Fact-finding report alleges targeted evictions of Bengali Muslims in Assam
New Delhi: A fact-finding report released at an urgent public tribunal on Tuesday has accused the Assam government of targeting Bengali Muslim communities through arbitrary evictions and illegal detentions, branding them as “foreigners” and leaving thousands homeless. The event, organized by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) and Karwan-e-Mohabbat, was disrupted by members of the Hindu Sena, reflecting growing tensions over the issue.
Prominent civil society members, including Justice Iqbal Ansari, former bureaucrats Gopal K. Pillai and Wajahat Habibullah, activists Harsh Mander and Syeda Hameed, lawyers like Prashant Bhushan, and academics such as Professor Apoorvanand, came together to raise alarm over what they described as a human rights crisis unfolding in Assam.
According to the report, Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam are being systematically evicted without due process and detained in conditions described as inhumane. Testimonies from activists who visited eviction sites highlighted violations of legal safeguards, including demolitions carried out while court cases were still pending, and evictions based on flawed or incomplete documentation.
“All the families displaced in recent eviction drives in Assam’s Goalpara district are Muslims,” said APCR’s Fawaz Shaheen. He added that residents, despite possessing land records dating back decades, were being declared foreigners and rendered stateless.
In one recent case, eviction operations in Goalpara led to the demolition of over 1,700 homes across multiple villages between June and August. The report further noted that a 19-year-old man protesting against the evictions was shot dead by police.
Harsh Mander called the situation “fascism in extreme form,” accusing the state of overturning the burden of proof by forcing individuals to prove their citizenship under impossible conditions. “Spelling errors in documents are enough to send people to detention centres,” he said.
At the Delhi press conference held to unveil the report, members of the Hindu Sena stormed the venue, heckling speakers and chanting slogans such as “Jai Shri Ram” and “Goli maro salon ko,” demanding the expulsion of “Bangladeshis.” Some individuals in the mob wore skull caps in what observers say may have been an attempt to falsely frame Muslims as the disruptors.
Social activist Syeda Hameed was among those harassed during the chaos. “This heckling shows the state of hate and fear in the country,” she said. “We must be vigilant before this hate spreads everywhere.”
Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan linked the evictions to corporate land interests, alleging that lands cleared of Muslim inhabitants are being handed over to companies like Adani and Patanjali. “This is not just about discrimination; it’s about profiteering under the guise of national security,” he said.
Former Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah, in a recorded message, warned of a constitutional crisis. “If equal rights are denied in Assam, it’s a threat to democracy across India,” he said.
The event concluded with strong calls for urgent government and judicial intervention. “If we stay silent, this will spread,” said Justice Iqbal Ansari. “The Constitution is being torn apart in plain sight.”
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Flagrant injustice to underprivileged: Mehbooba on govt action against Shopian school
Srinagar (PTI): PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Monday said declaring Dar Ul Uloom Jamia Siraj Ul Uloom in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian an unlawful entity under the UAPA was a "flagrant injustice" to the underprivileged sections of society.
She also alleged that banning such "altruistic institutions" without any solid evidence of anti-national activity "shows a deep seated prejudice and ill intention".
The institution allegedly run by individuals affiliated with a banned organisation has been declared an "unlawful entity" under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
In a post on X, Mehbooba said, "Every single day the j&k government acts as a mute bystander & a timid enabler of vicious assaults on J&Ks identity & dignity. Declaring Dar Ul Uloom Jamia Siraj Ul Uloom as an unlawful entity under UAPA is a flagrant injustice to the poor underprivileged sections of society".
The former chief minister said the institution served as a "beacon of quality education" for students unable to afford expensive schooling.
"It has produced reputed doctors and professionals who served this nation with dedication. Banning these altruistic institutions without any solid evidence of anti national activity shows a deep seated prejudice & ill intention," she added.
Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Anshul Garg issued a two-page order based on the dossier presented by Senior Superintendent of Police Shopian pointing towards the alleged illegal activities at Darul Uloom Jamia Sirajul Uloom at Imam Sahib in Shopian district in south Kashmir.
According to the order issued by Garg on April 24, there were "credible inputs and evidence on record, to indicate sustained and covert linkages of the institution with Jamaat-e-Islami, which the Government of India banned in 2019.
