North Kamrup violence
The North Kamrup violence was a series of violent incidents in North Kamrup, Assam, on 4–5 January 1980 between those who supported the Assam Movement and those who opposed it. Triggered by the death of a high school student, a member of the AASU, it led to a series of attacks and counter-attacks between Assamese and immigrant villages leading to a curfew.
According to the Citizenship Rights Preservation Committee, representing Bengali-speaking people, the violence was directed against linguistic, religio-linguistic, ethnic minorities and members of the CPI, CPI and CPI political parties who opposed the Assam Movement. Many of the victims were Miya and it is alleged that the Army committed atrocities on Assamese villagers during the curfew. This was the first reported large-scale group clash during the Assam Movement.
Background
In some districts of lower Assam, Bengali Hindus have experienced violence directed against on the linguistic and cultural identity of the Assamese people. Bengali speaking people were often harassed as foreigners and became the target of violence during the anti-Bengali movement in Assam.At the beginning of the movement, many Muslim students of East Bengali origin supported and joined the movement as Assamese speakers. Eventually, many began to reclaim their Muslim and Bengali identity.