ASSOCIATION OF INDIAN UNIVERSITIES AIU INFORMATION RESOURCE CENTRE IN HIGHER EDUCATION PRESS CLIPPINGS IN EDUCATION DECEMBER, 2019 Scanned by CamScanner Scanned by CamScanner Scanned by CamScanner Scanned by CamScanner Scanned by CamScanner Scanned by CamScanner Scanned by CamScanner Scanned by CamScanner Scanned by CamScanner Scanned by CamScanner Scanned by CamScanner Scanned by CamScanner Scanned by CamScanner Scanned by CamScanner Scanned by CamScanner Scanned by CamScanner Scanned by CamScanner ASSOCIATION OF INDIAN UNIVERSITIES AIU INFORMATION RESOURCE CENTRE IN HIGHER EDUCATION PRESS CLIPPINGS IN EDUCATION 07 DECEMBER, 2019 Scanned by CamScanner Scanned by CamScanner Scanned by CamScanner Scanned by CamScanner Scanned by CamScanner Scanned by CamScanner Scanned by CamScanner Scanned by CamScanner Scanned by CamScanner ASSOCIATION OF INDIAN UNIVERSITIES AIU INFORMATION RESOURCE CENTRE IN HIGHER EDUCATION PRESS CLIPPINGS IN EDUCATION 11 DECEMBER, 2019 Scanned by CamScanner Scanned by CamScanner 6 THE ASSAM TRIBUNE, GUWAHATI MONDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2019 MESSAGE FOR TODAY You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today. Assamese language at stake – ABRAHAM LINCOLN ■ Amal Baishya cious to believe that the migrated gion of the remaining figure (i.e., speaking 80,648. Muslims from Bangladesh have ac- 1,14,345 – 1,516 = 1,12,429)? Cer- In a State where the Hindu popu- he Citizenship (Amend- gali language in the State. No one cepted Assamese as their first lan- tainly Muslim, since there’s no oth- lation decreases and the Muslim ment) Act, 2019, of late, would deny that the Bengalis have guage. It’s nothing but a planned er religious community there. So, population increases, the fear of be- has created a turmoil in made steady inroads to the North- blueprint of some forces hostile it’s clear out of 1,46,516 Muslim ing endangered by the diminished Assam with a number of east since quite a long time. Of late, against Assam and the Assamese. population in Kalgachia, 1,12,429 Hindu number is unfounded. Al- Torganizations resorting to agitation the issue of the Citizenship Following the much-talked As- speak Bengali! Thus, the majority ready the Bengali Muslims have Sonowal’s U-turn protesting it. It’s really surprising (Amendment) Bill, now an Act, has sam Agitation against the foreign of migrated Muslims in Kalgachia surpassed the Hindus in nine dis- The assertion of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal reit- to see the polarization of forces, fuelled anxiety among the Assamese nationals in the late 70s to early 80s, are Bengali speaking and not Assa- tricts including Dhubri, Darrang, erating his ‘commitment’ to uphold the interests of the peo- perhaps for the first time in the community. The anger against the Dr Hiren Gohain opined, “The fall- mese speaking ones. Goalpara, Nagaon, Morigaon and ple above anything else would sound rather hollow against State, on the issue starting from Act stems from a fear that the Assa- out of Assam Agitation for deport- 2. In Baghbar: Religion-wise: Barpeta. It’s surprising, even after the disturbing backdrop of the State Government’s shock- students’ organizations to political mese language will be further sub- ing the foreigners will convert the Hindu-10,949; Muslim-2,84,251; that, a section of learned people and ing inertia in convincing the BJP-led Government at the parties, from the fundamentalist to sumed by giving citizenship to the State of Assam a Muslim-dominat- Language-wise: Assamese speaking intellectuals of Assam are still try- the radicals, from the artists to the illegal Hindu migrants from Bang- ed one.” (The Sunday magazine, 45,022; Bengali speaking 2,50,091. ing to mislead the masses hiding the Centre about the perils that will befall the Assamese people intellectuals. The platform, look- ladesh. The media and a section of Vol-10; Issue 33; 6-12 March, 1983). In Baghbar, the number of Hindus shocking truth. under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) regime. ing massive with supporting pil- people and organizations have cam- That’s what the reality is in Assam is only 10,949. But the number of The facts and figures of the last Let alone taking up the matter with its Central leadership in lars of the Jatiya Sangathans, ar- paigned with misleading Bengali-speaking people two Censuses reveal an alarming the right earnest – something done immediately and force- tistes’ fraternity and civil society, propaganda that the Bill is 2,50,091. So it proves, scenario before us. This is how the fully by the governments in the neighbouring northeastern has mobilized the masses to draw would push the Assamese The facts and figures of the last at least 2,39,142 of Mus- vested interests have long com- States – the Chief Minister has been busy