8. BongalKheda

BongalKheda refers to an organised campaign of ethnic cleansing of Bangalis (Hindu) in the North East, which originated in the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam during the 1960s, continued through 1970s and spread to Meghalaya and Tripura in the 1980s. During its peak in 1960, around 50,000 Bangali were expelled from Assam, who took shelter in West Bengal.

In 1960, Assamese mobs attacked Bangali settlements in the Brahmaputra Valley. The most gruesome violence took place in 25 villages of Goreswar in Kamrup district. A one man enquiry commission was set up under Justice Gopal Mehrotra. According to the report nine Bangali men were killed and more than one hundred were injured. There was at least one incident of attack on women. 4,019 huts and 58 houses belonging to the Bangalis were vandalised and destroyed. The District Magistrate of Guwahati who happened to be a Bangali was attacked by a mob of around 100 people inside his residence and stabbed. The Deputy Inspector General of Police, also a Bangali was also stabbed. The cold blooded killing of Rabi Mitra, an ethnic Bangali technical officer at Oil India's headquarters in Duliajan caused widespread panic among the Bangalis.

Thousands of Bangali were displaced from the Brahmaputra Valley and they subsequently migrated to West Bengal, Tripura and Barak Valley in Assam. According to one estimate 500,000 Bangali were displaced from Assam. In West Bengal, thousands of refugees arrived in phases. The first batch of around 4,000 refugees arrived between 5 and 11 July 1960. The next batch of 447 arrived between 12 and 20 July. The rest arrived after 31 July. During July – September, around 50,000 Bangalis took shelter in West Bengal. Again in 1972, large scale ethnic riots erupted in Assam, where the Bangali were again targeted. Around 14,000 Bangali fled to West Bengal and elsewhere in the North East. In 1983, the Bangali were attacked again during the anti-foreign national agitation. In Dhemaji district, many Bangalis were driven out by the Assamese students.

Why Assamese people are anathematic towards Bangali ? It has a long history. Two important things must be noted. First, a prominent group of elite Assamese are descendants of Bangali caste Hindus of yester years and they are at the forefront of Bongalkheda movement. Second, pre-partition Assam was constituted out of Assamese speaking Brahmaputra valley, Bangla speaking Surma and Barak valley as well as surrounding tribal belts. Assam had only 30% population who could claim to be Assamese speaking. Bangalis constituted 50% population and numerous tribal communities constituted the rest. Bangla speaking population was almost equally divided between Bangali (Hindu) and Muslims.

After integrating Assam in India, British thought Assamese language is a dialect of Bangla. Therefore, they made Bangla as court language through length and breadth of Assam. It was resented by Assamese people and soon Assamese was restored to its rightful place in Brahmputra valley. But educated Bangalis mainly from Sylhet edged out ethnic Assamese in Government jobs, education institutes and professions. Assamese resented competition from more qualified Bangalis. But could do little as both Bangla speaking Surma valley and Barak valley were parts of Assam. Assam was having large Bangla speaking area within. Assamese could however, establish both political and administrative superiority over Bangla speaking population even though Bangla speaking community constituted the majority in Assam because of three reasons. Firstly, Bangla speaking population was equally divided by religion and Bangla speaking Muslims were dis-inclined to show Bangali identity. Second, Assamese speaking population was concentrated in East of the state and had no presence in rest. Lastly Bangali elit was engrossed with national politics while Assamese, as they were wary of majority Bangla speaking population, was engaged in establishing Assamese in whole of Assam at any cost. Therefore, Assamese politicians played Muslim card to put down Bangali Hindus. But it was clear that the permanent solution lies in removing Bangla speaking areas (Surma and Barak valley) surgically from rest of Assam.

