Rickshaw pullers, labourers go missing in Assam:- Guwahati | May 20, 2005 2:43:42 PM IST Guwahati, May 20 : Until just the other day, streets across Assam were crowded with cycle rickshaws and there was no dearth of workers for construction companies and road contractors.
But today commuters in many Assamese cities and towns are stranded with rickshaw pullers doing the vanishing trick, while contractors find their regular workforce virtually missing from their sites. The sudden disappearance of rickshaw pullers and other workers is a direct fallout of the recent controversy in Assam over hounding of illegal Bangladeshi migrants from the state. "Until Wednesday we had up to a hundred workers, but all of sudden we find that the entire workforce has simply vanished. We do not know where they disappeared," said Mukul Das, a road contractor. Thousands of Bengali speaking workers were engaged by local contractors in brick kilns, road and building construction works. A large number also pulled rickshaws. While some say these workers are illegal Bangladeshi migrants, others dismiss such charges. "Just because they speak the Bengali language, practice a particular religious faith, and resemble Bangladeshis, you cannot dub them as foreigners," said Chandan Sarkar, a ruling Congress party legislator in Assam. During the past fortnight, thousands of Bengali speaking workers have been fleeing several cities after an unidentified group began distributing leaflets asking them to leave or face action. The group has been sending messages through mobile telephones and distributing fliers asking locals not to employ "illegal foreigners". "I have met people who had fled their workplaces out of fear and panic. But many of them that I met were genuine Indian citizens that I had known since decades," another Congress party leader said. The issue has taken a political turn with the Assam government accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of trying to foment communal riots in the state. The issue assumes immense political ramifications in a state where minority Muslim votes have always been the deciding factor in any state elections. Muslims account for about 30 percent of Assam's 26 million people. With assembly elections scheduled for early next year, the Congress party is trying its best to keep its traditional Muslim vote bank intact by taking a strident posture on the issue. "We do not want any foreigners in our state, but we cannot allow anybody to take law in their hands to detect and deport illegal Bangladeshis," Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi told IANS. Assam shares a 272 km border with Bangladesh, a vast stretch remaining unfenced with allegations that large-scale infiltration from across the border was threatening the region's demographic profile. Dhaka denies charges of illegal infiltration of their citizens into India. (IANS) _______________________________________________ Assam mailing list Assam@pikespeak.uccs.edu http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/listinfo/assam Mailing list FAQ: http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/assam/assam-faq.html To unsubscribe or change options: http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/options/assam
