Ahoms flay AIUDF MLA over 'non-indigenous' call

DIBRUGARH: Several Ahom organisations staged protests and burnt effigies of AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam in upper Assam on Wednesday for the latter's controversial statement that the Ahoms are not indigenous people of the state.
While addressing a public meeting at Moirabari in Morigaon on Tuesday, Aminul had said the Ahoms are not indigenous people of Assam. He had claimed that the Bengali-speaking Miya Muslims, who migrated from East Pakistan or erstwhile Bengal province, belong to the indigenous community of the state. Aminul is an MLA from Dhing in Nagaon district.
The Tai Ahom Yuba Parishad Asom (TAYPA), All Tai Ahom Students' Union (ATASU), Bir Lachit Sena and the Ahom Royal Society have issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the Dhing MLA to apologize publicly, failing which the Ahom organisations threatened to ban the entry of all AIUDF leaders in upper Assam. TAYPA members staged a mass protest at Thana Chariali in Dibrugarh where they they did a mock beheading of Aminul's effigy by using a "hengdang" (long single-edged sword used during the Ahom dynasty) before setting it on fire. The protesters also demanded strict action against him.
"Aminul Islam doesn't have any idea about the history and culture of Assam. The Ahom dynasty ruled for nearly 600 years from 1228 to 1826. The founder of the Ahom dynasty, Chaolung Sukapha, was the founder of Bor Axom (Greater Assam). He unified the various indigenous ethnic groups of the region. We demand a public apology from Islam within 24 hours failing which we will not allow any AIUDF leader to set foot anywhere in upper Assam in future. Moreover, strict action should be taken against him since he is trying to fuel communal tension among the people through his comments," TAYPA's Dibrugarh district general secretary Dipankar Dowarah said.
On the other hand, members of ATASU and All Assam Students' Union (Dibrugarh University unit) staged a joint protest in front of Dibrugarh University, seeking the resignation of the AIUDF legislator. The protesters also torched Aminul's effigy amid mass sloganeering.
Bir Lachit Sena leader Sringkhol Chaliha, who has been at the forefront during the recent anti-CAA agitation in the state, warned of dire consequences if the AIUDF legislator fails to apologize within 24 hours.
In his Morigaon speech, Aminul had said, "The Ahoms came from the Yunnan province of the China-Myanmar boder. That province was never a part of India. They came from a foreign land. Our ancestors came from a district which was a part of undivided India. Why are we not indigenous?"
According to historians, Sukapha (Siu-Ka-Pha) was a prince of the kingdom of Mong Mao-Lung (now on the Myanmar-China border), which was ruled by his brother. It is said he left his native land in 1215 with 9,000 followers in search of new territories. He is said to have followed the ancient route between China and Assam that passed through the Upper Irrawaddy river valley (in Myanmar) and the Patkai Hills (Purvanchal Hills on India's North-Eastern border with Myanmar) and settled in Charaideo (now a district near Sivasagar in upper Assam). Thirteen years later in 1228, Sukapha laid the foundation of the Ahom kingdom.
Despite several attempts, the AIUDF MLA couldn't be reached for his coment.