On 10 July 2019, an FIR was filed against ten Miyah poets and other activists from Assam under five different sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Telecommunications Act for a poem titled Write it Down, I am a Miyah written by senior Miyah poet, Hafiz Ahmed. The FIR accused the poets and activists, amongst other things, of depicting the Assamese people as “xenophobic in the eyes of the whole world” and posing a “serious threat to the Assamese people as well as towards the national security and harmonious social atmosphere.”
A week later, at least three more FIRs were filed over the same poem. Meanwhile, several of these poets/activists are being subjected to a barrage of online trolling and intimidation by certain individuals on social media and WhatsApp. These include death threats, rape threats and other explicit forms of harassment. There is also a wider attempt to malign the young Miyah poets and in fact, the entire Miyah community, through derogatory, lurid and baseless stereotypes. This malicious campaign only adds fuel to the existing sentiment of hostility against Bengali-origin Muslims of Assam who remain highly vulnerable to ethno-nationalist majoritarianism and anti-immigrant rhetoric in the state.
We unequivocally condemn such attempts to malign and criminalise the Miyah poets. Poetry can be a spontaneous and legitimate medium of expression of collective trauma, grievances and emotions. In the absence of other avenues, it often becomes the sole medium of speaking truth to power. Every single individual and community has, and should have, the natural right to do so without the fear of perverse consequences, including punitive action (such as FIRs). The criminalisation of any poetry marks the death of a healthy, democratic and humane society that we want Assam to be. In this context, we see Miyah Poetry as a legitimate form of literary protest against the victimisation of Bengal-origin Muslims of Assam.
In this regard, we remind the principal stakeholders – the judicial system, on which we rest many of our hopes, and the media – of the fundamental rights guaranteed through the highest laws of the country i.e. those enshrined in the Constitution: Article 14 ensuring equality before the law, Article 15 defining equality of opportunity, and Article 19 upholding freedom of speech and expression, subject to “reasonable restrictions”. We, thus, expect and urge the government and other mandate holders to uphold the constitutional rights of all citizens, which also include the right of writers to speak and write freely without fear of fear, harm or intimidation. We believe that anyone attempting to impinge on these fundamental rights with arbitrariness and frivolous interpretations must face the full force of the law.
Further, we strongly condemn the manner in which certain lines from some old poems have been selectively quoted, distorted and taken out of context to project them as “anti-Assamese” or “anti-social”, as also highlighted in the recent statement released by the Miyah poets/activists. These are labels that only sharpen Assam’s brittle faultlines and create conditions for ethnic and communal violence. We urge all parties to refrain from using such simplistic and baseless titles against the poets.
Finally, we unequivocally condemn the cyber bullying, harassment and threats that the Miyah poets, activists and their friends are being subjected to. Such conduct is not just downright unacceptable in a civil society, but also fall under the ambit of criminal offences. We urge all members of Assam’s civil society, including prominent intellectuals, to publicly condemn the trolling of Miyah poets/activists and urge the police to take necessary action against the perpetrators.
The final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is about to be published on 31 July. In this context, the timing of the controversy and the vilification of the poets point to dangerous times ahead. We appeal to all people to assert their voices against hate, suspicion, chauvinism and censorship of literary expressions.
Signatories
- Suraj Gogoi, Doctoral Candidate, National University of Singapore (NUS)
- Parag Jyoti Saikia, Doctoral Student, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Angshuman Choudhury, policy analyst
- Jyotirmoy Talukdar, Writing Tutor, Centre for Writing and Communication, Ashoka University
- Aarthi Achuthappa, Graduate Student, National University of Singapore
- Aashita Dawer, faculty, Jindal Global University.
