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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Veteran Congress leader Shamanuru Shivashankarappa laid to rest with full state honours
Bengaluru (PTI): Veteran Congress leader Shamanuru Shivashankarappa was laid to rest with full state honours on Monday.
The 94-year-old former minister, who passed away at a private hospital in Bengaluru on Sunday, was cremated at the Kalleshwara Mill premises, following Veerashaiva-Lingayat traditions.
Earlier in the day, Shivashankarappa's mortal remains were brought to his native Davanagere, where they were kept at the high school grounds for the public, his followers, and well-wishers to pay their last respects.
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Expressing deep sorrow over his demise, the Karnataka government ordered that his last rites be performed with full state honours.
Both the Karnataka Legislative Assembly and Council also mourned his passing, adjourning their sessions for the day after paying tributes.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa, several ministers, opposition leaders, legislators, and political figures paid their respects.
A number of seers from the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community also attended the last rites.
Shivashankarappa represented the Davanagere South Assembly constituency. He had been undergoing treatment at the hospital for some time before succumbing to age-related ailments.
The senior-most legislator in Karnataka, Shivashankarappa, was also one of the longest-serving lawmakers in the country, sources said.
He is survived by three sons, including S S Mallikarjun, the Karnataka Minister for Mines, Geology, and Horticulture, and four daughters. His daughter-in-law, Prabha Mallikarjun, is the Member of Parliament from Davanagere.
A six-time MLA, Shivashankarappa also served as a minister and an MP.
He was a prominent educationist, establishing several educational institutions, and was an industrialist.
Additionally, he served as the treasurer of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) for decades and was the president of the All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha, the apex body of the influential Veerashaiva-Lingayat community.
