Assam demolishes homes of 132 Bengali Muslim families who were displaced in 1983 riots

The authorities in Assam’s Lakhimpur on Friday demolished the homes of 132 Bengali Muslim families who had been living on a plot of government land in Boginadi since being displaced in 1983 amid statewide riots.

The families alleged that the authorities had targeted “Muslim homes” as their Hindu neighbours were not evicted.

The riots in the state had erupted at the peak of the Assam Movement, which was launched in 1979 to identify and deport undocumented immigrants. The movement, which went on till 1985, had been led by the All Assam Students’ Union and was often directed against Bengali-speaking Hindus and Muslims, who were accused of being “Bangladeshis”.

Tensions had peaked around February 1983 when the Union government announced Assembly elections in Assam despite opposition from the leadership of the All Assam Students’ Union and All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad.

In the aftermath, thousands had been displaced across the Brahmaputra valley.

Azizur Rahman, a leader of Raijor Dal, told Scroll that the homes that were demolished on Friday stood on nearly 9.9 acres of the 622.4 acres of the professional grazing land under Kadam revenue circle in Lakhimpur.

“The Assam government had settled the Bengali Muslim residents on this land after they were displaced in 1983,” said Rahman. “They built roads and schools in the...

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