- Abhilash Rajkhowa, President, Students’ Federation of India (SFI), Panjab University
- Abhinav P. Borbora, political commentator
- Abhishek Chakraborty, queer activist
- Adeel Ahmed, Advocate-on-Record, Supreme court of India
- Aditi Dey Sarkar, Doctoral Candidate, IIT Bombay
- Aditya Prakash, documentary filmmaker
- Aditya Ranjan Pathak, Postgraduate student, Ambedkar University
- Ahmed Sohaib, academic
- Ajitha GS, publisher
- Akruti Ramachandra, law student, JGLS
- Amit R Baishya, Assistant Professor, Department of English, University of Oklahoma
- Amrita Das Gupta, Doctoral Student, National University of Singapore
- Anamika Deb, Student
- Andrew Lee, Graduate Student, NUS
- Anirban Chatterjee, PhD Scholar, Jawaharlal Nehru University
- AnirbanDatta, filmmaker
- Anjali Monteiro, filmmaker and academic
- Anjuman Ara Begum, Human Rights Activist, Guwahati
- Ankit Rathore, Production Editor, The Economist
- Ann Norinne Suk, Doctoral Student, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- AnnuJalais, Assistant Professor, National University of Singapore
- Antora Borah, Research Associate, Council for Social Development, New Delhi
- Anwesha Dutta, Postdoctoral Researcher, Chr. Michelsen Institute, Bergen, Norway
- Apoorvanand, Professor, Department of Hindi, University of Delhi
- Arijit Sen, journalist
- Arjun Rajendran, poet
- ArunabhDebendranathKonwar, student
- Arundhati Ghosh, Cultural Professional, Bengaluru
- Asad Zaidi, poet and publisher
- AsemChanuManimala, Independent Researcher
- Ashish Xaxa, PhD Scholar, TISS Mumbai
- Avijit Mukul Kishore, filmmaker
- Avishek Parui, Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Madras
- Ayesha Kidwai, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University
- Baidurya Chakrabarti, academic
- Balawansuk Lynrah, Doctoral Student, National University of Singapore
- Bhargabi Das, Research Scholar, Maynooth University, Ireland
- Bijoy Sankar Barman, poet
- Biman Nath, Professor, Raman Research Center
- Bobo Khuraijam, filmmaker
- Boishakhi Dutta, Senior Sub-editor, The Telegraph
- Bondita Acharya, Activist
- Chander Uday Singh, Senior Advocate, New Delhi
- Chandita Mukherjee, filmmaker
- D.N. Kalia, Delhi University
- Daisy Barman, PhD Scholar, Jawaharlal Nehru University
- Debarshi Das, academic
- Debayudh Chatterjee, poet and translator
- Debika, Assamese Queer Woman
- Debopriya Shome, Student, Jadavpur University
- Dhiman Barman, poet
- DhrijyotiKalita, PhD Candidate, University of Minnesota
- Disha Yadav, MA Public Policy, OP Jindal Global University
- Dr Costanza Rampini, Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies Department, San José State University
- Dr Kamal Kumar Tanti, writer, poet, researcher
- Dr. Laifungbam Debabrata Roy, President, CORE Manipur
- Dr. Dibyadyuti Roy, Assistant Professor, Communications, IIM Indore
- Fathima Nizaruddin, filmmaker
- Gaurav Mittal, Doctoral Candidate, National University of Singapore
- Gautam Sonti, filmmaker
- Ghazala Jamil, academic
- Gorky Chakraborty, Associate Professor, Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata
- Hany Babu, Associate Professor, Department of English, University of Delhi
- Har Kumar Goswami, Social Activist
- Haripriya Soibam, poet and academic
- Heba Ahmed, PhD student, Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)
- Henry Robert Goldsmith, Researcher
- Himalaya Bora, Doctoral Student, IIT Guwahati
- Hoda Bandeh-Ahmadi, Director of Social Research, Center for Surgical Training and Research, University of Michigan
- Illito Achumi, Faculty, Tata Institute of Social Sciences
- Indrani Chatterjee, Professor of History, University of Texas.
