Muslims from BTAD staging a protest at Jantar Mantar on Tuesday. Photo: Meeta Ahlawat
Muslims from the violence-affected areas of Bodoland
Territorial Areas District (BTAD) staged a protest against the “reign of
terror unleashed by Bodos and overlooked by the Congress-led Assam
Government” at Jantar Mantar here on Tuesday.
Some
of the protesters belonged to the areas where 31 Muslims were gunned
down by militants last month. They came under the aegis of the All BTC
Minority Students Union to demand a secure environment for the
non-Bodos, especially Muslims, living in BTAD.
The
militant groups as well as many Bodos label all Muslims in the region as
Bangladeshi immigrants and have been demanding their ouster.
“My
family has been living in Assam much before I or many others, who label
us outsiders, were born. But today we find ourselves in a situation
where the language we speak (Bangla) has become a tool for the Bodos to
identify and persecute us. The State government has failed to protect us
and that is what brings us here,” said 55-year-old Umar Farooq, one of
the protesters.
ABMSU members said that they had
lost hope of getting any help from the State government and had come to
Delhi to knock at the doors of the Centre. They alleged both the
Congress and representatives from the Bodoland Territorial Council of
playing politics with their safety.
