Police complaint against The Hindu editor, scholars for ‘offensive speech against Assam’

Guwahati: Pravajan Virodhi Mancha (PVM) on Wednesday requested the Latasil Police Station here to file an FIR against the editor of The Hindu, Suresh Nambath, along with two other writers for publication of a controversial article in the newspaper in connection with the Gorukhuti eviction drive.

Two other writers against whom the police complaint has been lodged are Suraj Gogoi, a research scholar at the National University of Singapore and resident of Singapore, and Angshuman Chowdhury, senior researcher at Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi, and resident of New Delhi.

The PVM in its complaint said that Gogoi wrote an article “The Scorching Rays of Assamese Nationalism” in ‘The Hindu’ on September 30, where he said how Assamese “nationalism” played a part in the Gorukhuti eviction with special reference to the arrested photographer Bijoy Bania.

“In this article, there are many instances of offensive speech being made against Assam and the larger Assamese community,” the complaint said.

“As for Assamese political sadism, the only exit of it is to annihilate language and culture in its current form and interest,” Gogoi had written in the article.

According to PVM’s complaint to the police, “The article also describes the unfortunate death and defiling of the injured protestor Moynul Haque in Gorukhuti as an ‘act of political sadism’.”

“In the article, Gogoi also describes the “reactions to the Darrang brutality expressed by journalists, politicians, and the foot soldiers of Assamese nationalism reveal how hatred has crystallised into the caste Assamese social structure, and how benumbed they are. Their narcissism will not stop even when political sadism is in such naked display…,” the complaint further reads.

“Gogoi says that the unfortunate killing of the protesters at Gorukhuti is an example of political sadism. Most importantly, due to the Gorukhuti incident, Gogoi calls for the annihilation of the Assamese language and culture. These are serious insults to the entire Assamese community. In this article, the accused has deliberately promoted disharmony, feelings of enmity, hatred and ill-will towards the Assamese community amongst the other groups and communities of the country,” the group further said in their complaint.

The police complaint also mentioned writer Angshuman Chowdhury who in his blog wrote an article titled – “On Maynul Haque and Bijoy Bania” on September 25, where he compared Bijoy Bania, the photographer who pounced on a dead body with Assamese national hero – Lachit Borphukan.

“Bijoy is a warrior. A bit like Lachit Borphukan, maybe. He is the MVP of modern Assamese history, the frontline commander in the Battle of Saraighat. He is the batman of Assamese jatiyatabad,” the complaint said, quoting the article.

On receiving strong reactions from people across social media and the internet due to such a criminally motivated statement, he edited the sentence and deleted the word ‘Lachit Borphukan’. However, the original piece can be accessed here.

The PVM also said, “His edited article contains criminally motivated statements against the Assamese hero Lachit Borphukan, intending to incite rioting. Such an insult to the Assamese national hero Lachit Borphukan is an attempt to give provocation to cause riot besides also promoting enmity towards the Assamese community amongst other groups and communities of the country.”

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