AIUDF meets Assam Governor, seeks action against communal groups

AIUDF seeks action against groups targeting migrant Muslims in Assam, urging government to uphold communal harmony

GUWAHATI

The minority-based All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) on Monday (August 26, 2024) submitted a memorandum to Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya, seeking action against several organisations that have asked migrant Muslims to leave the eastern Assam districts or face the consequences.

At least 30 organisations claiming to represent indigenous communities had set a week’s deadline for Bengal-origin migrant Muslims, derisively referred to as Miya, to leave the ‘ujoni (upper)‘ part of the State. The deadline was set a day after a 14-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped in central Assam’s Dhing on August 22. Upper or eastern Assam comprises nine districts.

The Maulana Badruddin Ajmal-led AIUDF also asked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Assam government to take a stand against these organisations spewing venom, and take legal action against those who try to spread communal hatred.  

“It has come to our notice that some unknown organisations and fundamentalist groups have publicly issued threats against a section of the Muslim community demanding that they should leave Upper Assam immediately or face dire consequences. Such statements are not only alarming but also create a serious threat to communal harmony and safety of the community in the region,” the AIUDF said in the memorandum. 

A recent incident in Sivasagar town where members of the Marwari community knelt and offered a public apology for an incident of alleged assault of a 17-year-old girl by a local businessman belonging to their community has deepened the magnitude of the threat against the Muslims, the AIUDF said. 

The party said such threats violate the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution and are also against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations.