Social Media Bodo-Muslim Breakdown in Assam: Reportage and Reactions

Flashpoint

Mass media is largely reinforcing the official narrative.

In India, however, if there is a large strong oral and social narrative.

If dissonance between the official narrative and the oral, social narrative, is big, mass media and the Government stand compromised.

Both in terms of credibility and effectiveness.

So, dissonance, if any, has to be minimal and credible.

Shahid Minar; who fought for Language Movement in Assam!!http://t.co/tNxj5y42—
Phirmi Bodo (@Phirmi_Bodo) August 15, 2012

That's a huge number! 5L refugees in Assam India's biggest internal exodus? toi.in/nVhleZ—
Prabhjot S. Khurana (@PrabhjotSK) August 22, 2012

Gujarat riots were state sponsored, Assam clashes were not: Tarun Gogoi ndtv.com/article/india/…—
Renjith Mathew (@VoiceofIndia365) August 23, 2012

Migration is a big prob Aftr 1972 any one who migrate frm other country to assam they r responcsible for it @parveezshaikh11 @dhruba_barman—
mrinal sarma (@mrinalsarma404) August 22, 2012

muslims in palestine has been really angry ever since jews entered their land. In assam, are they not doing the same thing? #circleoflife—
aswin nandakumar (@aswin1985) August 22, 2012

MOST IMP NEWS FOR INDIANS- tiny.cc/5lf5iw . Arms& Bombs brougt frm Bangladsh brought to India for Assam riots by boat—
Rahul Easwar (@RahulEaswar) August 16, 2012

Dear Arnab if Assam riots are not religous,is thr single exmpl of Bodo attackn anothr Bodo or Bangla Muslim attackn anothr Muslm?—
Avinash Bhat (@avinashbhat01) August 17, 2012

Outsiders in their own country bit.ly/NyqjWz. On the Assam violence. Read.—
Sairam Krishnan (@stonedchimera) August 22, 2012

U think that Assam conflict is a Bodo-Migrant issue only? Then u seriously need to watch this bit.ly/QYSopx Prob much more complex—
Akash Banerjee (@akashbanerjee) August 22, 2012

More than 300,000 people fled after fighting between indigenous Bodo tribes and Muslim settlers in Assam. bit.ly/NurmXp—
joe kao (@kao1306) August 18, 2012

No wonder Assamese are leaving Assam bit.ly/RexxTq—
Joydeep Phukan (@joyphukan) August 22, 2012

Pramod Boro, the head of the All Bodo Students Union: "Illegal immigration is not the only reason for the clashes in Assam". < Dear BaJaPa—
ikashmir (@icashmir) August 16, 2012

Another #Assam in the making. Over 2,000 visiting Pakistani nationals overstaying in Nagpur: RTI ndtv.com/article/cities…—
karan sharma (@kooolkaran) August 22, 2012

#TruthIs Its btwn the "Indigenous bodo tribals & illegal bangladeshi immigrants"& NOT "bodo tribals vs. Muslim Minorities" #assam #bangalore—
BossBitchMentality (@DefendUrLove) August 18, 2012

@barbarindian i think real ploy is to send illegal bangladeshis frm assam to various parts of the country.—
Vismay (@vismayshah) August 22, 2012

Bodos are the earliest settlers of Assam belonging to the Bodo-Kachari family,estimated more than 15 lakh, of whom over 90% are Hindus #1.—
Sajith Sasidharan (@SajithSasidhar2) August 19, 2012

@onlysilly here is the weblink to the Assam Special – India's Invisible War. bit.ly/QYSopx—
Akash Banerjee (@akashbanerjee) August 22, 2012

Wild rumors were that NE would face attacks after Ramzan in retaliation for the Bodo-Muslim riots in Assam. sunday-guardian.com/news/assurance…—
Ankit Gupta (@guptas08) August 20, 2012

Well written article on the NE problems and a possible solution – quiztalk.in/of-land-and-bl… #politics—
Kshira Saagar (@kshira_saagar) August 22, 2012

NE Indians living in Bangalore about to be murdered en masse? due to violence b/w Bodo tribes and Bangladeshi Muslim immigrants in Assam ?—
Rehan Afzal (@RehanAfzal) August 19, 2012

@timesnow news: Pakistani flag hoisted in Assam India youtu.be/_fttKciY_sk via—
Sachleen Kaur (@SachleenKr) August 22, 2012

