Victory for NE people as controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill shelved for now

By Vivan Eyben | Source: Newsclick

It appears that the North-eastern people have emerged victorious in the political battle over the Citizenship Amendment Bill. On June 25, it was reported that the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) has decided not to place the committee’s report before the Monsoon Session of Parliament. It has also been reported that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has urged that the Bill be placed on the back-burner as it will adversely affect the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) chances in the 2019 elections. This decision comes after a sustained campaign by the agitated civilians against the Bill. The agitation was most prominent in Assam and consisted of various civil society groups as well as political parties voicing their opposition to the Bill.

The Citizenship Amendment Bill was drafted in 2016 and seeks to ease the process of acquiring citizenship for non-Muslims from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. The communal tone of the Amendment Bill is hard to miss. However, the Union Government probably assumed that religious identity would take precedence over other forms of group identification. This was a grave miscalculation on their part. In most North-eastern states, it is the ethnic or linguistic identity that has political currency.

BJP’s coalition partner in the state, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) even threatened to pull out of the alliance if the Bill was tabled. The opposition parties – Congress and the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) – both joined the chorus against the Bill. The Meghalaya Cabinet – which includes a BJP member – also passed a resolution against the Bill. All Assam Sudents Union (AASU) and the Northeast Students Organisation (NESO) coordinated with student organisations in other states across the region, barring Sikkim.

On July 2, Bonnya Barua, daughter of the United Liberation Front of Asom (Progressive) (ULFA (P)) leader Anup Chetia, took the issue of the Bill to an international platform. She presented the case against the Bill at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on behalf of the Indigenous Forum Assam. She referred to the Durban Declaration to buttress her argument that the Government of India was not living up to its international commitments. What is interesting here is that the Durban Declaration demands that signatory States do not indulge in xenophobia and racism against internal or external migrants, while at the same time it upholds the rights of indigenous people to self-determination. The Assam situation certainly represents a dilemma in reconciling these two objectives.

One aspect that has often been reported is the apparent difference of opinion between the Brahmaputra and Barak Valleys on the Bill. While the Brahmaputra Valley, proud of its Assamese linguistic identity, has opposed the Bill, the Barak Valley on the other hand has been reported to be in favour of it. The reason is seemingly simple- the Barak Valley is a predominantly Bengali speaking region which in the past has borne the brunt of Assamese linguistic nationalism. However, some observations on this issue present a different picture, and this picture cannot be divorced from the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

The understated view is that the BJP government is nervous about the NRC process which would reveal that an overwhelming number of those not on the list will be Hindus. The Citizenship Bill is considered to be a means by which the government can ensure that no Hindu is deemed a foreigner. On June 23, the Indigenous Forum Assam’s Barak Valley unit stated that the groups that had voiced support for the Bill had no base in the region. They also claimed that Hindu undocumented immigrants were joining the RSS in a bid to garner support for the Bill. This view has gained currency among many. However, the NRC has resulted in a significant number of Barak Valley residents to be left out of the first draft. Thus, the old demand for separation from Assam has been gaining ground recently.

On June 29, the founder president of the All Cachar Karimganj Hailakandi Students Association (ACKHSA), Pradip Dutta Roy challenged the ULFA(P) leaders to come to the Barak Valley and impose their ‘cultural aggression’. Jiten Dutta of the ULFA(P) had earlier passed comments to the effect that he would go to the Barak Valley with a thousand cadres to agitate against the Citizenship Bill. On July 11, Roy called for the Barak Valley’s separation from Assam. He stated that only around 30 to 35 percent of the Valley’s residents featured in the draft NRC, while also stressing on the opposing views over the Citizenship Bill.

On Sunday, Roy spoke to ULFA(P)’s Anup Chetia and Mrinal Hazarika who assured him that Dutta’s remarks were personal and did not reflect the organisation’s view on the matter. The duo had informed Roy that they did not wish for the Barak Valley to separate and hoped that peace and harmony would prevail over both the Valleys. They also stated that they were neither against Bengalis nor the people of Barak Valley.

Evidently, the Citizenship Bill issue, while being a victory for the people of the Northeast, has proved to be a pyrrhic victory for Assam. It should not come as a surprise that groups in the Barak Valley have demanded separation from Assam as the feeling of neglect by Dispur mirrors the neglect Northeast feels regarding New Delhi. However, considering the RSS’s position on the Bill, many more future battles to prevent its passage surely await.