placating the the attention of the media. But the language into an endan- lims accept Bengali as posed a silent aggression since the party bosses and now has taken recourse to the outrageous unanswered question, or rather the gered corner affecting the two Censuses reveal an their mother tongue. early 20th century engulfing the argument that Assam does not stand to be affected by the question tactfully avoided till date, secular fabric of the nation. alarming scenario before us. There is another Assamese and their language from Act, as a very small number of Hindu Bengali migrants would remains: Is it really for a legitimate But if we look into past alarming trend we could multi-angles like a venomous octo- cause to the greater interest of the statistical facts, the picture This is how the vested interests see in Barpeta. During a pus. The historical traitors like Badan get to settle down in Assam under the Act. Does the Chief Assamese? Or is it merely to op- that comes into light is to- period of 10 years from Barphukan are still there who enjoy Minister who himself was in the forefront of the anti-Bang- pose a political force which is de- tally different. When the have long composed a silent 1991 to 2001, the and make a mockery of the destiny ladeshi movement in the 1980s have to be reminded of the termined to uphold the ethical iden- last Census recorded a aggression since the early 20th number of Assamese- of the Assamese people mingling dangerous consequences of the unabated cross-border in- tity of a nation powered by its age- substantial increase of speaking people in Bagh- with the present day Maans. filtration from Bangladesh for decades which has already old civilization in this part of the Bengali-speaking people century engulfing the bar was reduced by a Recent crime records show that effected visible demographic changes in Assam? How can world since the days of the sages? in Assam, it was misinter- Assamese and their language margin of 88,427 while many Muslim youths, influenced by the Chief Minister now make a U-turn and say that only a The Assamese people, by nature, preted that the increase that of Bengali speaking the Jehadi fundamentalists active handful of Hindu migrants would gain citizenship in Assam, are emotional, particularly when was only due to rapid in- from multi-angles like a was increased by across the border, are not only try- given the reality that Assam already has a large population the question of their existence as a crease of Bengali Hindus 1,38,650. In the same ing to organize and lead the migrat- nation arises. They are uncompro- in Assam. At the same venomous octopus. period, the poor figure ed Muslim community, but have of (post-1971) Hindu migrants as revealed in the just-con- mising when they feel the language time, a group of intellec- of the Hindus was re- also joined hands with some local cluded NRC updating exercise? And will not the CAA flung they speak is insecure. But, unfor- tuals has tactfully created duced from 14,112 to intellectuals provoking the people open the floodgates for fresh streams of Hindu migrants to tunately, these are the reasons for an impression that all the migrated today; what he’d foreseen more than 10,949 indicating the fact that the against the Assamese-speaking enter Assam in the coming days? It is an open secret that a which they’ve been cheated every Muslims from the East Bengal 35 years back for which he was con- migrated Muslims had opted Ben- East Bengalis. They try to deceive fairly large chunk of the vanishing Hindu population from time, not only by the shrewd polit- (Bangladesh) had accepted the As- demned even publicly. It’s was out gali instead of Assamese as their the people citing the figures of Dhe- Bangladesh have over the years settled down in Assam ical parties, but even by the non- samese language as their mother of our emotions that we found it too mother language. maji district where there’s a down- and with some two crore Hindus still remaining there, it is political organizations also. These tongue leaving only the Bengali Hin- difficult to digest him at that time. 3. Dalgaon (Darrang): Religion- fall of Assamese speakers. The rea- only a matter of time before a majority of those make Assam are the vested forces, taking advan- dus responsible for increase of Ben- Let us underline the figures (as wise: Hindu-80,141; Muslim- son in Dhemaji is something far their home – secure under the full protection they will now tage of the simplicity of the Assa- gali-speaking people in Assam. But per 2001 Census) of religious and 3,23,309; Language-wise: Assamese from what they tried to justify – mese people, which come forward if we analyse the figures of the last linguistic population pattern in speaking 92,923; Bengali speaking the different tribes oppressed by get from the CAA.