Hindu-Muslim Bengalis of Barak Valley are aboriginals of Assam: Sushmita Dev 

Silchar, April 23: Rajya Sabha MP and frontline Trinamool Congress leader Sushmita Dev claimed on Monday that the Bengalis of Barak Valley, including the Hindus and Muslims, have been aboriginally residing in southern Assam since 1874 and hence must be considered khilonjia (indigenous) residents of the state.

Talking to the media at her residence, Dev took a jibe at the BJP-led government in the state and criticised Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, saying, “The BJP government recognised five Muslim communities as the ‘bhumiputras’ of Assam.”

In her words, this step by the government has raised questions about the status of other communities in terms of government jobs and the purchase of land, of which the people of Barak Valley are being deprived.

“Since 1874, when Assam State was formed, the people of Barak Valley were residing in the state and Goalpara and Sylhet were part of the newly formed state. When India gained freedom and a part of the Sylhet district went into Pakistan, many people decided to cross over and stay in Assam, which means people from Barak Valley had moved from one part of Assam to another and certainly not from any foreign country. We were residing in Assam during both pre and post-independence and hence Bengalis over here cannot be tagged as migrants by any stretch of imagination,” the Rajya Sabha MP claimed, referring to the families of the late Arun Kumar Chanda, Ramani Mohan Das and Abdul Muktadir Chouhdury, and many other Bengali families who were residents of Barak Valley before the partition of the country.

Demanding a clear definition of khilonjia, Dev said, “The Government must define the term khilonjia and recognise Bengalis of Barak Valley, both Hindu and Muslim, as khilonjias of Assam. If it fails to do so, I will approach the Supreme Court of India after the Lok Sabha elections in this regard.”