PUCL condemns the efforts at silencing civil society voices endeavouring to bring attention to the unconstitutional evictions and detentions in Assam

New Delhi- The PUCL condemns the concerted attempts to silence civil society voices that are attempting to cast light on the Assam government's unconstitutional evictions and detentions targeting Bengali-speaking Muslims. On 24th August, 2025, Syeda Hameed, a member of the 'People's Tribunal on Assam: Evictions, Detentions and the Right to Belong', participated in a meeting in Guwahati which was hosted by several civil society groups which was chaired by Ajit Bhuyan. Following the meeting, while addressing the press, out of humanitarian concern, she made remarks on the common humanity of Bangladeshis who too deserve the right to life.

In the course of her remarks invoking a common humanity shared between all persons she also said that “If some Bangladeshis also live in Assam, then what is the problem?.” These seemingly innocuous remarks, envisaging a utopian vision of human existence outside the rigid boundaries of the nation state, were taken out of context and she was wrongly accused of stirring communal trouble in Assam. There were complaints filed against her in all sixteen districts in Assam, the complaints being initiated by the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP).

This invocation of the criminal law to clamp down on viewpoints which the state finds troublesome shows scant respect for the freedom of speech and expression. Surely, in a constitutional democracy (which our leaders like to claim is the world’s largest democracy), Ms. Hameed has a right to express her viewpoints, without being subjected to the harassment of criminal law! However, the attack on Syeda Hameed was not a one off incident but rather a part of a concerted effort to clamp down on any expression of dissent vis-a-vis the policy of unconstitutional evictions and detentions carried out by the Assam government.

This was made clear through the vigilante attack on the 'People's Tribunal on Assam: Evictions, Detentions and the Right to Belong' which was held in Delhi on the 26thof August, 2025. This discussion was hosted by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) and Karwan-e-Mohabbat, who had jointly convened the public tribunal. The tribunal looked at how Assam was going through a surge in state-led evictions and targeted harassment against Bengali-speaking Muslim families.

The event was disrupted by a mob with aggressive and communal sloganeering, including the dehumanizing and inflammatory "Desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maro salon ko", as well as other aggressive slogans. The attack happened in full media glare and the attackers were led by Vishnu Gupta of the Hindu Sena and Chaudhary Parvez Alam Baliyan. These men have a track record of trying to disturb communal harmony. Vishnu Gupta has attacked well known lawyer Prashant Bhushan, and has also moved a civil petition against the Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Dargah under the Places of Worship Act, challenging its status as a dargah and asserting that it was a Shivalaya. Parwez Baliyan is a BJP member who is seen in photos with Himanta Biswa Sarma, tweeted by the Chief Minister himself.

The aim of the disruption was to deny even the right to place the suffering imposed upon those evicted and detained outside the due process of law before the wider public. The importance of civil society efforts such as the Tribunal on Assam become even more significant when seen against the backdrop of the systematic efforts of the Assam government to stifle independent media voices.

However it is to be noted that despite the disruption, the participants and audience continued with the hearing, demonstrating a constitutional commitment to protecting the freedom of speech and expression, in the face of lawless vigilante action. These attacks are part of a wider clampdown on independent media voices by the Assam government.

The FIR filed by the Assam Police against Siddharth Varadarajan and Karan Thapar of The Wire for reportage on Operation Sindoor and another one against journalist Abhisar Sharma of Assam, for criticising the state’s policies both under Section 152 of the BNS, shows the attempt to cow down the media through threat of criminal prosecution. The arrests have had a chilling effect on the freedom of the press, with not many willing to risk an FIR for putting out news or views which is critical of the Assam government or the Union Government. The Assam Police is acting outside the framework of the constitutional mandate to respect the right to speech and expression as embodied in Article 19(1)(a) and making a mockery of the idea of India as a Constitutional democracy where people have a right to criticise the government.

Demands:

1. All prosecution against Syeda Hameed for her constitutionally protected speech be withdrawn

2. An FIR be registered against all those who disrupted the proceedings of the Tribunal which included Vishnu Gupta of the Hindu Sena and Chaudhary Parvez Alam Baliyan.

3. Assam Police must act in a constitutionally compliant manner and altogether cease from invoking Article 152 of the BNS to target speech which is critical of the state.

4. The state must ensure that the right to speech and assembly as guaranteed by the Constitution is protected by the Assam government

5. Section 152 of the BNS which is the sedition law in a new avatar must be repealed by the Union Government