Muslims face executions in India's Assam region

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
8/16/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Violence broils as similar attacks against Muslims occur in neighboring Myanmar

Members of the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland have been killing Muslims in India's Assam district, at a time when Muslims are facing similar violent demises in neighboring Myanmar. Muslims of Bengali origin have been killed in rioting after a free-for-all in the four districts of western Assam. The Indian government has called out the army, issuing shoot-at-sight orders to control the ongoing violence.

Scores of Muslim women, from teenagers to the elderly, have pleaded with Indian government officials to not to be forced to go back to their native villages.

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Many are still missing and nearly 400,000 people are in makeshift camps after being displaced by the July riots.

Bodo separatist rebels have attacked Bengali Muslims over the past several years, along with other non-Bodo minorities since 1992. Their goal is to create a Bodo majority in their perceived ethnic homeland. Hundreds have been killed, the worst violence reported in 1996-97, when about a quarter of a million people were displaced.

The riots in India's northeast follow the same pattern as violence against Muslim Rohingya in neighboring Myanmar.

Those fleeing the violence have beseeched rulers to let them stay in their adopted homelands. Sixty-three-year-old Rehana Bibi begged India's ruling Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi to let her and others like her remain in refugee camps.

"We prefer to stay in these government-aided camps though we don't get enough to eat or space to sleep. But that is better than constantly living with the threat of death," Rehana told Gandhi.

Rehana was later joined by scores of Muslim women, from teenagers to the elderly, who pleaded with Gandhi not to be forced to go back to their native villages.

"Violence is still continuing in our area. We are getting to know of deaths and attacks. The government should please allow us to stay here until we feel it is safe to go back home," said Sultana, another Muslim woman.

Many remain missing and nearly 400,000 people are in makeshift camps after being displaced by the July riots.

More than 2,500 Muslims were killed in ethnic riots that erupted during a six-year long campaign by Assamese groups (1979-1985). The worst carnage took place at Nellie in February 1983, when 1,600 Muslims were killed in two days of bloodbaths unleashed by Lalung tribesmen.

India's situation bears parallels to Myanmar's Rakhine province, where Rohingya Muslims, sometimes called "Bengalis" in that country, have suffered heavy casualties in fights with Buddhist Rakhines. Most of those killed have been Rohingyas, although some Rakhines are also among the dead.

"And like in Myanmar, so in Assam, nativist passion runs high against these Muslims. They are demonized and held responsible for all the woes faced by the indigenous peoples," Samir Das, an author who has written on Assam says. "They are seen as encroachers on indigenous lands and resources."

However, Rohingya say they are indigenous to Myanmar's Rakhine province (previously Arakans), but many Burmese, including President Thein Sein, believe they are settlers from what is now the Chittagong region of Bangladesh, and say they should be taken out.

The Muslims of Bengali origin in Assam admit they originally hail from what was eastern Bengal and is now Bangladesh. Local Assamese and tribal groups, however, allege that illegal migration from Bangladesh continues unabated.

"People from what is now Bangladesh migrate to all over the world and they have been moving into Assam or other parts of northeast India since the days of the British. But what the locals are worried about are the growing numbers of the descendants of these Bengali Muslim settlers and their rising influence in the state's agrarian economy and politics," Assam political analyst Nani Gopal Mahanta says.

� 2012, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Bodo, Assam, India, Muslims, ethnic violence, Myanmar

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1 - 8 of 8 Comments

Imran
9 months ago
I am a bengali muslim from bangladesh and I am extremely outraged by the comments here. I have seen the lie spouted by many arakanese people and bodo people, whoa re you kidding? You'se are the ones who are violently attacking the bengali people. Why are the death tools always bengalis? You say they paint the muslims as the victims....well they are in this situation. The bodos are violent perepetrators and violetnt tribal people. Guess what bengalis were in that land fro t least a thousand years while these tribes came from Thailand a few hundred years ago so how dare you talk about it being your land? It is everyone's land and you'se just dont like Islam.