Bodos want to drive out Muslims from the areas where governance is under the Bodo Autonomous Council." rediff.com/news/special/t…—
Umar Farooq (@Umar_Farrooq) August 19, 2012

@IAmTathagat can you define who is an illegal immigrant? in assam people who have been born there are being branded as 'illegal'—
Akash Banerjee (@akashbanerjee) August 22, 2012

In July 2012 the Indian state of Assam saw outbreaks of violence between illegal Bodo immigrants from Southern China—
  (@2479609) August 21, 2012

Owaisi once again spreads wrong info. Says that problem in Assam is due to Bodo 'militants'. postnoon.com/2012/08/17/hyd…—
G Kishan Reddy, MLA (@kishanreddybjp) August 19, 2012

@hab1_ @NaweedShahid @AQpk There was no border btw Assam & Ban. Now Muslims who crossed & became natives are disturbing actual natives BODO.—
Abdullah Qutab (@a_qutab) August 21, 2012

How difficult is it to arrange duplicate keys for an unsealed pad lock on the ammo dump within Bodo militant quarters? #Assam 2/2—
IbneBattuta (@Ibnebattuta) August 19, 2012

@ree_tweets @Kohima93 Assam is burning due to creation of BTC with 30 % Bodo population, Non Bodos were largely ignored—
A J Laskar (@rekjalil) August 21, 2012

we all the people of assam wants the permanant peace.. please stop all the communal fights in the BTAD…—
Bikash Barman (@Bikash_Barman) August 22, 2012

Recent worst Assam riots among Bodo nationalists and immigrant Bengalee – Truth Vs Hype: globalvoicesonline.org/2012/08/19/ind… via @globalvoices—
SALEEM SAMAD (@saleemsamad) August 20, 2012

@abpnewstv why not,we must protest against all kind of violence,just because assam is not a vote bank for raj thackeray he is against…—
parveezshaikh (@ParveezShaikh11) August 22, 2012

Finding solution to Assam’s Bodo-Muslim problem | ArabNews fb.me/18Hm4Ocmc—
kv manzoor punnad (@kvmanzoorpunnad) August 18, 2012

“Muslim Bango Bhoomi” which will comprise large parts of West Bengal, Bihar and Assam and finally be merged with Bangladesh.—
Rushabh™ (@BeingHindu) August 22, 2012

Bodo-Muslim conflict in Assam fueled partly by inter-state migration: bbc.co.uk/news/world-asi… (Bodos claim Muslims are Bangladeshi. False.)—
R Subramanian (@randomsubu) August 20, 2012

@barbarindian In 1998, the then Assam Governor Major Gen SK Sinha submitted a detailed report on Bangla Infiltrators to Prez—
Rajesh Padmar (@rajeshpadmar) August 22, 2012

@rajudasonline Oh ho!! Got your point now. It seems new Rahul Gandhi to be emerge in Assam. —
Phirmi Bodo (@Phirmi_Bodo) August 18, 2012

I don't think that face book and tweeter have notable effect on exodus of migrants from riot affected Assam. Reasons somewhere else.—
Abul Asad (@abul_asadbd) August 22, 2012

@IfyOtuya
Not just Myanmar, google Bodo or North East India or Assam, Saudi trained mullahs instruct them to dispossess kaffir of their land—
  (@3AB1) August 17, 2012

RT“@tehelkadotcom: 'The Assam clashes are about land and livelihood, not religion' tehelka.com/story_main53.a…”—
Arun (@Charakan) August 22, 2012

Congress came to power in #Assam thanks to Bodo votes, who in turn claim now for #Bodoland. Is it to divert attention that M is attacked?—
MB (@i2076) August 21, 2012

Muslims of #Assam have been subjected to insane violence by Bodo militants,faced the 'abuse' of illegal migrants from Hindutva fascists.—
Shazia Hameed (@i_shazia) August 18, 2012

Asian Centre for Human Rights slams #India's National Commission for Minorities' #Assam report: goo.gl/oaVpg #humanrights #ACHR #NCM—
Jaideep A. Prabhu (@orsoraggiante) August 21, 2012

Muslim refugees in Assam camps mark homeless Eid amidst tight security. Last month's clashes displaced 300,000+ Bodo & muslim populations—
Shahzeb Jillani (@ShahzebJillani) August 20, 2012

Threats to Bodo & whole North East people-a attack on Integrity of Bharat. Bangladeshi infiltration-a conspiracy to capture Assam and more..—
Sunil Ambekar (@SunilABVPMumbai) August 21, 2012

