Assam: Gauhati University Under Complete Lockdown, as Anti-CAA Protests Spread Across State

On March 12, over 200 students of the Gauhati University protested strongly against the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act. More than 80 police personnel were deployed in the university creating a tense and fearsome atmosphere after students stringently rejected the act, and said, “We students of Assam will never accept the CAA.” The protest was led by Jintu Das, president of the PGSU at the university, according to Guwahati Plus.

Assam has seen some of the earliest resistances to the Citizenship Amendment Act. It has been four years since the passage of the CAA in parliament in 2019, the government has finally notified its rule and regulations for its implementation. In response to this, Assam has erupted in protests. The All Assam Students Union (AASU) has started a protest against the implementation of the act in Assam. Their protest has started in many parts in Assam along with 11 other parties and organisations. The AASU has also sought the Supreme Court of India to stay the implementation of the CAA and argued that the act ‘legitimises illegal migration”, and “adversely impacts indigenous traditions and violates constitutional provisions.” Assam’s Lakhimpur and Dibrugarh saw effigies of Home Minister Amit Shah, PM Modi, and copies of the act being burned in public.

New opposition front writes to PM, President

Assam has also witnessed a newly formed opposition bloc comprising of 16 parties. Called the United Opposition Forum of Assam (UOFA), the coalition includes the Congress, Raijor Dal, Asom Jatiya Parishad, Aam Aadmi Party, Assam Trinamool Congress, CPI (M), CPI, All India Forward Bloc, CPI (M-L), NCP – Sharad Pawar (Assam), Samajwadi Party (Assam), Purbanchalio Lok Parishad, Jatiya Dal, APHLC (Assam), Shiv Sena (Assam) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (Assam).

The UOFA has also expressed their disagreement with the CAA 2019 and has called for a state-wide strike. It argues that this act is unconstitutional and goes against the Assam Accord that was signed in 1985.

The press release by the UOFA from March 11 says, “The United Opposition Forum of Assam has called on the people of Assam to observe an all-out hartal across the state on March 12 to condemn the BJP and the government for unjustly imposing the CAA.”  They also stated that the people of Assam will not accept CAA under any circumstances and the people of Assam are ready to go on a total strike for this. The CAA, they argue, will destroy the future of the Assamese nation.

UOFA president Bhupen Kumar Borah and the secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi wrote to the PM and requested an appointment with the PM on his visit to the state on 9 March at the Kaziranga National Park. They have said that they wanted to convey to the PM that Assam may see an unprecedented situation occur due the announcement of the implementation of CAA before the Lok Sabha polls.

Bhupen Kumar Borah, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee President, has stated, “People of Assam won’t accept CAA.”

The letter to the PM states, “There is a strong perception among the people of Assam irrespective of caste, creed and political affiliation that the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 will put in danger the culture, history, socio-economic condition, social fabric and identity of Assamese people.” They have also said that they will have a protest in Kaliabor when the PM was taking Elephant Safari in the Kaziranga National Park.

On February 29, a memorandum was submitted to the Assam State Governor by the Opposition party leaders who have requested the intervention of the President in Assam.

Crackdown on protestors

Furthermore, as part of a stringent crackdown, the Assam chief minister has warned that it may expel the licence of the political parties if they continue to hold protests and report violations to the election commission. The chief minister also referred to the Gauhati High Court judgement which called on ‘bandhs’ as illegal and unconstitutional.

In response to the state-wide strike, police have reportedly issued legal notices to the 16 opposition party leaders and have asked them to retract their plans for the strike.

Meanwhile, President of All Assam Bengali Youth Students Federation (ABBYSF) Dipak Dey has stated that, “The CAA will destroy the future of Bengalis.” Furthermore, the Secretary of ABBYSF also added, “CAA will destroy the relation between Assamese speaking people and Bengali speaking people.”

Meanwhile, on March 12 Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma warned political parties in the state that they could lose their registrations if found to be organising strikes and protests against the implementation of the CAA. However, Himanta Biswa Sarma has responded to the fears of the protestors of illegal immigrants coming in and has said that he will be ‘first to resign’ if that happens.

On March 1st, the Assam DGP GP Singh has also warned all the parties and organisations not to hold protests or call for a bandhs.

The DGP has stated, “Efforts of Assam Police are to prepare based on the 2019 experience and prevent loss of life and property due to vandalism when the assembled crowd goes out of control.”

As of the latest data, 19,06,657 people in Assam have been excluded from the final draft of the NRC (National Registry of Citizens) which was released in 2019. Many people have also lost their life during the process of NRC and citizenship and a total of 31 people have died in Assam’s detention camps.

Not only this, but five youth from Assam were also killed in an alleged police firing during the time of anti-CAA protest on December 12, 2019. Their names were respectively Sam Stafford, Dipanjal Das, Abdul Alim, Ishwar Nayak, and Dwijendra Panging. As protests again resurge in the states and organisations call for a mass movement, the administration has tightened security in the state, with additional deployment of police personnel across the state.