Manipur’s Muslim Committee urges Centre to scrap Citizenship Bill

Guwahati, February 6, 2019:

The All Manipur Muslim Organisations’ Co-Ordinating Committee stated that with the passing of the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 in Lok Sabha, the whole Northeast region has been in great disturbance, confusion, and an uncertain situation.

They have stated that although the Bill has been put on hold in the Rajya Sabha, the problem has been tentatively delayed but it is not completely negated and added, “We are not against the humanitarian act of giving accommodation to the refugees or the persecuted peoples of other countries irrespective of caste, creed and religion but the current Bill is totally against the wish of the people of the country and bases the religious ground for vested political interest."

“AMMOCOC has urged the concerned to proportionately distribute the refugees and again, we wish to bring into attention that as regards to North Eastern region, we have had enough refugees. We have been much more generous than our capacity and in consideration of this; the Government of India has to look for regions other than the Northeast to accommodate them", they added.

The Committee has further urged the Government to respect the terms of the Assam Accord. "We urge the Government to respect the Assam Accord (1985) and uphold the autonomy and rights of indigenous people of Northeast region. AMMOCOC extends the heartfelt solidarity to our peoples of the northeast in general and Manipur in particular who are fighting against the Government’s move of this anti-indigenous peoples’ Bill.”

The committee stated, “It has the potential of disturbing the whole social fabric of the diverse indigenous communities of northeast which has already been facing the problems of illegal migrants taking over the population of the indigenous communities bringing them to the brink of extinction."

"There is an ongoing struggle of resistance against the influx of non-native Indians in this region and at the same time there is angst amongst the whole northeast for making it the dumping ground for illegal immigrants particularly from Bangladesh. Simply, this Bill appears to be a flawed and divisive which is more like of an attempt to eliminate the indigenous peoples of the Northeastern region.”

“This Bill that seeks to replace the Citizenship Act of 1955 is problematic on many grounds. Without going into the details, it violates the historic Assam Accord 1985. Moreover, these citizens gain permanent citizenship after 6 years of residency in India instead of 11 years as mentioned in the Citizenship Act (1955). This communal granting of citizenship as against the secular ethics as claimed by the Indian constitution and is supposed to bring the whole demography of the north-eastern into invasion,” they added.

They further added that the police brutality against the protestors in Tripura and other parts of northeast are to be rated as overly tyrannical and undemocratic actions which are highly condemnable in the strongest sense.

"Today’s firm and united political stand of the whole north easterners against such imperialistic framework to appropriate and colonize new people should be continued till the death of any such anti-indigenous peoples’ Bill and added that although the Bill stays in hold in Rajya Sabha, there is still the possibility that it easily passes as smoothly as it did in the Lok Sabha", they stated.