#Assam: National Commission for Minorities report as per #Govt Policy only. No place for the truth, as seen via this: niticentral.com/2012/08/ncms-a…—
Jens Iyer (@JestChill) August 21, 2012

bit.ly/Nh5IVd – Did you read the report of ACHR on how NCM report on the Assam Riots are biased?—
Niti Central (@NitiCentral) August 21, 2012

Aftermath

Burnt houses belonging to Muslims of the Navorbita village. Bodo neighbour says we lived & worked together. #Assam http://t.co/UYPdrIXK—
vivek raj (@vivekrajindia) August 19, 2012

Raman Ali wants a sepearate Muslim area in Assam for Muslims ……memoiers of Partition—
  (@pabloo86) August 22, 2012

Economic blockade of Nagaland enters fifth day: The indefinite economic blockade of Nagaland called by six organ… bit.ly/PWv3cI—
Ram Krushna Ray (@ramrayster) August 22, 2012

Assam violence: Rehabilitate Muslims after verifying citizenship status, say Bodo groups: Guwahati: Two Bodo groups… dlvr.it/21pmhr—
Hyderabad News (@newsinhyderabad) August 20, 2012

'We are living here without any self-respect'-Assam Relief Camps ndtv.com/article/india/…—
Syed Moiz (@smoiz) August 22, 2012

Assam violence: Rehabilitate Muslims after verifying citizenship status, say Bodo groups – India – Assam – ibnlive ibnlive.in.com/news/assam-reh…—
Eman (@rosana2050) August 19, 2012

Now special trains back to B'lore, Pune"@DNA: Assam asks railway to help people go back bit.ly/Qp9LPK"—
Arun S Pillai (@arunpillai666) August 22, 2012

@BeingSalmanKhan. Bhai Eid mubarak, Assam&NE k our Bro&Sis (bodo,muslm,christn,hindu)ko madad kare,apse sabko umeed hai, allah apko tarki de—
naushad (@getnaushad) August 18, 2012

@AMadumoole They will get a bail. Put them to community service on the things they accuse govt. of not doing. #fieldwork #groundreality—
Farzan (@mefarzan) August 22, 2012

Handling by the Government

#Pakistan has yet again come to the rescue of #India for one more of its failures.#Assam m.firstpost.com/politics/weres…—
Shahnawaz S (@TweeetShaNi) August 22, 2012

“@TomWrightAsia: U.S. Calls on India to Respect Internet Freedom on.wsj.com/PchUIt [Tension over India's response to Assam @abidhussayn—
  (@takhalus) August 22, 2012

Mood

@toi Let us do away with vote bank politics and communal politics and stop killings in so called BODO LAND and other parts of Assam—
Mohammed Aslam (@aslam687) August 19, 2012

Crazy logic of some 'official' planter. Hindu groups uploaded provocative stuff. Muslim groups rioted. NEs panicked. ABVP helped.—
Ram Madhav (@rammadhavrss) August 23, 2012

“@TomWrightAsia: U.S. Calls on India to Respect Internet Freedom on.wsj.com/PchUIt [Tension over India's response to Assam @abidhussayn—
  (@takhalus) August 22, 2012

The irony of the anti-immigration violence in Assam thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/… via @thedailybeast #India—
Dalia Ezzat (@DaliaEzzat_) August 22, 2012

And B'ladesh !! RT @rajudasonline: NDTV sent Sreenivash Jain to Assam, Barkha only goes to Pakistan, Egypt etc.. )—
Phirmi Bodo (@Phirmi_Bodo) August 18, 2012

@guwahaticity @manishbhartia Of course. The history of Assam clearly shows that Guwahati was Pragjyotishpur.—
paresh devchoudhury (@pareshdc) August 22, 2012

@asadowaisi Himmat Mat Haariye . Hum Sab Aapke Saath Hai . Inshallah Kamyaabi Milegi .—
  (@danishedine) August 20, 2012

#COWARDS "Persecution of Muslims in Assam will force them to turn militant": National Commission of Minorities bit.ly/N4qjBW—
Aggressive Indian (@bharat_builder) August 17, 2012

TOI says that Lucknow riot as protest and the people who done this as "men dressed as muslims" timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Protest-…—
avinash tripathi (@TripAvinash) August 22, 2012