But, Assam was also facing population migrationin from West; from British Bengal as well as its Western districts of Sylhet and Cachar. British found that Assam (Assamese speaking area and tribal area) is thinly populated. Large cultivable land was not utilised. They promoted large scale migration of Bangla Muslims from East Bengal and Surma/ Barak valley (which is now mostly Bangladesh) into Assam. This was the result of deliberate policies of the government of British India which wanted to colonize Assam and exploit its natural resources and expand agriculture in an area where tribal communities – like Bodos, Koch Rajbongshis and others ; lived.  These tribal were outside the pale of society as it was then and were not seen to be part of the market economy. The Bangla peasant, on the other hand, had been exposed to the world of colonialism/capitalism in Eastern Bengal. Thus they were game to be part of this strategy.  So began the process of migration of Bangali peasants, mostly Muslims into Assam. Assamese people actually welcomed peasant migration. It improved their income. The question to ask is why did only Bangali Muslims migrated to Assam and why not Hindus. The answer is: the Hindus did too but in smaller numbers. Assamese gentry encouraged large scale Bangali peasant migration but resented small number of Bangalis who came to Brahmaputra valley along with British for white colour job. Of course large majority of Bangla speaking Bangali and Muslims living in Assam were actually living in their ancestors land of Barak valley and Surma valley.

When Muslim league wanted division of India on communal line, Assamese politicians jumped upon the opportunity to divest Assam of Bangla speaking Barak valley and Surma valley to Pakistan. The Assamese politicians and intellectuals had always been demanding transfer of Sylhet and Cachar districts of Assam to Bengal. Now they wanted these two districts to go to Pakistan.

Gopinath Bordoloi, then Chief Minister of Assam wrote to Sardar Patel on 18 February 1946:

‘Maulana Sahib (e.g. Azad) seemed to come to the conclusion that the only alternative to this state of things is to separate the Bangla speaking districts of Sylhet and Cachar from Assam and join these with Bengal – a consummation to which the Assamese people are looking forward for the last 70 years.’

The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee in 1945, in its election manifesto, stated:

‘Unless the province of Assam is organised on the basis of Assamese language and Assamese culture, the survival of the Assamese nationality and culture will become impossible. The inclusion of Bangla speaking Sylhet and Cachar and immigration of lacs of Bangali settlers on wastelands has been threatening to destroy the distinctiveness of Assam and has, in practice, caused many disorders in its administration.

Of course, the partition of India was yet a far cry in 1946 and the Congress high command allowed the Assam Congress to air the proposal for the transfer of Sylhet to Bengal only as a part of a futuristic plan for a reorganisation of the provinces within undivided India. But in June 1947, the situation was totally different. The transfer of Sylhet to Bengal now meant its transfer to East Pakistan and the Congress high command could in no way sponsor such a proposal.

But to the Assam Congress it did not matter whether Sylhet went to Pakistan or remained in India. The Bangla speaking district was regarded as an ulcer hindering the emergence of a unilingual Assam. Hence, Assam Congress promoted the idea of Sylhet to go to Pakistan which Muslim League happily took up. Four clear Hindu majority sub-ditricts (Umarkot etc) of Sindh (75% Muslim) were not put up for referendum but Sylhet district of Assam (66% Hindu) having Muslim majority (A large section of Muslims were against Muslim League)  was put up for referendum. Lord Wavell, the Viceroy, wrote in his journal as early as April 1946, that Gopinath Bordoloi, the Congress Premier of Assam, gave the Cabinet Mission to understand that ‘Assam would be quite prepared to hand over Sylhet and Cachar to Pakistan. Accordingly, Mountbatten’s partition-plan, announced on 3 June 1947, provided inter-alia for a referendum to be held in the Sylhet district of Assam to decide whether it should remain a part of the Indian province of Assam or go to East Pakistan.

Gopinath Bordoloi, conveyed to all concerned, that Assam Cabinet was not interested in retaining Sylhet. It made official policy very clear. The whole Assam administration was working for Muslim League. Assamese voters also voted for Pakistan. Bangali Hindu voters were prevented to cast their votes. Unfortunately, one Bangali Scheduled caste leader also canvassed for Pakistan. It was left upon few local Hindu leaders and great S.P Mukherjee to wage an unequal  fight. They were pited against Muslim League led by Moulana Bhasani, Assam Government and apathy of National Congress. For Assamese leadership, it was indeed the lifetime opportunity "to get rid of Sylhet" and carve out a linguistically more homogenous province. The Sylhet referendum was held on 6 July 1947 and the result went in favour of a merger with Pakistan. Assam thus lost a wealthy district causing serious loss of revenue. But when the results of the referendum were declared, there was a feeling of relief in the Brahmaputra valley. Assam had lost its most populous and wealthy district, but the Assamese people in general greeted this loss and the Assam press projected it as a gain.

