Bengali Hindu body wants Rajnath to order NE States to stop ‘harassment’

Silchar (Assam), 2 Aug 2018

The All Assam Bengali Hindu Association (AABHA) has urged Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to pass an order to the North-eastern States to stop harassment of Bengali-speaking Hindus, post publication of the complete NRC draft in Assam.

In a letter to Singh, the AABHA alleged that Bengali-speaking Hindus are facing harassment in various North-eastern States, especially at the hands of various social organisations.

Fearing that instances of harassment will increase further in the coming days, including in the Brahmaputra valley where a large of Bengali Hindus have been allegedly left out from the NRC draft, the association appealed to the Central Minister to pass a strict order in this regard immediately to these States.

The AABHA said activists of many students’ organisations of Meghalaya have stated harassing Bengalis Hindus of Barak Valley during their transit through that State to the Brahmaputra valley and vice versa.

The letter alleged these activists are stopping vehicles at Ratacherra and Byrnihat, the entry points of Meghalaya, and forcefully disembarking the Bengali Hindus and demanding proof of citizenship and NRC documents. It added that even women and children are subjected to extreme harassment and that in many instances they are resorting to physical assaults.