Assam's been making the news for the past few weeks, and I suppose I should add my two cents.
It's not unusual to see conflict in this restive part of India (I might have to dedicate another post to my penchant for choosing 'restive' parts of the world to visit.). This time, it's a conflict between Bodos (pronounced 'Boros') and Muslim Bengalis in the district of Kokrajhar, to the west of Guwahati. The BBC gives an explanation for the violence here: What lies behind Assam violence?
The Bodos themselves have been fighting for a separate state, called 'Bodoland' which includes Kokrajhar district and a few neighbouring districts. One of my Bodo friends said that some people feel the need for statehood because to give them greater autonomy to protect their language and culture from such 'invaders'. The problem is, while there are many recent migrants coming from Bangladesh, there are also many of these so-called 'invaders' are actually Bengalis who've lived for generations in Assam. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if there are any official figures.
From the perspective of the Bodos though, there is much anxiety over the loss of their own cultural identity. They feel like the Indian (and state) government has failed and continues to fail to provide adequate protection. This has then led to a call, certainly by more extreme separatists, for a state that is ethnically (and linguistically) 'pure'. Their attacks on Muslim Bangladeshis is seen simply asserting ownership over their own 'land'. This is not an uncommon phenomenon among ethnic groups in NE India, and inter-ethnic conflict abounds: just last January there were major clashes between Garos and Rabhas on the Assam-Meghalaya border.
The situation in Kokrajhar is still pretty tense, and my Bodo friends say there's still a curfew being imposed there. New clashes in Northeast India as tension mounts
However, what I find remarkable about this latest conflict is that the violence has 'spilled over' into other parts of India. But rather than an inter-ethnic conflict, it's been transformed into an inter-religious one. Last week in Mumbai, there were protests by Muslims who view the attacks as targeting Muslims. Unfortunately these protests turned violent, and 2 people died: 23 people booked for Mumbai violence
Now, there's reports of a mass exodus of North-easterners from Bangalore, with people receiving text messages saying that people from NE India (especially people who look more East Asian / 'Mongolian', although 'ethnic Assamese' look like most other mainland Indians to me) are being targeted and attacked.
Amid attack fears, people from NE flee Bangalore
Thousands flee violence threats in Indian city of Bangalore
One story that has emerged is that of a Tibetan student was attacked in Mysore, though it's unclear if this has anything to do with the violence in NE India. It just seems like madness right now, with 4,000 people just uprooting themselves from Bangalore to come back to Assam overnight.
I can understand people want to come back to their families, but I hope that the panic dies down soon and people are able to return to Bangalore and other parts of India, especially if they have friends and work to go back to.
(Disclaimer: This post is based on information I have read and heard, and is certainly imperfect as it is. Any other opinions and comments are more than welcome.)
It's not unusual to see conflict in this restive part of India (I might have to dedicate another post to my penchant for choosing 'restive' parts of the world to visit.). This time, it's a conflict between Bodos (pronounced 'Boros') and Muslim Bengalis in the district of Kokrajhar, to the west of Guwahati. The BBC gives an explanation for the violence here: What lies behind Assam violence?
The Bodos themselves have been fighting for a separate state, called 'Bodoland' which includes Kokrajhar district and a few neighbouring districts. One of my Bodo friends said that some people feel the need for statehood because to give them greater autonomy to protect their language and culture from such 'invaders'. The problem is, while there are many recent migrants coming from Bangladesh, there are also many of these so-called 'invaders' are actually Bengalis who've lived for generations in Assam. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if there are any official figures.
From the perspective of the Bodos though, there is much anxiety over the loss of their own cultural identity. They feel like the Indian (and state) government has failed and continues to fail to provide adequate protection. This has then led to a call, certainly by more extreme separatists, for a state that is ethnically (and linguistically) 'pure'. Their attacks on Muslim Bangladeshis is seen simply asserting ownership over their own 'land'. This is not an uncommon phenomenon among ethnic groups in NE India, and inter-ethnic conflict abounds: just last January there were major clashes between Garos and Rabhas on the Assam-Meghalaya border.
The situation in Kokrajhar is still pretty tense, and my Bodo friends say there's still a curfew being imposed there. New clashes in Northeast India as tension mounts
However, what I find remarkable about this latest conflict is that the violence has 'spilled over' into other parts of India. But rather than an inter-ethnic conflict, it's been transformed into an inter-religious one. Last week in Mumbai, there were protests by Muslims who view the attacks as targeting Muslims. Unfortunately these protests turned violent, and 2 people died: 23 people booked for Mumbai violence
Now, there's reports of a mass exodus of North-easterners from Bangalore, with people receiving text messages saying that people from NE India (especially people who look more East Asian / 'Mongolian', although 'ethnic Assamese' look like most other mainland Indians to me) are being targeted and attacked.
Amid attack fears, people from NE flee Bangalore
Thousands flee violence threats in Indian city of Bangalore
One story that has emerged is that of a Tibetan student was attacked in Mysore, though it's unclear if this has anything to do with the violence in NE India. It just seems like madness right now, with 4,000 people just uprooting themselves from Bangalore to come back to Assam overnight.
I can understand people want to come back to their families, but I hope that the panic dies down soon and people are able to return to Bangalore and other parts of India, especially if they have friends and work to go back to.
(Disclaimer: This post is based on information I have read and heard, and is certainly imperfect as it is. Any other opinions and comments are more than welcome.)
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