All Assam Students' Union or AASU is a Assamese nationalist students' organisation in
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. It is best known for leading the six-year
Assam Movement
The Assam Movement (also Anti-Foreigners Agitation) (1979–1985) was a popular uprising in Assam, India, that demanded the Government of India to detect, disenfranchise and deport illegal aliens. Led by All Assam Students Union (AASU) and All ...
against
Bengalis
Bengalis (singular Bengali bn, বাঙ্গালী/বাঙালি ), also rendered as Bangalee or the Bengali people, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the ...
of both Indian and Bangladeshi origin living in Assam. The leadership, after the historic
Assam Accord
The Assam Accord was a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) signed between representatives of the Government of India and the leaders of the Assam Movement. It was signed in the presence of the then-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in New Delhi on 15 Au ...
of 1985,
History
In 1940, a student union named ''Asom Chattra Sanmilan'' (Assam Students' Association) divided into the All Assam Student Federation and the All Assam Students' Congress. A decade later the two recombined as the All Assam Students' Association, which was later renamed All Assam Students' Union in January 1967.
In August 1967, the Union "established itself as a formal organisation and adopted its Constitution".
Assam agitation
AASU began intensifying the agitational programme against inclusion of illegal immigrants in the voter list and started facilitating the participation of all section of people. As part of the preparations for the
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...
election, the Chief Electoral Officer
EChad asked Assam to include all names from the earlier voter list in the draft electoral roll. AASU warned the political parties not to take part in the election unless the electoral rolls were revised and the names of illegal immigrants removed.
AASU formed the All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad in August 1979 consisting of AASU, Assam Sahitya Sabha, Purbanchaliya Lok Parishad. The Jatiyatabadi Dal, Asom Yubak Samaj and Young Lawyers Forum also joined the Gana Parisha later on. AASU started observing massive satyagraha on the lines of India freedom struggle. Thousands courted arrest daily. The movement continued for six years. It became violent at some point of time, massive in almost all the times during the six years. The most important part of the movement was that the movement got massive mass support from almost all segments of the society except from the ruling government and a few others who would benefit from illegal Bangladeshis' votes. AASU declared different times that the agitation was against all illegal foreigners irrespective of religion or community. AASU continuously had been informing the central government with direct communication to the Prime Minister that the influx from Bangladesh had posed serious threat to the existence of the indigenous people of the state of Assam and the entire North Eastern region and changed the demography of the region.
Assam Accord
Finally the central government signed the historic
Assam Accord
The Assam Accord was a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) signed between representatives of the Government of India and the leaders of the Assam Movement. It was signed in the presence of the then-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in New Delhi on 15 Au ...
in 1985 to resolve the matter. The agitation ended and AGP won the election to the state Legislative Assembly and its leader became the chief minister of the state.
Under the Assam Accord, a person who came to Assam from
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...
after 1951 and before 1971 was given citizenship. The Assam Accord stated in clause 6 that while giving citizenship to immigrants, constitutional protection will be given to original citizens of Assam.The
Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act, 1983 (IMDT Act) was enacted by the Parliament of India in 1983 . This Act was struck down by the Supreme Court of India in 2005.
Known as the IMDT Act (1983) it described the procedures to detect illegal immigrants (from Bangladesh) and expel them from Assam. The Act was pushed through mainly on the grounds that it provided special protections against undue harassment to the "minorities" that were affected by the Assam Agitation. It was applicable to state of Assam only whereas in other states, detection of foreigners is done under
The Foreigners Act, 1946
The Foreigners Act, 1946 is an Act of Parliament, Act of the Imperial Legislative Assembly enacted to grant the certain powers to the Interim Government of India in matters of Alien (law), foreigners in India. The Act was enacted before India bec ...
.
Citizenship Amendment Bill
The students' union stated that it opposes the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill stating that it is unconstitutional.
The Lok Sabha on 9th Dec 2019 passed the bill for Citizenship (Amendment) 2019 with 311 votes in favour and 80 against. The
Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...
on 11th Dec 2019 passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, with 125 votes in favour and 99 against.
Following the passage of the bill and as a result of its stir against it, the students' union (AASU) and Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) came together to launch a new regional political party, Assam Jaitya Parishad in September 2020 to contest the
2021 Assam Legislative Assembly election
The 2021 Assam Legislative Assembly election was the 15th quinquennial State legislative assemblies of India, legislative assembly election held in the Indian state of Assam from March 27 to April 6 in three phases, to elect 126 Member of the L ...
.
See also
*
Asom Sena
Asom Sena ( Assamese অসম সেনা, English the soldiers of Assam) is a youth wing of All Assam Students Union in Assam. It was formed in Barpeta on December 8, 2005 with the Shiv Sena as its role model for the cause of social justice and ...
*
All Assam Gorkha Student Union
All or ALL may refer to:
Language
* All, an indefinite pronoun in English
* All, one of the English determiners
* Allar language (ISO 639-3 code)
* Allative case (abbreviated ALL)
Music
* All (band), an American punk rock band
* ''All'' (All a ...
*
Assamese Language Movement
The Assamese Language Movement () refers to a series of political activities demanding the recognition of the Assamese Language as the only sole official language and medium of instruction in the educational institutions of Assam, India.
The st ...
*
Assam Movement
The Assam Movement (also Anti-Foreigners Agitation) (1979–1985) was a popular uprising in Assam, India, that demanded the Government of India to detect, disenfranchise and deport illegal aliens. Led by All Assam Students Union (AASU) and All ...
*
Citizenship Amendment Act
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 was passed by the Parliament of India on 11 December 2019. It amended the Indian nationality law, Citizenship Act, 1955 by providing a pathway to Indian citizenship for Religious persecution, persecuted rel ...
References
External links
*{{Official website, https://www.aasu.com
/
*Samujjal Bhattacharya to continue a
AASU chief adviser www.aasu.co.in.
1967 establishments in Assam
Asom Gana Parishad
Organisations based in Assam
Student organizations established in 1967
Students' unions in India
Volunteer organisations in India