FIR lodged against Chairman of AHSEC for ‘controversial comment on Bengalis of Barak’

April 20: A FIrst Information Report (FIR) was lodged at Sadar Police Station, Silchar on 20 April against Dr. Dayananda Baragohai, Chairman of Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC), Guwahati for his constroversial statement against the Bengalis of Barak Valley. In the FIR, it was stated, “In a recent media interview, Mr. Dayananda Baragohai said that the citizens of Barak Valley need to learn Assamese if at all they want to stay in Assam, otherwise they should feel free to leave Assam. Mr. Bargohain has apparently forgotten that we live in a democratic nation and not in a dictatorship. All of us are free to use our mother tongue in whichever aspect we want and any kind of imposition of Assamese language on the Non Assamese people will not be tolerated in any way.”

The FIR was lodged by a Final Year Law Student of Symbiosis International University, Hyderabad under Sections 153A, 153B , 504, 505, 120 B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The complainant in her FIR further wrote, “Hate speeches are unstoppable these days and if no one takes a stand against such statements then people through their words will end up destroying peace and harmony. Article 19(1) (a) of Indian constitution  says that all citizens have the right to freedom of speech and expression but it is often seen to be misused. Reasonable restrictions are not meant to be used as a shield to protect people giving hate speeches.”

“Mr. Dayananda Bargohai’s intention of propagating hatred and showing disrespect towards the people of Barak Valley who doesn’t know the Assamese language is crystal clear with the above mentioned statement that he has made. It is equally shameful for a government officer to have uttered such words which are most likely to hurt the sentiments of the Non-Assamese speaking population of Barak Valley,” added the complainant.

The FIR also mentioned, “In the present matter at hand, Mr. Dayananda Baragohai is believed to have promoted and propagated hatred between Assamese and Non Assamese people of Barak Valley and Assam. His statement has created an unnecessary atmosphere of consternation among the Non Assamese speaking people who have a fear of imposition of Assamese language upon them. His statement also demeans and disrespects the other languages in Barak Valley. The statement supposedly is a criminal conspiracy against the Bengali people of Assam who have always been a prey to the ruckus created by people who wants to impose Assamese language on Bengali people. By imposing the Assamese language upon other people, he has violated the right of the citizens to speak or use their mother tongue freely without any fear and hesitation.”

The complainant stated that Mr. Dayananda Baragohai should be given the justified punishments for hurting the sentiments of the non- Assamese people living in Barak Valley. The FIR stated, “Silchar in Barak Valley is famously known as the island of peace and anybody who tries to dismantle the peaceful system of Barak Valley should be given the deserved punishment. In the year 1960, a circular was spread which was popularly known as the “Shastri Formula” after the name of Lal Bahadur Shastri, who in blatant voice said that Bengali language is the heart of Barak Valley and Assamese language is the heart of Brahmaputra Valley. But apparently, Mr. Bargohain has disrespected not only the Bengali speaking people of Barak Valley but also the other linguistic people in Barak Valley, Lal Bahadur Shastri and the 11 Martyrs who had given their lives for the protection of Bengali language.”