Assam demolishes homes of 132 Bengali Muslim families who were displaced in 1983 riots

The authorities in Assam’s Lakhimpur on Friday demolished the homes of 132 Bengali Muslim families who had been living on a plot of government land in Boginadi since being displaced in 1983 amid statewide riots.

The families alleged that the authorities had targeted “Muslim homes” as their Hindu neighbours were not evicted.

The riots in the state had erupted at the peak of the Assam Movement, which was launched in 1979 to identify and deport undocumented immigrants. The movement, which went on till 1985, had been led by the All Assam Students’ Union and was often directed against Bengali-speaking Hindus and Muslims, who were accused of being “Bangladeshis”.

Tensions had peaked around February 1983 when the Union government announced Assembly elections in Assam despite opposition from the leadership of the All Assam Students’ Union and All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad.

In the aftermath, thousands had been displaced across the Brahmaputra valley.

Azizur Rahman, a leader of Raijor Dal, told Scroll that the homes that were demolished on Friday stood on nearly 9.9 acres of the 622.4 acres of the professional grazing land under Kadam revenue circle in Lakhimpur.

“The Assam government had settled the Bengali Muslim residents on this land after they were displaced in 1983,” said Rahman. “They built roads and schools in the area and gave electricity connection to their homes. So, the residents had gained confidence about their claim to the land.”

He alleged that the demolitions were “selective”, as the homes of members of the Hindu community who live on 595 acres of professional grazing land were not demolished.

“This is a clear-cut violation of Article 14 of the Constitution,” said Rahman.

Article 14 guarantees the fundamental right to equality.

Fifty-year-old Mohammad Tushan Ali also said that two homes belonging to his family were demolished on Friday but that those of his Hindu neighbours adjacent to theirs were not harmed.

Ali and his family had been living on the land since 1985 after being displaced from Barpeta.

He said: “Muslim houses were targeted…We are now on the bank of the river. The police are chasing us away from this area.”

Scroll has written to the Lakhimpur district commissioner with questions about the demolitions. This story will be updated if we receive a response.

In the last month, the Assam government has evicted more than 1,900 Muslim families from their homes.

On November 1, authorities in Dhubri district demolished the homes of over 640 Bengali Muslim families. The demolition had taken place on 650 bighas of government-owned land in Alamganj Part-IX village.

On October 18, more than 1,100 Muslim families were evicted across Nagaon, Hojai and Golaghat districts in a two-day operation.

In the last ten years of BJP rule in Assam, around 19,000 families, the majority of them Muslim, have been evicted from government land, according to data from the state revenue and disaster management department and the district authorities compiled by Scroll.

Edited by Sneha.