Here is a comprehensive guide to Chapter 7 from the “Swadesh Adhyayan” textbook, created to help you prepare thoroughly for your upcoming AHSEC Class 12 exams. This guide includes a summary, complete textual answers, and other important questions.
Population Growth of Assam and the Foreigners Issue
Summary Note
This chapter examines the history of population growth in Assam, focusing on the complex and sensitive issue of immigration. The author establishes that while migration is a natural part of human civilization, the scale and nature of migration into Assam, particularly from the 19th century onwards, have had profound social, political, and economic consequences.
The chapter traces the history of migration in several phases:
- Pre-British and Early British Period: The British, after annexing Assam, needed laborers for the newly established tea industry. They brought in large numbers of tribal people from the Chotanagpur plateau (the “tea tribes”). They also brought English-educated people from Bengal to assist in administration.
- East Bengal Agricultural Migrants: To increase revenue from unused land, the British government encouraged industrious Muslim farmers from East Bengal (now Bangladesh) to migrate to Assam. This migration was facilitated by the creation of the ‘East Bengal and Assam’ province in 1905 and the introduction of the ‘Line Pratha’ system in 1920, which, despite its aim to regulate settlement, was often misused.
- Post-Partition Refugees: After the partition of India in 1947, a large number of Hindu refugees entered Assam from East Pakistan.
- Post-1971 Bangladeshi Migration: The Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971 led to another massive influx of refugees. While many returned, a significant number stayed, and illegal immigration continued even after Bangladesh was formed.
The chapter details the impact of this migration:
- Unnatural Population Growth: Assam’s population grew at a dangerously high rate, far exceeding the national average.
- Destruction of Natural Balance: Immense pressure was put on land, leading to the destruction of reserved forests and wetlands.
- Ethnic Clashes and Fear: The large-scale influx led to a “reciprocal doubt and fear” among the indigenous population, who felt their culture, language, and political identity were at stake, leading to ethnic clashes.
- The Assam Accord (1985): The chapter concludes by mentioning the Assam Accord, which was signed to end the Assam Agitation. A key provision of the accord was to identify and deport illegal immigrants who entered Assam after 25th March 1971.
Complete Textual Question and Answer
1. (a) What is the difference between Internal and International Migration?
Answer: Internal (or Interstate) Migration is when people move from one place to another to live within the same country. International Migration is when people move from one country to another. International migration can be further divided into legal and illegal migration.
(b) Define immigrants and infiltrators?
Answer: The chapter defines immigrants as people who came to Assam from other parts of undivided India (like East Bengal) and Nepal during the colonial period. Infiltrators (or intruders) are defined as people who migrate illegally to a country without necessary legal documents, often to escape economic crisis or clashes in their own country.
(c) Through which Act can a foreigner get Indian Citizenship?
Answer: A foreigner can get Indian Citizenship by fulfilling certain conditions of the Constitution of India, according to the Indian Citizenship Act, 1955.
(d) Which King of Assam dug pond for use of which temple in Odhisha ?
Answer: The Ahom king Swargadeu Suhungmung (1497-1539) sent a party of pilgrims to Jagannath (in Odisha) to dig a pond for the Jagannath Temple.
(e) Who discovered tea plant in Assam and in which year ?
Answer: Robert Bruce, a Scottish adventurer, discovered tea plants in Assam. The text later mentions that his brother, C.A. Bruce, was given credit for the discovery in 1823.
2. Discuss briefly the discovery of tea plant in Assam and migration to Assam.
Answer: The tea plant was discovered in Assam by Robert Bruce in 1823. His brother, C.A. Bruce, introduced tea plantation in a planned manner for the first time. The British government, seeking to earn more revenue, allotted thousands of acres of land to European and Indian tea planters. This created a huge demand for industrious laborers, which the local population could not fulfill. To meet this demand, the British brought many poor people from the tribes of Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh (like the Chawtal, Kol, Munda, etc.) to work in the tea gardens. This was the first major wave of migration to Assam in the British period.
3. Discuss the historical background of migration of the East Bengal farmers to Assam.
Answer: The migration of East Bengal farmers to Assam was encouraged by the British government to increase land revenue. The British wanted to cultivate the vast unused lands of Assam. They allowed industrious Muslim farmers from East Bengal to migrate to Assam, as they were skilled in jute cultivation. The formation of the ‘East Bengal and Assam’ province in 1905 removed any barriers to this migration. The farmers were also eager to move to escape the oppressive landlord system in East Bengal and take advantage of the rayatwari system in Assam, where they could pay revenue directly to the government. This migration was so significant that by 1931, there were fears that the whole of Assam would be filled with these migrants.
4. Who protested first against migration to Assam and when ?
Answer: Experiencing the danger of large-scale migration, Ambikagiri Raichaudhury, along with Mahadev Sarma and Basanta Kumar Das, were among the first alert citizens to protest. For this purpose, Ambikagiri Raichaudhury formed the ‘Assam Sangrakshini Sabha’. Later, Congress leader Dr. Rajendra Prasad (in 1926) and Mahadev Sarma (in 1927) also raised concerns about this migration.
5. Write short notes on
(a) Policy of harvest growth: This refers to the British policy of increasing revenue by bringing more land under cultivation. The British saw that large quantities of land in Assam remained unused. To increase harvest and thereby revenue, the imperialistic British government encouraged industrious farmers, particularly Muslims from East Bengal, to migrate to Assam and cultivate these lands.
(b) Linepratha: The ‘Line Pratha’ or Line System was introduced in 1920 to manage the settlement of migrants from East Bengal and mitigate conflicts with the local population. Under this system, land was divided into three categories: (a) separate land for the migrants, (b) land not to be used by the migrants, and (c) land that could be used by both migrants and local people. However, the system was often misused by corrupt revenue officers.
(c) Tribal Belt and Block: In 1946, the Gopinath Bardoloi-led Congress government formed 38 indigenous belts and blocks. The purpose of creating these belts and blocks was to preserve the interests of the local tribal and indigenous people by protecting their land from encroachment by migrants.
(d) Impact of migration on socio-cultural and economy of Assam: Migration has had a huge impact on Assam. The population growth became dangerously high, leading to problems of food and shelter. The natural balance was destroyed as forests and wetlands were cleared for settlement, leading to food scarcity for wild animals and human-animal conflict. It also led to ethnic clashes and a sense of fear among the local tribes that their culture, language, and economy were at stake.
(e) Relationship of jute factory with migration of Assam: There was a direct relationship between the jute factories in Calcutta and the migration of East Bengal farmers to Assam. The low and arable lands of Assam were very useful for jute production. As more East Bengal Muslim farmers, who were skilled in jute cultivation, migrated to Assam, the production of jute increased. This raw jute was then supplied to the jute factories in West Bengal, creating an economic cycle that further encouraged migration.
