... According to the AASU, "indigenous" means those people (and their descendants) (a) whose-names were recorded in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) of 1951 and (b) in the districts which do not have the NRC those who were recorded in the electoral rolls of the first general election in 1952 ...
The AASU's stand has been supported by the Advocate-General of Assam, Panchu Gopal Baruah, who maintains that the objective of clause 6 of the Assam Accord can be best achieved by making provisions similar to those for Jammu and Kashmir ... which ensure that political power will always remain with the permanent residents of the State ...
However, Nishinath Changkakoty, a former DGP of Assam, thinks March 25, 1971, should be the cut-off date for the purpose of reservation of seats for the "indigenous" people.
The CPI ... almost echoes the AASU view: those who settled in Assam on the day the Constitution came into force (January 26, 1950) and whose names appeared in the 1952 electoral rolls should be taken as "indigenous".
The PCC chief, Tarun Gogoi's definition is simple: those "who accept the Assamese language and culture and Assam as their own land" should be treated as indigenous.
The BJP, however, wants the cut-off date for people to be considered indigenous as March 25, 1971, in terms of clauses 5.3 and 5.8 of the Assam Accord.
United Minorities Front (UMF), has questioned validity of the very concept "indigenous". Clause 6 of the Assam Accord (quoted above) he says, only speaks of the "Assamese people", not "indigenous" people "Assamese-speaking" people.
The Bengali-speaking people of the Brahmaputra Valley also have misgivings. At a convention on May 16 at Guwahati, a "Forum for Linguistic Minorities the Assam" was formed "to safeguard the interest of the people belonging to the various linguistic minority communities" ... The Forum will hold a State level Convention in October or November to set up a "broad based and permanent" organisation of all the linguist minority groups in the State such as Nepalis and Chakme
The political significance of the AASU's demand it that it seeks to bar all people, including those who care from other States of India and settled down in Assam permanently, from contesting any election unless this satisfy its definition of an "indigenous" person. (Source: The Hindu, 28 May 2000)
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Tribunals to Determine Citizenship of Suspects AIMMM: President Shahabuddin's Statement 26 June, 2000 The All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat (AIMMM) condemns the police firing in Yamuna Pushta on 24 June, 2000 in which one innocent life was lost and demands a judicial inquiry to establish the facts and circumstances leading to the firing. The AIMMM also demands due compensation to the next-of-kin of the youth who was killed and magisterial regulation of the conduct of the Delhi Police in its campaign of detention, identification and deportation of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, so that Indian citizens are not harassed by the police, As suggested earlier, by me to the Governor, it is reiterated that every cordon and search should be supervised by a magistrate and no one should be detained for deportation until the evidence submitted by him in support of his claim to Indian citizenship and domicile are checked. The AIMMM also proposes that the illegal Migrants (Identification by Tribunals) Act 1986 be notified in Delhi and one or more Tribunals be set up to try the cases of prima facie suspects. |
