Members of the Assamese community held a sit-in protest against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) at Namghar premises here on Sunday.
Organised by Assamese Samaj of Dimapur, the sit-in witnessed participation from men and women, young and the old alike as vociferous chants of “CAA namanu”, “Jai Aai Asom” and patriotic Assamese songs reverberated through the air. About 100 people took part in the programme.
Unlike protests marred by lathi-charges and violence in parts of neighbouring Assam, protesters here took to naam kirtan, a traditional Assamese prayer characterised by beats of dhols (drums) and cymbals, to seek divine intervention and make Prime Minister Narendra Modi wiser to have a better understanding of the implications of CAA and how it was detrimental to Assam and the entire Northeast.
Speaking to this reporter at the protest venue, Dimapur Namghar Trust Board secretary Deep Borkotoky claimed that the Assamese Samaj of Dimapur and the community residing in Nagaland were against CAA. He emphasised that, apart from exercising the democratic right to protest, it was imperative that the general public was sensitised on the legislation. Hence, a speech on CAA was delivered by Assamese Samaj convener Mukibor Rahman.
Borkotoky explained that the main purpose of the peaceful sit-in protest was to pray to God to give the “right idea and wisdom” to Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and his cabinet colleague Himanta Biswa Sarma. He added that protests would continue till CAA was rolled back.
Rahman, who had earlier sensitised protesters on CAA, also expressed resentment against the Act saying it would dilute the Assamese culture and identity.
“For the Assamese, the protests have never been along religious lines. Culture takes precedence over religion. Our protests are not against any religion but to protect our culture,” he added.
Reminding the government of Assam Accord signed by Government of India, Assam government and All Assam Students’ Union signed on August 15, 1985, Rahman said Assam had already taken in refuges with 1971 as the cut-off year and could not afford to take in more illegal immigrants. He further pointed out that CAA violated clause 6 of the Assam Accord, which stated that the government was bound to preserve Assamese identity and culture.
On use of force on protesters in Assam, the Assamese Samaj convener said it was unfortunate that the State machinery/police had to resort to brute force to suppress people, who were exercising their right to protest peacefully. He also asked why the recent BJP peace rally was held in Nalbari which was relatively calm and peaceful instead of Guwahati, the epicentre of agitation.
Keeping in mind the need to maintain the momentum of protests, Rahman also appealed to protesters to abstain from violence as it would defeat the cause and weaken the mass movement.
Mentioning that it was just the first phase of a movement that primarily aimed at public sensitisation, the organisers explained that they wanted those protesting to be fully aware of the Act before hitting the streets. They said they were also mulling to rope in support from other communities in Nagaland.