Thousands flee violence in India's Assam, 17 killed

[CrYsIs]

At least 17 people, including a six-month-old child, were killed and many wounded in fighting between indigenous tribes and Muslim settlers at the weekend in India's northeastern Assam state, police said on Monday.
Authorities imposed a night-time curfew to prevent more violence and federal troops moved into remote areas to deal with threats of more violence.
About 50,000 villagers fled their homes and took shelter in relief camps out of fear, said Donald Gilfellon, a senior civil servant in the Kokrajhar district, adding that 37 camps were set up to help the refugees and more would be opened if needed.
Sparking the clashes, unidentified men killed four youths on Friday night in the state's Bodo tribe dominated Kokrajhar district, police and district officials said. In retaliation, armed Bodos attacked Muslims, suspecting them to be behind the killings.
Ringed by China, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan, India's northeast is home to more than 200 ethnic and tribal groups and has been racked by separatist revolts since India's independence from Britain in 1947.
Strong anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiment against Bangladeshi settlers has emerged among Hindu and Christian tribes in recent years.

http://news.yahoo.com/thousands-flee...32.html?_esi=1

[CrYsIs]

a little background:-

india's north east region consists of 8 states connected to rest of india by a thin 25 km siliguri corridor known as chickens neck.Assam is the largest.The states have been plagued by insurgency and ethnic conflict since india's independence.The reason for the conflict is the alienation due to racial,cultural and socio economic difference with the rest of india.In recent years violence has come down but tension still remains high.

Since 1970's there is a steady flow of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh which has changed the demographics of certain places resulting in muslim-non muslim conflict.

[Darklord]

Fresh incidents of arson in interior areas of Kokrajhar district were reported on Monday leading to shoot-at-sight orders, indefinite curfew and flag march by army even as the toll in the ethnic violence Assam rose to 21.

Police said four more bodies were recovered during the day from Kokrajhar district. Of the total 21 deaths, Kokrajhar accounted for 17 while neighbouring four persons died in Chirang district, to where the violence between minority immigrants and Bodo tribals spread.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-...e1-894680.aspx

[hulaku]

Death toll now stands at 32.

The Army has been called out and is conducting flag marches today.

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/as...ome-topstories

Thanks to the impotent psuedo-secular and pro-minorities (read Muslim) policies of successive Governments the situation has come to this. This will only get worse if the Government refuses to take action against the illegal migrants from Bangladesh.

[IconOfEvi]

Vote-appeasing politics is esp dangerous in India it seems, holy crap.

[twinblade]

The CM said this last night on national television:-

violence like this can easily spiral out of control. you cant just blame the govt.

Had this been a BJP government, the media would have gone total retard on this statement (you know because nothing pays better than Congress government in center paying for propaganda ads playing a 100 times a day on primetime during recession on every major left leaning news channel). The state government is downplaying the situation and the Jholawalas don't bother unless the 'minorities' are hurt. 170,000 people leaving their homes and flocking for camps is apparently not a major news for either of the Indian media surviving on government subsidies and advertisements.

[hulaku]

Had this been a BJP government, the media would have gone total retard on this statement (you know because nothing pays better than Congress government in center paying for propaganda ads playing a 100 times a day on primetime during recession on every major left leaning news channel). The state government is downplaying the situation and the Jholawalas don't bother unless the 'minorities' are hurt. 170,000 people leaving their homes and flocking for camps is apparently not a major news for either of the Indian media surviving on government subsidies and advertisements.

Obviously if BJP would have been in power this would have been portrayed as State sponsored violence against the poor illegal Muslim Bangladeshis who for years have been allowed to settle freely in Assam making it the state with the largest proportion of Muslims after J&K. The North East as it is a region beset with tribal and ethnic rivalries. Adding more illegal Muslim migrants into the equation is like adding Gas to the fire. There was a previous confrontation that they had with the Bodos, who themselves are disgruntled and want a separate state for themselves and their insurgency was quelled with great sacrifices. As the Army has been called in I hope now the situation will ease but the Army cannot be deployed there forever to keep peace.

I can already foresee another such crisis emerging in Nagaland where the "Mias" as the Muslims are called having been steadily increasing in numbers in areas like Dimapur. The Nagas, who are the most tempramental of all the North East people will not keep sitting idle for long and it is only a matter of time before a major confrontation takes place.

[twinblade]

The toll has risen to 38, more than a 100 villages have been burnt down, train services to the north east have been badly hit with 10,000 to 30,000 passengers stuck and bodo rebels have jumped into the fray against illegal migrants. This thing isn't getting over any time soon.

[hulaku]

The toll has risen to 38, more than a 100 villages have been burnt down, train services to the north east have been badly hit with 10,000 to 30,000 passengers stuck and bodo rebels have jumped into the fray against illegal migrants. This thing isn't getting over any time soon.

This well not end well knowing the Bodo rebels propensity for violence.

[Bharat]

Vote bank politics by vote hungry political parties have allowed the illegal BDs to settle down and thus changing the demography and upsetting the natives!

this was in the making since BDs were not sent back after the creation of Bangladesh in 1971!

[IconOfEvi]

Hopefully they dont rile up the Naga too...you dont **** with people who name themselves after titanic snake people O_o

[Darklord]

Did Army let down Assam when it was needed most?

If they go out of barracks, its coup. If they wait for orders, it is inaction. Frankly what does the media expect from the army?

[CrYsIs]

Did Army let down Assam when it was needed most?

If they go out of barracks, its coup. If they wait for orders, it is inaction. Frankly what does the media expect from the army?

now blaming army for a political crisis.This was a volcano waiting to explode and the govt did not even pay a heed to it and now the blame is being put upon an easy scapegoat ie the army.

[Darklord]

Soldier memorial desecrated, police guns stolen, women cops molested, during Mumbai violence

Mumbai: 24 people have been arrested in Mumbai for Saturday's violence near Azad Maidan. Two people were killed and 55 others were injured after a protest over ethnic clashes in Assam turned violent there. Investigation is now on to determine if the violence was planned and the protesters were armed.

http://www.ndtv.com/article/cheat-sh...iolence-253939

[Darklord]