resolute that they will drive the insurgents away.

With inputs from Kishore Talukdar in Boko.