AASU alleged attack on Chakmas in Arunachal, CDFI condemns

New Delhi: In response to a recent joint press conference held by the All Arunachal Pradesh Students Union and the All Assam Students Union (AASU), the Chakma Development Foundation of India (CDFI) on Sunday strongly condemned the AASU for allegedly targetting the Chakma tribe in Arunachal Pradesh.

During the joint press conference, Dr. Samujjal Bhattacharya, Advisor of AASU, expressed support for the deportation of what they termed “illegal immigrant Chakmas” from the state.

Bhattacharya said, “The All Assam Students Union is extending full support to All Arunachal Pradesh Students Union for deportation of all illegal immigrant Chakmas from the soil of Arunachal Pradesh.”

CDFI founder Suhas Chakma refuted the claim that Chakmas are “illegal immigrants” in Arunachal Pradesh.

“About 14,000 Chakmas and Hajongs were settled in the then North Eastern Frontier Agency (NEFA) during 1964-1969 by the Union of India, with the definite plan for their permanent settlement under a scheme that provided lands for each family,” he said.

Drawing attention to a concerning issue, Chakma pointed out that despite two judgments by the Supreme Court of India in 1996 to process citizenship applications from the Chakma and Hajong communities, no applications have been processed to date.

He urged the AASU to focus on upholding the rule of law instead of singling out a specific tribal community.

The CDFI founder emphasised that the population of Chakmas and Hajongs currently stands at approximately 65,000, with a population growth rate lower than that of other communities in the state.

He argued that if there are indeed illegal immigrants in Arunachal Pradesh, they should not be linked to any particular community.

He further said, “To target the Chakmas as illegal immigrants is nothing but xenophobia which is burning the northeastern region. It appears that the lessons of the riots in Manipur are not being learnt.”