ET BureauSADIYA | TINSUKIA (ASSAM): The Hindi-speaking community in Assam, which has borne the brunt of insurgency, is yearning for recognition — that it is part of the larger Assamese society, and not an outsider.
With assembly elections in the state just around the corner, the spotlight is on the community as it is crucial to the fate of several constituencies in upper Assam and in a couple of assembly constituencies in central Assam and Barak Valley. The Hindispeaking community, mostly migrant traders and daily wage earners from Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, has propelled the growth of BJP in Assam.
Several organisations feel that these people aren’t properly represented in the state, and both the Congress and BJP are keen to win them over. The ruling Congress, for instance, has announced a Hindi-speaking development council, but this hasn’t gone down well with many organisations.
As insurgent attacks on this community intensified since the nineties, they started moving towards the BJP.
However, the Congress is gradually trying to win back these people and is likely to get a slice of the Hindispeaking votes in the 2016 assembly elections. Munna Shah, treasurer of Doom Dooma unit, All Assam Bhojpuri Yuva Chattra Parishad (AABYCP), told ET: “We welcome the development council, but it is too little, too late. We were also demanding Bhojpuri development council, which is yet to happen.”
“The Hindi-speaking community has been used as a political tool by both the Congress and BJP, but still we are branded as outsiders and foreigners. The situation of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh is better than us. Government jobs are elusive to us. There was a time when the BJP was known as Bhojpuri Janta Party,” said Jitendra Shah, Tinsukia district general secretary of AABYCP.
He said that the Congress has given tickets to four or five candidates from the Hindispeaking community, while the BJP has given two-three, but adequate representation is not given despite the fact that it is contributing to development in several constituencies.
With assembly elections in the state just around the corner, the spotlight is on the community as it is crucial to the fate of several constituencies in upper Assam and in a couple of assembly constituencies in central Assam and Barak Valley. The Hindispeaking community, mostly migrant traders and daily wage earners from Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, has propelled the growth of BJP in Assam.
Several organisations feel that these people aren’t properly represented in the state, and both the Congress and BJP are keen to win them over. The ruling Congress, for instance, has announced a Hindi-speaking development council, but this hasn’t gone down well with many organisations.
As insurgent attacks on this community intensified since the nineties, they started moving towards the BJP.
However, the Congress is gradually trying to win back these people and is likely to get a slice of the Hindispeaking votes in the 2016 assembly elections. Munna Shah, treasurer of Doom Dooma unit, All Assam Bhojpuri Yuva Chattra Parishad (AABYCP), told ET: “We welcome the development council, but it is too little, too late. We were also demanding Bhojpuri development council, which is yet to happen.”
“The Hindi-speaking community has been used as a political tool by both the Congress and BJP, but still we are branded as outsiders and foreigners. The situation of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh is better than us. Government jobs are elusive to us. There was a time when the BJP was known as Bhojpuri Janta Party,” said Jitendra Shah, Tinsukia district general secretary of AABYCP.
He said that the Congress has given tickets to four or five candidates from the Hindispeaking community, while the BJP has given two-three, but adequate representation is not given despite the fact that it is contributing to development in several constituencies.
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