Why a nativist group is targeting Muslims in Arunachal Pradesh

On November 22, members of a little-known nativist group arrived at one of the oldest mosques in Arunachal Pradesh, a modest two-storied structure in Itanagar.

The men, belonging to the Arunachal Pradesh Indigenous Youth Organization, demanded to see documentary proof that the Itanagar Jama Masjid, built in 1979 on land donated by a tribal resident, was a legal construction. They were led by their president Taro Sonam Liyak.

A mosque official, who is from Assam, told Scroll that he did not give in to their demands. “I did not show them any documents despite the threats and intimidation,” he said. “Why should I? Who are they?”

But the refusal led to violence. “They called me Bangladeshi and kicked the caretaker of the masjid.” The mosque officials have filed written complaints with the police, asking for the registration of a first information report.

The Itanagar Jama Masjid was not the sole target.

A member of the staff of another Naharlagun mosque, Capital Jama Masjid, told Scroll that the group turned up at their premises on November 15. “They intimidated us for over an hour,” he told Scroll, asking that he not be identified. “The police were there but they didn't stop them,” he said.

A senior official of the masjid committee told Scroll that the mob damaged and vandalised the wazookhana, where ablutions are carried out before prayers, and broke taps. The mosque was built in 2009 at the initiative of Bengali Muslims, but is administered by a group of tribal Muslims.

Prayers are held in a makeshift tin shed, while the main mosque building is under construction. But APIYO vigilantes accused the mosque officials of building the structure without permission.

Five days later, Naharlagun authorities sealed the mosque, arguing that it was built without a legal permit from Itanagar Planning Authority or the town planning department.

Since October, the Arunachal Pradesh Indigenous Youth Organization has carried out a series of raids on mosques in the Itanagar Capital Region, comprising the two cities of Naharlagun and Itanagar.

Led by the outfit's head Liyak, they have visited mosques, demanded to see documents, called the mosque officials Bangladeshis, demanded that they say “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and threatened to shut down the places of worship. All of this has been streamed on social media. On December 9, a bandh called by APIYO against “illegal mosques” led to Itanagar and Naharlagun shutting down.

Since the organisation began its raids, two of the eight mosques in the Itanagar Capital Region have been sealed.

The Masjid Welfare Committee of the region has written to the Bharatiya Janata Party led-state government, asking for action against the group and objecting to their harassment.

A senior member of the committee, who is a tribal Muslim, refuted that the mosques were illegal. “In some cases, documents like the construction permit might be missing,” he said. “But the land on which the mosques were built was given by the local people and they have given the permission.”

He added: “There are numerous unauthorised temples and churches in the state built without permission. But mosques are being specifically targeted.”

Police officials and mosque leaders Scroll said the anti-Muslim campaign was triggered by eviction drives against Bengali-origin Muslims in Assam, and the growing fear that the displaced “illegal immigrants” were taking over economic activity in the state.

Arunachal Pradesh has a minuscule Muslim population. According to the 2011 Census, only 27,045 residents or 1.95 % of the state's population follow Islam.

Several mosques in Arunachal Pradesh were built on the initiative of Bengali Muslims from Assam, who work here as businessmen or labourers.

Many Muslims from Bihar and Assam's Lakhimpur district, which shares a border with Arunachal Pradesh, have been trading in the state for decades. “Muslims have been doing business here since Independence,” said a 53-year-old Muslim shopkeeper, who set up business in Itanagar in 2004.

Many construction workers for Arunachal's infrastructure projects come from Lakhimpur as well. “Over the years, the number of migrants have increased with the construction of roads, dams and buildings increasing,” the shopkeeper said.

Observers said the nativist group has been successful in feeding the anxiety about the growing presence of Muslim migrants in the state.

The outfit's president Liyak told Scroll: “The migrants dominate in every sector, from construction to market and business. And then we see the mushrooming of mosques in the capital. So, we were alarmed.”

He said the organisation decided to raid the mosques to see if they had permissions. “We found that they were violating the government norms,” he said. “The mosques give shelter to both legal and illegal migrants.”

Senior police officials put the number of migrant Bengali Muslims, mostly workers and businessmen, at around 13,000 – an estimate that the APIYO agrees on.

Tapor Maying, the general secretary of APIYO, said they “do not want” any mosques in the Itanagar Capital Region. “At the most, we are okay if the authorities give permission to two mosques only,” he said.

Both Maying and Liyak claimed that the Muslim community was involved in the narcotics trade. “Because of them, the crime rate is increasing,” Liyak alleged.

The APIYO has also been successful in drumming up fears by linking the presence of Bengali Muslims to evictions in Assam, police officials and observers said.

Since June, Assam has demolished homes of over 60,000 Bengali Muslim families, who were living on government land. “The local Arunachali people have genuine fears that those being chased away by evictions and demolitions in Assam may enter the state,” said T Amo, Itanagar deputy inspector general of police.

A leading Muslim representative from Itanagar, who does not want to be named because of fear of repercussions, told Scroll, “There has been no clarification from the Assam government that those who are being evicted during demolition drives are genuine Indians, not Bangladeshis.”

A large number of tribal people, he said, believe that the evicted “illegal immigrants” are moving to Arunachal.

Tapor Maying, the general secretary of APIYO, told Scroll: “Himanta Biswa Sarma is chasing illegal immigrants while our chief minister (Pema Khandu) is letting them come here.”

However, Amo, the senior police official, no illegal migrants or Bangladeshis have been detected in the state this year.

Arunachal Pradesh regulates the entry of “outsiders” to the state through the colonial-era Inner Line Permit system. An inner line permit is an official document issued by the government without which Indian citizens cannot visit or travel the state.

“Some ILP violators were caught and sent back,” Amo said.

Chukhu Apa, Inspector-General of Police, told reporters recently that since January, 8,936 ILP violators have been detected, “out of which 7,351 have been externed”.

The inner line permit is meant to protect the state from extensive migration, which could endanger the identity and heritage of the state's 26 major tribes and over 100 sub-tribes. It denies voting and land rights to migrants, whether Muslims or Hindus.

Observers pointed out that the group has been able to tap into the widespread anxiety about the growing presence of migrants. “People rely on migrants but when workers or businessmen move in with their families even if they have individual permits, it triggers a deep resentment,” said journalist Tongam Rina of Arunachal Times.

An Itanagar-based political scientist, who teaches at Rajiv Gandhi University, said the APIYO is taking “advantage of the sentiment of the indigenous people”, who believe “that there are too many illegal migrants in the state but the government is not doing anything”.

Others blamed the surge in anti-Muslim rhetoric and sentiment to an old Hindutva project in Arunachal Pradesh. Ebo Mili, a human rights lawyer based in Itanagar, said the people of state are being “influenced by the anti-Muslim hate orchestrated by the RSS-BJP”.

The APIYO's drive has the support of the Indigenous Faiths and Cultural Society of Arunachal Pradesh or IFCSAP, an influential group backed by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

Pai Dawe, vice president of the society, told Scroll that the “threat” posed by Muslim migrants is the “most pertinent” issue of the state. He alleged that Muslim workers, by agreeing to low wages, now dominate construction jobs and corner all economic opportunities. He accused them of “capturing” markets by opening shops and businesses.

“It threatens the very existence of the indigenous people,” Dawe said.

Bengia Ajum, a senior journalist in Itanagar, explained that the “RSS has been active in the state for a very long time, and has made deep inroads into the everyday lives of tribal people”.

The “targeting of Muslims and mosques” is a fallout of the spread of their ideology and shows that “their project has now moved to the next stage.”

Source: Scroll
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