ELECTORAL ROLL
Shahabuddin's Letter on Revision of Electoral Roll in Assam
I have just seen the article "A Lonely Battle in by Kuldip Nayar. In my view it presents only one side of the picture. While theoretically the AASU does not distinguish among illegal migrants, on ground of religion, in actual fact, the brunt is borne by Muslims only who in addition to being dubbed "illegal immigrants" have been the descendants of those who had migrated from the erstwhile Bengal into the then Assam upto 1950, who are by descent and by birth Indian nationals. Every Bengali-speaking Muslim resident of Assam has been by now subjected to screening no less than four times. It is not only a case of double jeopardy but a case of quadruple jeopardy' to be asked to prove a one's citizenship status again and again. It is indeed morally and politically preposterous.
I would like to present to Mr. Nayar one fact. The proportion of Muslims in Assam's population has remained more or less constant at about 25 per cent which can mean that earlier there has been no immigration at all or out of four illegal immigrants, only one is a Muslim. Secondly, the rate of growth of Assam's population over 1951-91 is comparable to that of the country as a whole, if one takes into account 2 to 3 lakh Muslims who had migrated to the then East Pakistan after communal riots in 1950 and had not yet returned to Assam when census was taken in 1951.
One cannot deny that the border is porous and that the artificial partition of the country has not stopped social or economic intercourse. There may even be some human seepage and sedimentation but the quantum of infiltration is exaggerated into a political bogey.
The essence of the Assam situation lies in the fact that the high caste dominance of Assam society has been shattered in every walk of life, including politics, by the emergence of the lower castes and the Bengali-speaking 'majority', if all Bengali people decide to declare their language as Bengali. It is this shift of power which has roused the AASU activists and the Assamese elite and which gives birth to an anti-Indian campaign by the Assam nationalists and a communal campaign by the Sangh Parivar.
Recently, the Supreme Court passed an order in the case of revision of rolls in Bombay which applies equally to all parts of the country. it makes a clear distinction between the claim of a stranger to be excluded from the electoral roll and the demand for exclusion of someone who is already included. In the first case the onus lies on the claimant. In the second case the onus lines on the administration (and the complainant). Any person suspected of being a foreign national by the administration suo moto or on receipt of a complaint which has a prima facie basis must be taken to a competent judicial or quasi-judicial authority and if the object of the complaint is found to be foreign national, his name can be struck off at any time. This is in addition to the exclusion under the electoral law where the onus again falls on the administrative machinery to prove that a person whose name appears in the rolls is not an Indian national and should be excluded.
The rule of law must be preserved at any cost. Similarly, the international boundary must be sealed against infiltration. But one cannot accept continuous harassment of a member of a particular group merely because he professes a particular religion or speaks a particular language. I am confident that Mr. Nayar would agree.
MUSLIM ORGANISATION
Anjuman-e-Islam, Bombay
Office Bearers:
Dr. M. Ishaq Jamkhanawala President
Mrs. Homai A. Peerbhoy
Mr. Aziz H. Ahmedbhoy) Vice-Presidents
Mr. Ridwan Harris
Mr. Abdul Majeed E. Patka Hon. Gen Secretary
Mr. A. Sattar Zariwala} Hon. Joint Secretary
Mr. S.A.R. Kadri
Mr. Yusuf C. Dalal Hon. Treasurer
Members of the General Council:
Dr. M. Ishaq Jamkhanawale
Mrs. Homai A. Peerbhoy
Mr. Aziz H. Ahmedbhoy
Mr. Ridwan Harris
Mr. A. Majeed E. Patka
Mr. Y.H. Murad
Mr. A. Sattar Zariwala
Mr. Yusuf C. Dalal
Mr. S.A.R. Kadri
Mr. Aarif Khwaja Mohamed
Mr. Mushtaq Antulay
Mr. A.A. Khatkhatay
Mr. Firoz Jainuddin Mantri
Mr. R.G. Matadar
Mr. Yusuf Minji
Dr. A.M. Naik
Dr. F.T. Padaria
Mr. Bashir Moosa Patel
Mr. Moinul Hag Chowdhury
Mr. G.A.R. Shaikh
Dr. M. Shafi Shaikh
Mrs. Camar F. Sikander
Mr. Akbar Pranji Mr. Sayeed Dadarkar
Mrs. Hakim S. Abdul Rahim
Mr. Rizwan Farooqui
Dr. N.S. Gorekar
Mr. Abbas M. Hetavkar
Prof. A.A. Kazi
Mrs. Rashida A. Kazi
Dr. Zahir I. Kazi
Dr. M.A. Gaffar Khan
Mr. M.A. Khandwani
Mr. Sami Khatib
Dr. Sumar A. R. Suleman
Ms. Kamila Tyabji
Mr. M.R. Vanoo
Mr. K. Ziauddin
Mrs. Kumu Hafizka
Mrs. Vazir S.F.B. Tyabji
Mr. Sayed Gafoor
Mr. A.R. Antulay
Mr. Syed Abdul Manan
Mr. Khan I. Yusuf "Tablib"
Mr. M.1. Patel