The partition of the country, for the Assamese leaders, was perceived not as a tragic development but as a ‘god-sent opportunity to carve out a linguistically homogenous province.’ But pushing out Sylhet did not make Assam homogenous. Assam still had to live with Cachar, Karimgunj which was carved out of Sylhet and Goalpara as well as large migrant Muslim population elsewhere in proper Assam. Soon violent result of partition started coming. Muslim Pakistan and later Bangladesh started persecution and pushing out Hindu population of East Bengal including Sylhet. In fact Assam tried to drive away entire Sylhet but specifically wanted to eject educated Bangla speaking Hindus from Assam. On the turn of events same Bangla speaking Hindus of Sylhet came back as refugees to Assam. Assamese betrayed the nation but did not achieve its goal. Assamese continued to be minority in Assam.

Post partition Assamese needed to evolve a new strategy. Assamese politicians convinced Bangali Muslims to enumerate themselves as Assamese speaking. In 1951 census, Assamese speaking population suddenly increased by astronomical 250%, compared to 1931 census. After partition, the Bangla Muslims became de facto allies of the Assamese in their conflict with the Bangali Hindus. Bangla Muslims have been willing to accept Assamese as the medium of instruction in their schools, and have thrown their votes behind Assamese candidates for the state Assembly and the national Parliament. They have declared Assamese as their mother tongue. In return, the state government did not attempt to eject Bangla Muslims from lands on which they have settled in the Brahmaputra valley, though earlier leaders had claimed that much of the settlement had taken place illegally. There is thus an unspoken coalition between the Assamese and the Bangla Muslims against the Bangali Hindus.This gave Assamese people a comfort of majority feeling. But such a truss cannot continue. Slowly Bangali Muslims started asserting themselves. They speak Bangla, enumerate themselves as Assamese speaking and vote for Muslim party. Now again Assamese became minority in Assam. Today, Bangla Muslims constitute 30% of Assam population. Bangalis constitute another 20%. Assamese alone do not constitute more than 40% of the population. A very new strategy is required.

This is “the foreigner issue”, projected as the core question associated with the survival of the Assamese nationality. But who is a foreigner. Bangalis of Barak valley who did not opt for Pakistan, or refugees from Surma valley who were forced to Pakistan by Assamese or refugees of other parts of East Bengal who took shelter in India? A Bangali is never a foreigner. Bangla speaking Muslim is another matter. They cannot be allowed to settle down in India whenever they come. There is no cut of date other than Partition. Had there been no partition, there would not have been no ‘foreigner issue’ in Assam. In Assamese mindset Bangali Hindu is their enemy. They fear Bangla bhasha will overwhelm Assamese language. They fear Bangali will out compete him. They want to drive out Bangali Hindu from Assam while they are ready to shelter Bangla speaking Muslims.

Assamese people have to understand that they are playing with fire. Bangla Muslims are not their natural ally. Once Muslims acquire majority they will not spare any Hindu, irrespective of language. Assamese fought Mughals and defeated them. They did not give in to any Muslim power. Today why they are trying to make friends with Muslims to drive out Bangalis, who are their brother in religion. If Bangali and Assamese cannot stay together then let Assam be divided into Bangla speaking area and Assamese speaking area. Let East and South Assam become a Bangla speaking state and North and West Assam remain core Assam. This way Assam can have a Assamese majority state and fully control Muslim influx. Bangla speaking area comprising of Dhubri, Goalpara in the East and Karigunj, Cachar and Halaikunda in the south will have the onerous task of identifying and ejecting Bangladeshi migrants. This new state will require all the help from Indian Government.

Let good sense prevail.

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