The Outsiders

Year: 1991-2000
Targets: Biharis, Marwaris

In 1991-2000, the ULFA launched an anti-Hindi-speaking campaign, killing over 200 Biharis and Marwaris. ULFA attacks on Hindi migrants, especially brick kiln workers and farm hands, is said to be at h behest of the ISI of Pakistan in order to create space for the Bangladeshi Muslim infiltrator.

Year: 2003/ 2006
Targets: Biharis

Two bouts of anti-Bihari violence in November 2003 and January 2006 left 50 and 100 people dead, respectively. The first was triggered when people from Bihar arrived for interviews to fill vacancies in the Northeast Frontier Railways and the AASU protested stridently. The ULFA instigated the attack on Biharis in the Upper Assam region. A number of houses of Bihari migrants were burnt down. The second round occurred with the ULFA killing over 100 people.

Year: 2007
Targets: Biharis

Nearly 30 Bihari agricultural labourers in the Karbi Anglong hill district were gunned down by the Karbi Longri National Liberation Front, a tribal outfit, in August 2007. At least 100 houses were burnt down.

Meghalaya
Year: 1987
Targets: Biharis, Nepalis

There were several rounds of “anti-outsider” movements. The first violent protests took place in 1987 when Biharis and Nepalis were attacked by the local tribal communities, especially the Khasis of the Khasi Hills region, who felt they were usurping the economic opportunities. Thousands were forced to flee.

Year: 1992
Targets: Nepalis

The “anti-outsider” movement was revived as a students’ democratic movement, which was soon taken over by miscreants. Over 15,000 Nepalis had to flee.

Nagaland
Year: 2004/2007
Targets: Bangladeshis

In July last year, the Naga Students’ Federation served notices on suspected Bangladeshi migrants to quit the state and over 5,000 suspected migrants were pushed into Assam.The NSF served notices in 2004 too, while two chief ministers, S.C. Jamir and Neiphiu Rio, blamed Assam for issuing citizenship documents to Bangladeshis with which they entered Nagaland.

Arunachal Pradesh
Year: 1992
Targets: Chakma, Hajong refugees

The All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) launched the “anti-outsider” movement in 1992 to oust the Chakma and Hajong refugees (settled by the Centre in AP in 1968 after being ousted from East Pakistan). These refugees have grown from 20,000 in 1968 to 70,000 now, with the original Arunachali tribals believing that they will soon outnumber them.

Year: 2007
Targets: Bangladeshis

In July 2007, AP witnessed an anti-Bangladeshi movement with the AAPSU exhorting the state government to expel all suspected Bangladeshi migrants. The migrants were first served notices by the government and then driven out by the student community into Assam. This led to massive protests in Assam.

Manipur
Targets: Biharis, Marwaris, Bengalis

Manipur too has a history of hatred against outsiders, called Mayangs, and comprising Bihari labourers, Marwari traders and Bengali-speaking migrants. They are targeted from time to time by insurgent groups in the state.

Tripura
Year: 1980
Targets: Bengalis

The tribals of Tripura—down from 63 per cent of total population in 1947 to 28 per cent now—have led armed movements against Bengalis of East Bengal who migrated here. The worst was the massacre of 350 Bengalis at Mandai on June 5, 1980, followed by riots in which 1,000 Bengalis were killed. The Tripura National Volunteers led the attack. As per an estimate 6,000 Bengalis were killed in three decades.

Punjab
Year: 2004
Targets: People from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh

In November 2004, radical outfits like the Dal Khalsa resorted to a state-wide agitation protesting against the influx of migrants, essentially from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Hundreds of activists took to the streets in Ludhiana, demanding a migration policy to avoid a drain on the state economy. The protests continued for a few days and spread to Jalandhar. Such organisations have been adopting an anti-migrant stand in line with the party policy.

Karnataka
Year: 1960s
Targets: Tamils, Malayalees

In the early 1960s a pro-Kannada movement was launched by a local leader, Vatal Nagaraj, against people from Tamil Nadu and Kerala being employed in PSUs. A 1963 Tamil film depicting the humiliation of a local king at a Pallava court is said to have accentuated discontent. In 1982 the Sarojini Mahishi Committee Report recommended 100 per cent group D jobs in the state for Kannadigas and the government’s reluctance to implement it resulted in one of the biggest pro-Kannada agitations in the state. The late Kannada filmstar Rajkumar was at the helm of protests and five Tamils were killed.

Year: 1991/2000
Targets: Tamils

The dispute over sharing of the Cauvery river water with Tamil Nadu saw violence against Tamil migrants across the state, with as many as 23 people killed in police firing and mob violence. Property loss of nearly Rs 20 crore was reported. A brief spell of violence against Tamils was also witnessed in August 2000 following the kidnapping of Rajkumar in Tamil Nadu by forest brigand Veerappan.

Year: 2005/2008
Targets: Tamils

Protests in the northern parts have been connected to the border dispute with Maharashtra. A new pro-Kannada group, Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, dismissed as an extortionist group by the state police, tarred the faces of a Marathi mayor of Belgaum in 2005 after he demanded alignment of Belgaum with Maharashtra. The group has also led protests that began on January 3 this year against the alleged recruitment of people from Bihar in the South Western Railways. The KRV ransacked railway offices and threatened an intense strike forcing the railways to call off its recruitment process. It kicked off protests again in February, following Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav’s off-the-cuff remark that “dirty people” were protesting against recruitment.

Tamil Nadu
Year: 1965
Targets: North Indians

The anti-Hindi agitation saw a small-scale “anti-north Indian” rebellion, with “linguistic imposition and “feelings of neglect” seeing small Tamil groups staging protests in Chennai, particularly Sowcarpet, which has a concentration of north Indians.

Year: 1972
Targets: Malayalees

In 1972, actor M.G. Ramachandran (from Kerala) broke away from the DMK and launched the AIADMK. Rattled by his growing popularity, DMK president and then Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi labelled MGR an “alien”. Stray incidents of attacks on tea-shops owned by Malayalees were reported from some parts of the state. The violence lasted for a few days.

West Bengal
Year: 1980s-till date
Targets: Biharis

At railway stations one can see “artwork” on the yellow-and-black board: names written in Hindi and English are tarred, leaving only the Bengali version. This denotes the presence of Amra Bangali, a group that wants only those who speak Bengali and adapt Bengali ways to reside in what it calls “Bangali-stan”. Sparked off by the 1983 Assam movement, known as “Bongali Kheda” or “Drive away Bengalis” movement, Amra Bangali enjoyed a shortlived glory in the mid-80s. It is a frontal organization of the Ananda Marg and was set up by Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar. Today, it has been pushed to cyberspace and office in Shyambazar opens once a week.

Inputs by Samudra Gupta Kashyap, Bidyut Roy, Jaya Menon, Johnson TA, Gautam Dheer