Panic grips Assam migrant workers facing eviction in U.P.

For 38-year-old Imtiyaz Ali, a resident of a slum cluster in Phool Bagh Bahadurpur, December 4 started like any other day. That changed when a team from the Lucknow Municipal Corporation led by mayor Sushma Kharkwal arrived to check documents, aiming to identify “Bangladeshis and Rohingya” people living in the area illegally.

Ms. Kharkwal claimed that several residents of the area under the Gudumba police station limits failed to produce legal documents and pushed for their ouster. Several purported video clips of civic authorities conducting the checks went viral on social media. 

On November 22, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had issued instructions to all District Magistrates to identify and take stringent action against alleged illegal immigrants. Directions were also issued to establish temporary detention centres in each district to house “identified infiltrators”.

“It was a day I’ll never forget. Our families were crying as they [authorities] weren’t willing to listen to us. They took my handcart and told us to vacate the slum in 15 days. They should’ve checked our documents first, but they just entered our homes and snatched our livelihoods,” said Mr. Ali, a native of Barpeta, Assam.

Mr. Ali said the incident led to panic among over 50 families from Assam that had moved to Lucknow to earn a livelihood by collecting scrap and selling it to private dealers. “We are poor people and came to Lucknow only to earn some money. We earn ₹8,000-₹10,000 a month and pay rent of ₹1,000 each to the owner of the private land. We are Indian citizens. Never, ever have we indulged in any illegal activities,” he said.

“We’ve been living in Lucknow for 18 years and have all the valid documents such as Aadhaar, PAN, and voter ID cards. Our names are also included in the National Register of Citizens. If anyone is staying illegally here, we will hand them over, but don’t terrorise us. Return our handcarts and let us work. I haven’t been able to work since December 4,” said Sujan Ali, another resident of the slum hailing from Assam.

Opposition parties had described the drive as an “intimidation tactic by the BJP government in the State” and questioned the mayor’s authority to check the identity documents of people.

A delegation from the Congress visited the slum cluster on Sunday and vowed to stand with the migrants from Assam. It also demanded civic authorities to issue an apology for “harassing” the residents.

“We visited the slum and found that they have all valid identity documents, proving they are Indian citizens. They have come here in search of a livelihood as flooding is common in the areas they hail from in Assam. The slum is situated on private land, so why is the municipal corporation asking them to vacate in 15 days? Why are their handcarts being taken away? This is wrong. We demand an apology from the authorities. Such actions based on language or region will divide the nation,” said Congress national secretary Shahnawaz Alam.