- Jabeen Merchant, film editor
- James Daimary
- Jennifer Shaheen Hussain, Media Researcher
- Jhilmil Breckenridge, poet
- Joel Rodrigues, Researcher
- Jonmani Das, MPhil student, Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University
- K. P. Jayasankar, filmmaker and academic
- Kamal Mitra Chenoy, Professor, Centre for Comparative Politics & Political Theory, Jawaharlal Nehru University
- Kankana Talukdar, Doctoral Candidate, Jawaharlal Nehru University
- Karama Sherap Bhutia, Research Scholar
- Karthik Teegalapalli, Wildlife Biologist
- Kartikeya Jain, Editor, Speaking Tiger
- Kaushik Barua, author
- Kiran Keshavamurthy, Assistant Professor, IIT Guwahati
- Kishalay Bhattacharjee, Vice Dean, OP Jindal Global University
- Koyamparambath Satchidanandan, poet
- Likhita Banerji, human rights researcher
- Litul Baruah, Program & Analytics Specialist (Global), C&A Foundation
- Madhubanti Chanda, Dancer and Research Scholar, CSSS Calcutta
- Madhulika Reddy, Student, JGLS
- Madhurima Nundy, Institute of Chinese Studies
- Mainak Moitra, Senior Copyeditor, Cogencis Information Services Ltd
- Manash Firaq Bhattacharjee, writer
- Manisha Sethi, academic
- Manjiri Indurkar, Writer
- Manjita Devi, Doctoral Candidate, IIT Bombay
- Mansi Sharma, activist
- Maroona Murmu, Associate Professor, Jadavpur University
- Mayur Suresh, Lecturer, SOAS, University of London
- Meenakshi Nair, Doctoral Candidate, Graduate School Geneva
- Meghadeepa Chakraborty, Banasthali Vidyapeeth University
- Mekhala Saran, poet, writer
- Mihir Vatsa, poet
- Minakshi Rajdev, PhD Candidate, Center for Historical Studies, JNU
- Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman, Visiting Research Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies,
New Delhi - Mitra Phukan, novelist and translator.
- Mitul Baruah, Assistant Professor, Ashoka University
- Monami Basu, Assistant Professor, University of Delhi
- Mohinder Singh, Assistant Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University
- Mukul Haloi, filmmaker
- Mukul Priyadarshini, Delhi University
- Nabanipa Bhattacharjee, academic
- Nabina Das, poet
- Nalini Taneja, historian
- Namrata Pathak, Assistant Professor, North East Hill University (NEHU)
- Nasreen Habib, journalist
- Neshat Quaiser, academic
- Niranjan Nath, National School of Drama
- Nishita Goswami, actor
- Nitasha Kaul, Author/Poet/Associate Professor, University of Westminster
- Nitin Pegu, cinematographer
- Nitoo Das, Poet
- Nivedita Menon, Professor, Centre for Comparative Politics & Political Theory,
Jawaharlal Nehru University - Nupur Basu, journalist
- Oliullah Laskar, Advocate, Guwahati High Court
- Palaash Bhargava, PhD Candidate, Columbia University in New York
- Parasher Baruah, filmmaker
- Partha Pratim Saikia, PhD Student, IIT Kharagpur
- Parvin Sultana, Assistant Professor, PB College, Gauripur
- Patricia Mukhim, senior journalist
- Pooja Nirala, freelance writer
- Poonam Batra, Professor of Education, Central Institute of Education,
University of Delhi - Prabhakar Singh, Associate Professor and Assistant Dean (Research), JGLS
- Pradip Kumar Datta, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University
- Pragati Kalita, queer rights activist
- Pramod Mandade, Doctoral Candidate, IIT Bombay
- Pranab Doley, rights activist
- Prannv Dhawan, Joint Convenor, Law and Society Committee, National Law
School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru - Prasad Khanolkar, Faculty, IIT Guwahati
- Prasenjit Biswas, Human Rights Activist
- Prativa Thomas, affiliated with Amnesty International, Sheffield, UK
- Praveen Donthi, journalist
- Preeti Gill, literary agent and publishing consultant
