Vote bank politics ensures Delhi support for Assam's Bangla migrants New Delhi, Oct 23 (bdnews24.com)—Regional parties in India have begun playing their state's vote bank politics right in the heart of the capital, New Delhi. Some of the biggest beneficiaries are Muslim migrants from Bangladesh—primarily those settled in the north-east Indian state of Assam, bordering Bangladesh. Amar Singh, a member of parliament from the Samajwadi Party, has come out in strong defence of the immigrants, who have recently been involved in communal clashes in Assam that left nearly 60 people dead. "These Muslim families are helpless. The government has to ensure their safety," said Singh, whose party in the Hindi heartland of Uttar Pradesh banks primarily on the sizeable chunk of Muslim voters in the state. "There is a tendency now to blame a particular community for any clash in the country," he said at a gathering in Jamia Nagar, a Muslim neighbourhood in the Indian capital, where two 'terrorists' allegedly responsible for last month's bomb blasts in the city were recently gunned down by police. The incident has ensured a mad-rush among Indian politicians to tap into Muslim unease that has intensified. Bengal's firebrand opposition leader Mamata Banerjee, desperate to cut her links with the right wing Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) as election season draws near, has joined the chorus. "No one has the right to kill or hurt someone even if he is a foreigner. And now that they (the victims) are Indian citizens, our responsibility rises manifold," Banerjee told bdnews24.com during a recent Delhi trip. Even the Congress Party, which heads the coalition government not just in New Delhi but also in Assam, is now trying to match the rhetoric—especially in Assam, where their own ally – Singh's Samjawadi Party – is trying to cobble together an election alliance with one of Congress' main rivals, the Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF). AUDF, a pro-minority party with the third highest number of seats in Assam's 126-member state assembly, has been working overtime with the likes of Singh to amplify its 'minorities are being victimised' message, forcing Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi to take a controversial stance. "There are no illegal Bangladeshi nationals in Assam," Gogoi has said, a statement that has snowballed into a major political football. A strong lobby within the Congress now wants an alliance with the AUDF to prevent a split in the Muslim vote. Political analysts feel that this is just a dress rehearsal of what can be expected in the run-up to the general elections next year. Political parties keen to exploit the Muslim vote bank may end up polarising a fractured polity even further. This is particularly true for Assam, where Bangladeshi settlers have been bearing the brunt of right-wing violence in past months. A campaign orchestrated by the likes of BJP and the All Assam Students Union (AASU) has not only called into question the territorial loyalty of the Muslim minority, but also blurred the distinction between illegal settlers and Indian Muslims in the state. The AASU has been spearheading the campaign to stop illegal immigrants from getting jobs, and put pressure on the government to expel them. Animosities between Assam's immigrant Muslim settlers and tribal communities have intensified in recent years, as both now fight for the same political and geographical space. Immigrant settlers in areas previously dominated by tribal communities, have sparked feelings of marginalisation among Assam's indigenous population in their own homeland, while the influx of Muslims now comprise an estimated 40 percent of the state's population and form a majority in some districts. bdnews24.com/skc/rah/1237hours Photo from AP Photo by Anupam Nath Another facet of Jatiotabadi politics in Assam [Bongal Keda ]: The members of AXom Jatiyatabai Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) Nagaon branch also organised a Rono Dhani Divas Rally in the heart of the Nagaon
 ON A TRAIN in Guwahati railway station, packed with Bihari migrants fleeing Assam. PICTURES: RITU RAJ KONWAR [FrontLine MAGAZINE]  AT BORPATHAR IN Golaghat district, a Bihari migrant killed by militants.  Volume 24 - Issue 01 :: Jan. 13-26, 2007 INDIA'S NATIONAL MAGAZINE |
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Sign the Petition : Release the Arrested University Teachers Immediately : An Appeal to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh
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Daily Star publishes an interview with Mukto-Mona
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Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary
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MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari
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