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ISLAMABAD: A UN watchdog on racial discrimination has renewed scrutiny of India&rsquo;s treatment of Bengali-speaking Muslims in the Indian state of Assam, a long-running controversy rooted in citizenship verification and identity politics in India&rsquo;s northeast.&nbsp;The dispute centres on Assam&rsquo;s National Register of Citizens process, which&nbsp;has disproportionately targeted Bengali-speaking Muslims, leaving many at risk of exclusion, statelessness, or prolonged legal uncertainty.&nbsp;The Chair of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), Michal Balcerzak, in a Jan. 19 letter addressed to India&rsquo;s Permanent Representative in Geneva, Arindam Bagchi, said CERD was following up on its earlier communication of May 12, 2025, on the same issue.&nbsp;According to the letter, CERD acknowledged India&rsquo;s response and noted India&rsquo;s position on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 and the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules 2024, including the claim that the framework does not deprive eligible foreigners of the right to apply for citizenship through registration or naturalization.&nbsp;However, CERD said it regrets a lack of information on key allegations previously raised. These include claims of racial discrimination against Bengali-speaking Muslims during the NRC update and exclusion from the final list due to procedural irregularities, difficulty obtaining required documents, and stricter verification standards applied to people classified as &ldquo;non-original inhabitants,&rdquo; a term the committee said lacks a clear definition.&nbsp;The committee also cited allegations of systematic forced evictions without adequate housing or compensation, along with reports of rising hate speech and incitement to violence, and allegations of excessive use of force by law enforcement, causing recurrent killings and injuries, plus violent attacks by civilians or organized groups in mid-2024.&nbsp;CERD called on India to take &ldquo;all necessary measures&rdquo; to protect the community&rsquo;s rights and asked India to provide detailed information during its upcoming periodic reporting, including steps to prevent discriminatory nationality deprivation, halt forced evictions, combat hate speech online and offline, and investigate alleged lethal use of force.

India

A UN anti-racism committee told India its reply was incomplete, seeking details on alleged discrimination against Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam, including NRC exclusion, evictions, hate speech, and excessive force.

UN watchdog questions India on discrimination of Bengali Muslims in Assam

ISLAMABAD:&nbsp;More than half of India&rsquo;s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)&rsquo;s funds from four northeastern states came from those who won government contracts, according to an Indian media report.&nbsp;The report traces how the contractor-driven economy in Assam, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, and Manipur is helping fill the party&#39;s coffers, raising questions about the link between political funding and government tenders. In the two financial years 2022-24, the BJP collected Rs776.3 million in donations from companies and individuals in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Tripura.&nbsp; Of this, at least 54.89% came from those who had secured tenders or regulatory clearances from state or Union government agencies.&nbsp; In Assam alone, more than 52% of funds in the financial year 2023-24 came from government contractors, a trend that continued in the previous year, with 64.48% of donations from such sources. The report&#39;s findings suggest that in Arunachal Pradesh, over half of the BJP&rsquo;s donations in FY 2023-24 came from contractors, while in Tripura, the figure was over 61%.&nbsp; In Manipur, in FY 2022-23, around 5% of the contributions were from companies that had secured government contracts. The BJP&rsquo;s declared donors, including businesses in Assam&rsquo;s trading community, have long been linked to the region&rsquo;s contractor economy, which depends heavily on government projects.&nbsp; &ldquo;In Assam, it&rsquo;s the business and trading community that is donating to the BJP. These trading communities control the economy,&rdquo; said Bonojit Hussain, a researcher from Assam. According to the report, on June 4, 2023, the under-construction Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge in Bihar collapsed into the Ganga, causing widespread panic. Local activist Ajit Kumar witnessed the event and described it as a massive shockwave.&nbsp; The bridge was being built by SPS Construction India Pvt Ltd, the same company responsible for an 8.4 km bridge under construction in Guwahati, Assam, intended to connect Pan Bazaar with the northern end of the city.&nbsp; In response to the collapse, the Assam government initiated an inquiry, and IIT Guwahati conducted a review, though the findings were never made public.&nbsp; The report states that SPS Construction donated Rs50 million to the BJP during the same financial year, highlighting a potential link between the company and the ruling party. Multiple contracts&nbsp;According to the report, the company had been awarded multiple contracts by BJP-run state governments in the northeast, including in Assam, where it faced scrutiny following the bridge collapse. The report maps donations by companies such as Badri Rai and Company, which donated Rs10 million in FY 2023-24 after its construction projects in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.&nbsp; Notable case&nbsp;Another notable case involves Samson Borang, a businessman from Arunachal Pradesh, who donated Rs43 million to the BJP after his company, Sedi Allied Agency, secured state contracts. While these donations are legal under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, experts argue that the connections between government contractors and political contributions point to a larger issue of crony capitalism.&nbsp; &ldquo;Politics is largely run by syndicate money,&rdquo; said Hussain, highlighting concerns over the opaque flow of funds in the region&rsquo;s contractor economy. Incomplete disclosuresThe Indian media report used data from the Election Commission of India, which mandates political parties to disclose donations above Rs20,000.&nbsp; However, the BJP&rsquo;s incomplete disclosures and lack of transparency hindered a full analysis, leaving many donor identities unknown. The report sheds light on how India&rsquo;s northeastern states, with their reliance on central government contracts, have created a political funding landscape in which businesses and contractors thrive in close-knit relationships with the ruling party.&nbsp; While such donations are legally permitted, critics warn that they perpetuate a system prone to cronyism and potential corruption, the report states. There was no public comment on the report by BJP officials till the publication of the report.

Between 2022-24, the BJP raised Rs776.3 million in Assam, Arunachal, Manipur, and Tripura; at least 54.89% of donations came from individuals or companies with tenders or regulatory clearances from state or Union government agencies.

Articles tagged with "Assam"

UN watchdog questions India on discrimination of Bengali Muslims in Assam

BJP funds linked to government contractors in northeast India: report