- Prerana Anjali Choudhury, Independent Researcher and Writer
- Prithiraj Borah, Doctoral Candidate, IIT Bombay
- Priya Sen, filmmaker
- Priya Sharma, PhD Candidate IIT Bombay
- Priyanka K, journalist
- Radhika Rani, Assistant Professor, St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai
- Rafiul Alom Rahman, Activist
- Rana Saikia, MPhil Scholar, University of Delhi
- Ravi Singh, publisher and co-founder,Speaking Tiger Books
- Ravi Sundaram, academic
- Rima Kalita, MPhil Scholar, Department of History, NEHU
- Rinchen Thakur, Project Staff, Endangered Archives Project ARCE-AIIS
- Rintu Borah, Doctoral Candidate, IIT Bombay
- Rohan D’ Souza, Associate Professor, Kyoto University
- Rohini Mohan, independent journalist, Bangalore
- Rohini Sen, Faculty, OP Jindal University
- Rohit De, Assistant Professor, Yale University
- Rohan Deb Roy, Lecturer
- Ronit Hazarika, MA Public Policy, OP Jindal Global University
- Ruhee Neog, security and foreign policy analyst
- Rukmini Chakraborty, Doctoral Student, Cornell University
- Rukmini Sircar, National School of Drama
- Saib Bilaval, PhD Student, Center for Historical Studies, JNU, and independent
journalist - Saikat Datta, senior journalist
- Saikat Majumdar, novelist
- Saket Gokhale, political activist
- Samina Mishra, filmmaker, Writer and Teacher
- Samreen Farooqui, filmmaker
- Samrat Choudhury, journalist and author
- Samyak Ghosh, Doctoral Student, Columbia University
- Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty, Deputy Editor, The Wire
- Sanjay Kak, filmmaker
- Sanjib Baruah, Professor of Political Studies, Bard College, New York
- Sanjoy Hazarika, writer
- Santana Khanikar, Assistant Professor, JNU
- Sarah Hillaly, Professor, Rajiv Gandhi University
- Satarupa Lahiri, PhD Researcher, Center for Historical Studies, JNU
- Satya Prateek, Assistant Professor, Jindal Global Law School (JGLS)
- Sayani Basak, PhD Scholar, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS)
- Scindhia Siddharthan, Teacher, Rajghat Besant School, Varanasi
- Shamya Dasgupta, journalist
- Shanta Gokhale, Writer
- Sharifa Choudhury, Advocate, Supreme Court
- Sharmadip Basu, Azim Premji University
- Shaunna Rodrigues, Ph.D. Candidate and Teaching Fellow, Columbia University
in New York. - Shuddhabrata Sengupta, Artist, Raqs Media Collective
- Shyamal Chakma, Doctoral Candidate, SOAS, University of London
- Smitana Saikia, Assistant Professor, FLAME University
- Sohini Dutta, Doctoral Candidate, IIT Bombay
- Siddharth Singh, development professional
- Somjyoti Mridha, academic
- Soumyadeep Guha, independent researcher
- Sourv Patgiri, student.
- Sreejith Murali, PhD Candidate IIT Bombay
- Srijani Bhaswa Mahanta, Councillor, School of International Studies, JNU
- Srivastan Manivannan, Research Fellow, Center for Human Rights, JGLS
- Subasri Krishnan, filmmaker
- Subir Bhaumik, senior journalist
- Suchitra Vijayan, founder, The Polis Project
- Sudhanva Deshpande, publisher
- Suvir Kaul, A. M. Rosenthal Professor, University of Pennsylvania
- Swagato Sarkar, Faculty, Jindal School of Government and Public Policy
- Tanushree Bhowmik, senior development professional
- Tanweer Fazal, academic
- Tomujit Singha, activist and entrepreneur
- Tridib Mukherjee, student
- Tridib Nilim Dutta, journalist
- Trishna Saikia, MA Development Studies, Ambedkar University, Delhi
- Uma Chakravarti, Feminist Historian
- Umar Khalid, United Against Hate
- Unalita Phukan, MPhil Candidate, University of Hyderabad
- Vasundhara Jairath, Assistant Professor, IIT Guwahati
- Veronica Gregorio, Doctoral Candidate, National University of Singapore
- Yasmin Saikia, Professor, Arizona State University
- Yengkhom Jilangamba, Faculty, TISS, Guwahati
