Guwahati: The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), a minority-based political party, stated on Wednesday that Indian Muslims continue to face harassment in Assam under the guise of identifying ‘foreigners’.
An 11-member delegation of the Maulana Badruddin Ajmal-led party submitted a memorandum to Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya, protesting this “continued harassment.”
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The memorandum follows an alleged incident on Tuesday where authorities in western Assam’s South Salmara-Mankachar district pushed back 14 individuals, reportedly declared non-citizens by Foreigners’ Tribunals (FTs) or facing charges as “illegal immigrants,” towards Bangladesh.
However, the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel at the frontier asserted they prevented these 14 from entering India.
“Indians are being declared foreigners and pushed out to the no-man’s land along the international border in the name of detection and deportation of Bangladeshi people,” MLA Aminul Islam stated.
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He alleged that the Bangladesh forces are not letting them enter their country, and the BSF is preventing them from coming back.
Islam, who represents the Mankachar Assembly constituency where the alleged pushback occurred, led the AIUDF delegation.
He cited the dire situation of these individuals: “Authorities stranded the individuals on the no-man’s land without food, water, or a toilet since Tuesday morning. Bangladesh does take back its people who illegally enter India, but the authorities pushed these Indians, whom they branded foreigners, back without any bilateral discussion.”
In the memorandum, the AIUDF conveyed to the Governor that in recent weeks, authorities have picked up, interrogated, and arrested an increasing number of people, particularly Muslims, on mere suspicion of being illegal immigrants.
The party alleged that these actions often occur “without credible evidence, legal notice, or proper verification of documents.”
“Such repeated incidents have created an atmosphere of fear and anxiety among large sections of our population, particularly among poor and marginalised Muslims. Even more alarmingly, authorities are subjecting individuals possessing valid documentation such as voter ID cards, Aadhaar, and land records to doubt and harassment,” the memo read.
Furthermore, AIUDF urged the Governor to direct authorities to exercise greater caution and legal diligence in identifying suspected foreigners