Report exposes ‘roots of atrocities’ against Muslims in Assam

Report by Indo-American group IAMC shows repeated episodes of mass violence since 1993 were planned and politically motivated, urges action to prevent ethnic cleansing.

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,

Guwahati: The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), an advocacy group based in the United States, has released a report that exposes the roots of the mass violence in Assam in 2012 and 2014, in which hundreds of lives have been lost and over a half million people were displaced.

TCN File Photo of a relief Camp in Kokrajhar in Bodoland after the 2012 ethnic riot.

The report titled “Rationalizing Ethnic Cleansing in Assam,” is based on data provided by human rights activists in Assam, media reports, eyewitness accounts as well as testimonies of scores of victims, many of which have been recorded.

The report documents the state complicity behind sustained violence against an ethnic and religious minority. The report also exposes the myth about Assamese Muslims being illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, a canard that is all too often used to “contextualize,” the barbaric ethnic cleansing of impoverished Muslim villagers.

“The political patronage provided to armed militant groups that have spearheaded massacres at regular intervals since 1993, and the hateful rhetoric of xenophobic Hindutva groups, is at the root of the campaign to bring about demographic changes in Assam through violence and intimidation,” said Mr. Ahsan Khan, President of IAMC.

“The gravity of the situation in Assam can be gauged from the fact that the state has failed to provide adequate relief or create an atmosphere conducive to the return of the thousands who were displaced from their homes during the mass violence,” added Mr. Khan.

The report includes wide-ranging recommendations to bring about reconciliation between Muslims and ethnic Bodos. An important step in this direction would be a Special Investigative Team (SIT) constituted by the Supreme Court to assess proper investigation of the crimes committed, and a prosecution of the perpetrators, including their political patrons

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