by Bhupen Goswami
GUWAHATI : 49 lakh bighas of entire Assam means 6,652 sq km of land has been illegally occupied. The figures were given by the then Junior Revenue Minister Pallab Lochan Das in response to a question raised in the Assembly in 2017. The area of Assam as much as it has been occupied is almost twice the total area of Goa and is slightly less than the area of Sikkim. The total area encroached includes 3,172 sq km of forest land. There are also large parts of land belonging to Vaishnava kshatrapas and ancient temples which have been encroached upon.
Clashes broke out in Darang district on Thursday. Meanwhile, two civilians were killed in police firing. The incident took place when police were trying to remove encroachers on government land over 7000 bighas (only 9 sq km). Earlier on Monday, police had vacated about 4000 bighas of land in the vicinity without any incident. The release of Assam land from encroachers was also included in the BJP’s 2021 election promise.The previous BJP government had launched a campaign to evacuate illegal people from Kaziranga National Park and from the land of Batadraba Thane, the birthplace of a 15th-16th century polymath rich Shankardev. Most Bengali-speaking Muslim migrants of Bangladesh origin have occupied land belonging to government and religious places. These people are seen as a threat to the identity of the people of Assam. In 2016, the government had set up a panel to suggest amendments to laws and policy to ensure the protection of land rights of indigenous people.
The panel was headed by former Chief Election Commissioner HS Brahma. Pakistan has called an Indian diplomat to express concern over the alleged expulsion drive in Assam. Pakistan alleged that the Muslim community is being targeted in Assam. The Pakistan Foreign Office said the Indian diplomat has been asked to conduct an inquiry into the anti-minority violence in Assam and bring the culprits to justice. India is unhappy after Pakistan summoned an Indian diplomat on the Assam eviction drive. In a statement issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Government of India today said that the Government of Pakistan has no right to comment on the incident in Gurukhuti village of Assam Darang district. India warned and today said it is an internal matter within the country. Pakistan has no right to comment. The Home Ministry said that it is certainly appropriate for Pakistan to remain silent on how the people of our country should be handled. The Assam BJP spokesperson alleged that the unwanted incident in Gurukhuti village of Darang district of Assam was an inspiration for the Muslim community by the Congress and Pakistan. However, jamiat Ulema e Hind today strongly condemned the incident in Darang district of Assam and demanded legal action against the perpetrators of the incident.National President of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind Maulana Mahmood Madani has expressed deep grief and grief over such a tragic incident and condemned the police firing on unarmed people who are struggling for their rights. Maulana Madani has written to Assam Chief Minister Hemant Kumar Biswasarma and country’s Home Minister Amit Shah, national commission for minorities and Human Rights Watch urging them not to treat protesters violently in their own country.
Maulana Madani said that such incidents are unbearable for civilised society and it is a display of extreme madness and bigotry, which shames humanity. Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal today said that courts should take suo motu cognizance of “cruelty” in Assam. Sibal also said that the government’s silence on this is heart-rending. Assam- The barbaric pictures of cruelty against those opposing the expulsion have shaken me. The silence of our Government has broken my heart.
