Guwahati, Sep 4 The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) on Thursday held an 11-hour hunger strike across Assam, protesting what it described as “systematic demographic changes” threatening the identity and existence of indigenous communities in the state.
The protest, which began at 6 a.m., was organised simultaneously at all district headquarters, with the main sit-in staged at Dighalipukhuri in Guwahati.
Participants rejected the Centre’s latest immigration order and reiterated that Assam “will not accept any division of foreigners on religious lines.”
AASU leaders said the agitation centred around key demands - eviction of illegal immigrants irrespective of their religion, full implementation of the Assam Accord, sealing of the state’s international borders, and exemption of Assam from the provisions of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Utpal Sharma, one of the leaders spearheading the demonstration, accused the government of using “numerical strength to silence indigenous voices.”
He asserted, “Whether Hindu or Muslim, foreigners have no place in Assam. The Centre must ensure that Assam does not continue to bear the brunt of demographic pressure.”
Sharma further questioned the rationale behind the state government recently recognising five youths, who were killed during the anti-CAA movement, as martyrs.
“Were their sacrifices meant to legitimise granting citizenship to foreigners?” he asked. The student body also criticised what it termed as a “discriminatory approach,” pointing out that while four northeastern states and eight districts of Assam enjoy exemptions from certain immigration-related policies, the rest of Assam continues to face the consequences of unchecked migration.
Reiterating its long-standing opposition to the CAA and related laws, AASU said it would continue to resist policies “imposed without consulting the people of Assam.”
The organisation has demanded that the newly enacted Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, be scrapped in Assam, arguing that the state’s border realities require a separate policy framework.
The hunger strike comes against the backdrop of renewed political tensions over immigration, with AASU warning that failure to address indigenous concerns could trigger further unrest.
--IANS
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