This (Doubtful Nationality) is a Process of Disenfranchising Indigenous People: Pranab Doley

In Assam, the citizenship of rights activist Pranab Doley was recently marked as ‘doubtful’ during his passport renewal, according to a letter sent to him by the passport office. In the Assam Assembly, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma said Doley, who belongs to the Mising tribe and also contested the recent Assembly elections, did not respond to five notices sent by the police. In an interview with NewsClick, Doley spoke about the threat to his personal safety, and criminalisation being a potent tool used by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government to clamp down on dissent. Edited excerpts:

RM: Assam’s Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma said in the Assembly that you did not respond to five notices sent by the police for verification of your credentials for passport renewal. What would you like to say?

PD: They summoned me only once to the Bokaghat police station. I went there...The sub-inspector said everything was fine and that he will send the report to the SP (Suprintendent of Police). This (that I was summoned five times by the police) is a false allegation.  I had gone to the police station in May. There has been no communication since. I received a message from the passport office may be two weeks back to go the SP’s office. I went there within the stipulated time.

They said they have sent the report, and they did not tell me what the report was. This was something to do with the verification. I went there and enquired. They said it was too late, and nothing could be done. This is vendetta. This is a new way of silencing democratic voices. This is why this is something that is disturbing for a democracy.

Do you see the state leadership commenting on this as a potent tool to silence grassroot leaders?

This is an attack on the whole fraternity that is raising voices on different issues.      

You mention ‘political vendetta’ in your social media post. You have raised your voice on a range of social issues. Which are the causes that you think you are facing vendetta for?

This has been building gradually since the time we started our struggle in Kaziranga for the rights of local and indigenous people. We were trying to raise the right questions concerning human rights violations in Kaziranga, the displacement and dispossession that is happening around here. People have a relationship with the forest, which was a part of their homes, and use the forest for their needs – food, and other kind of cultural activities. So, the forest department kind of encroached on the liberties of people. We have been protesting this... The state has not been happy. Everyone knows the instance when we were jailed for protesting the shooting of a seven-year-old boy. We tried to question the legality of the ‘shoot at sight’ orders which escaped scrutiny.

We are all for protection of Kaziranga (National Park) but not at the cost of violation of human rights of local or indigenous people. This narrative has never been taken in a good way by the government. There are multiple cases that have been slapped on us. There is no sense of security for people.

You have been to prison four times in the past few years...Do you see all those instances as political vendetta?

All these are cases of intolerance because we have been at the forefront in demanding justice for the shooting a seven-year-old kid. In return, we were sent to judicial custody. Similarly when we go to file complaint on the PDS system...police harassed us on the pretext of some cases they had scripted. These are the ways they use...This is clearly political vendetta to ensure there is no resistance from people.

During elections, the police tried to barge into my house around midnight. I do not know for what...and I was a candidate then. Those are the kind of things that you go through. Even then, we have always followed a very democratic path in putting forward our demands.

Even after harassment when one keeps raising one’s voice, a new way is used to try to silence you – of completely disowning you as a citizen of the country. How bizarre! I have a Scheduled Tribe certificate from the government. This is a new way of coercing and harassing democratic voices, and is a very bad sign. This is not just about me. A lot of people could get affected in similar ways.        

You belong to the Mising tribe – an indigenous community. Do you see this particular instance as an attack on the indigenous communities of Assam and on indigenous leadership?

It is an attack on a Scheduled Tribe person. This is opening the gates to tell the indigenous leadership that they have to now prove their ‘Indian-ness’ and their nationality. So many people would not have documents to prove their nationality...This is a process of disenfranchising indigenous people. That is why I appeal to our leaders from the indigenous tribes to ask questions. It cannot be a mistake that someone’s nationality is put into doubt by the police. This cannot be a joke.        

Do you see the anti-Muslim discourse intensifying in Assam through the evictions since 2016?

This is a part of the whole political gimmick. This happened during the first time they (BJP) came to power. It also shows that they want to be extreme (in polarising communities)... but it is not that easy for them here (in Assam). It is a slow progression, which is scary. The government would definitely want to escalate it, but at the same there is strong opposition to this politics as well, which is growing more and more. This is what is making the government insecure about anyone who is trying to build a scientific narrative. So, they are trying to communalise and make it more violent.

I am confident about the people of Assam. There is internal resistance because people here have been part of a much diverse culture for very long, and have adapted to it. This is what they are trying to break down, so that it benefits their politics in the state.

Assam has a complicated history of identifying ‘foreigners’. Do you think BJP has cashed on this to control the narrative in Assam?

That’s pretty evident from the kind of politics playing out in the state. This is a long process of dividing people on different lines which they have been successful to an extent...What is happening in Assam right now is kind of scary...the free hand to the police.

What has been your experience of working as a human rights defender in Assam? Have you seen a paradigm shift since 2016?

I started working here at the ground level since 2014...Before that, I was studying, working and learning from different parts of the country on what is happening around....This was during the Congress government...even then, things were bad...We have worked here during the Congress’s time...there was not so much vendetta. People had space to demand and to raise their voices. Not every act was criminalised.

People will definitely understand and take their own decisions. People will organise...the farmers’ struggle is an example. We have been working on building democratic resistance where people say what is right is right, and wrong is wrong. We are not criticising for the sake of it. That is not the politics we would like to profess. We are an organised force, and have people in every parts of the state. We are connected to many national groups, and also internationally. Our presence scares them (the government) as well.          

Are you worried about your personal safety? How do you see the road ahead?

Security is always a question for people like us. There is no sense of security in Assam anymore. Everyone can see the number of police encounters happening without any valid proof of what actually happened. That’s why we definitely fear for our personal security all the time. We try to take precautions...but that we do democratically, which becomes criminal. That is the worrying part.

The threat was always there. We will always try to be as democratic as possible, and continue with the struggle. It is a network of groups and organisations coming together. We will continue doing that. A larger number of people are coming together against failed policies, and the politics of hatred and violence.     

Ritwika Mitra is an independent journalist.