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The fact-finding team in New Delhi on Tuesday. (Express)
An event was organised by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights to present the findings of a seven-member team that had visited the eviction-hit districts of Assam, at the Constitution Club of India on Tuesday.
More than 3,300 families, mostly Muslims of Bengali origin, were evicted from forest, grazing and government revenue lands in Assam in the months of June and July.
The team comprising activist Harsh Mander, lawyer Prashant Bhushan, former Rajya Sabha member Jawhar Sircar, former planning commission member Syeda Hameed, former chief information commissioner Wajahat Habibullah, researchers Ritumbra Manuvie and Fawaz Shaheen had visited the affected Goalpara and Kamprup districts of Assam on August 23 and 24.
The members spoke on how the eviction drive was solely aimed at targeting Muslims and that the action went against the Constitution.
Bhushan said the Assam government led by Himanta Biswa Sarma did not care about the law. “I was informed by the tribals of the district that the land is now being sold to big corporations to build solar projects, cement factories and for palm oil cultivation. This was one of the purposes and the other was targeting the Bengali Muslims,” he said.
Hameed alleged that ‘Bangladeshi’ has now become a “curse” word. “Assam always used to be close to me, as I have frequented it for my work, it was never supposed to be like it is now,” she said, adding that she stood with the “Muslims and non-Muslims” of Assam.
Habibullah said: “Every citizen has the right to live and enjoy equal rights.”
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