An earlier commenter talked about Islam wiping out many cultures, that's a load of rubbish. Christianity has done much more of that and Hindus are always persecuting muslims in India. You proved your racism by saying theyre forming muslim organisations, so what?! hindu organisations can be formed, so dont be a hypocrite. If you dont like these muslim minorities then you should give all that ladn to Bangladesh otherwise treat them right!
Sam
9 months ago
Is this website for Catholics or muslims??Why are you not highlighting that majority of bodos are Christians and its muslims who are killing and throwing them out from Assam? Read other news items also on how muslims are threatening Christians and Hindus in various parts of India and now all Christians from NE are fleeing back to NE.
Jorge
9 months ago
This article is biased and deceptive because it places muslims as victims, when in fact, they were, are and will continue being the most ruthless, agressive, intolerant, violent criminals and mass-murderers EVER.muslims have been kinning hundreds of millions of non-muslims and even amongst each other alike, like it it's nothing, and keep getting away with this satanical genocide unimpeded.Entire nations, cultures, civilizations have been violently wiped out with jihad, invasion, deceit for 1400 years, and almost no one wants to talk about it, out of fear of seeing muslims have their "feelings hurt" and becoming violent,threatening and killing any one who dares to confront their evil islamic ideoloigy that propells them to do such horrible acts of violence. muslims have the nerve to always blame their victims for their own misfortunes and agressions. theis indian situation is again the proof. in this case muslim mobs started the violence and the killings, but this article only reports the part in which truly victimised hindus responded violently, in self-defence against theses dangerous invaders of their lands. hindus cannot have their economies affected by this massive muslim infiltration that is stealing their money, land and freedoms and being wiped out quietly and silently.they have the right to fight back, violetly if necessary. didn'tn we catholics fought back endless waves of muslim jihadis invasions of our lands in europe? of course we did and we should be damn proud of it!
simon
10 months ago
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/After-Bangalore-Northeast-people-flee-Mysore-Mangalore/articleshow/15528281.cms

I am from goa which is on the West Coast Of India

I have to say that people from the North East of India have fled karnataka as they fear that they will be attcked in retaliation for what is going on in Assam
in Goa too there is a movement with the sanction of the catholic church to prevent non goans from buying land in Goa
when muslims were targetted in goa by hindus the culprits escaped scot free
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-04-18/goa/31360877_1_unlawful-assembly-riots-prosecution
Ash
10 months ago
What would you do if intruders came into your house, threaten your life and start killing your family members? would you just watch them being butchered? would you not even try to save them? This is what happened in Assam, India. Bangladeshis have been infiltrating Assam through porous border for many decades now. Everyday around 6,000 illegal infiltrators cross the border and enter the state. The demography of Assam has completely changed in all these years. Muslims constitute now 33% of the Assam population, after Kashmir it is the second largest muslim population in India. They serve as the vote bank for the political parties. They have formed muslim organizations like Muslim Security Council of Assam, United Liberation Militia of Assam, Islamic Liberation Army of Assam, Muslim Volunteer Force, Muslim Liberation Army, Muslim Security Force, Islamic Sevak Sanng and Islamic United Reformation Protest of India, Revolutionary Muslim Commandos, Muslim Tiger Force, Muslim Liberation Front, Muslim Liberation Tigers of Assam, Muslim United Liberation Front of Assam and Muslim United Liberation Tigers of Assam. Some of this organizations are believed to have external links, some are engaged in militant activities.
Jacob MO
10 months ago
It is a painful act and the circulation that you have published above.
Please note that the Bangladeshi Muslims are migrating since Britishers period... Now the countries have become 2 and should be treated as one.
The Bodos are the indigenous people of the land. The Britishers time the land has been marked as Tribal Belt and Tribal Blocks. The Muslim population is encroaching the lands of the Bodos and even the Reserved Forests....

I would like to ask the writer - What will be your reaction, if your land is being encroached day by day by foreigners ???? You will smile and say ... PLEASE COME ....

I would request you kindly to get the correct information before publishing such provoking news - that NDFB is behind the killings of Muslims in Assam...... "" And this remark that you have published is 100 % WRONG...

regards

Jacob
Mary
10 months ago
I am a Catholic and a Bodo from Assam India. I came across this article and I am totally disappointed with the head line and the contents of the article. It is wrong to say that bodo separatists had attacked the muslims. The present situation in assam started after four bodo boys were mercilessly butchered by illegal bangladeshi muslim immigrants. they then killed three more bodo men and then came in numbers to attack the bodo villages. they torched down numbers of houses. to protect themselves bodos had to fight back. I don't justify what happened in Assam. But it is completely wrong to say that bodo separatists were the ones to attack just so that they can have majority in Bodoland Territorial Council. The Bodos are the indigenous tribe of assam, who are now minorities in their own land. Bangladeshis might be migrating to other countries but i am sure not in millions as is in the case of North East India. it is not only assam that is being affected by the illegal infiltration of bangladeshis, but the whole of North Eastern States of India. we have no problem if they are peace loving people. The situation in assam and north east india is very complex. so please before publishing anything, just get the facts right.
gopi
10 months ago
only soultion is convertion . Convert all muslims and hindu tribes to chiritianity. True Chiritian love his negibours and his country.

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