@madhutrehan its about Peace that followed bcoz of police restraint. Wit Assam burning,imagine mor casualty in Mumbai.It wd hv bn a Disaster—
Abdul Wadud Aman (@AmanWadud) August 22, 2012

Media

And B'ladesh !! RT @rajudasonline: NDTV sent Sreenivash Jain to Assam, Barkha only goes to Pakistan, Egypt etc.. )—
Phirmi Bodo (@Phirmi_Bodo) August 18, 2012

This is the H S Brahma article on Assam, Bodos & Bangladeshi Muslims that irked @asadowaisi indianexpress.com/news/how-to-sh…—
पियूष कुलश्रेष्ठ (@thinkerspad) August 16, 2012

Insightful exploration by Nilim Dutta @NilimDutta of myths and truths in the Assam violence
wp.me/pcwAA-3wq via @DilliDurAst—
Malini Parthasarathy (@MaliniP) August 17, 2012

Mumbai top cop's YouTube trouble: Controversy after video shows him scolding junior for nabbing rioter bit.ly/OhyMf7—
India Today (@India_Today) August 16, 2012

Amused. Those who flay Mamata for being intolerant to criticism are gleeful to see Sonia's Congress blocking dissent on social media.—
Kanchan Gupta (@KanchanGupta) August 22, 2012

Govt fails to handle Assam, blames social media for the mess. Need to find a better excuse folks for ineptitude.—
Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) August 22, 2012

Instead of Asom, if Gujarat saw 14000 homes burnt & 400000 displaced in 2 weeks, #AntiBharatMedia wud have made it *breaking news* for YEARS—
Kiran Kumar S (@KiranKS) August 22, 2012

MODI from assam–Kokrajhar MLA held for inciting mobs
indianexpress.com/news/kokrajhar…—
sundaram chaurasia (@sundaram222) August 24, 2012

DK Barua,CongPrez declared that INC will always win elections in Assam with the help of Alis&Coolies from Bangladesh.
asianage.com/columnists/sta…—
Kiran Kumar Khurana (@kirankhurana) August 16, 2012

Harsh Mander, hateful serpent, abuses HT column space to propagate lie Assam displacement biggest since '47. Pandits? Or J&K is not India?—
Kanchan Gupta (@KanchanGupta) August 21, 2012

@kiranks assam is always betrayed by the national news channels.—
Navajit Saikia (@NavajitSaikia) August 22, 2012

Arup Patnaik's inaction on the riots day reminded me of Anil Kapoor's Nayak #MumbaiRiots #CST #Assam #Raj Thackeray—
devendra pai (@DEVenDrapai) August 22, 2012

Folks, please RT this tweet – bit.ly/NgU396 ; @sardesairajdeep is answerable here and he's just ignoring the issue!—
  (@twilightfairy) August 21, 2012

Ok, guys @sardesairajdeep has been gracious enough to call and has assured me that action will be taken. End of story (& pls dont abuse him)—
  (@twilightfairy) August 21, 2012

@sagarikaghose So how abt naming muslims n illegal migrants responsible 4 riots in #Assam on TV also . Why only Bodo ?—
sanjay kumar (@sharsanj) August 16, 2012

Censorship

If this account is deleted, i will be back as @ZunjEkaki—
Ekakizunj (@ekakizunj) August 23, 2012

Ayaklanma endişesi Hindistan’da toplu mesajı ve sosyal medyayı yasaklattı: Hindistan’da Assam eyaletinde Temmuz … tinyurl.com/98cpalk—
Haber Yön (@HaberYon) August 22, 2012

I challenge Govt of India to show even 1 of tweet of mine which "encouraged Assam riots"—
Prashant (@ScamSutra) August 23, 2012

UPA is in its full glory..now we have India's infrastructure and China's freedom. Celebrate!—
S Siddhartha (@siddhu_75) August 21, 2012

Credit goes to @jojiphilip for exposing the Govt's deed. Thank you. economictimes.indiatimes.com/photo.cms?msid…—
Kanchan Gupta (@KanchanGupta) August 23, 2012

65 More sites blocked to prevent rise in Assam Muslim rebel groups. The govt of #India is finally working on erradication of violence roots!—
Tapan Ghosh (@faceless_tg) August 22, 2012

MediaNama files RTI app for latest list of websites blocked by GOI … #Assam #Exodus … medianama.com/2012/08/223-ri…—
MediaCrooks (@mediacrooks) August 22, 2012

RT @sunilrajguru 5 lakh displaced in Assam.Violence in Mumbai.Scare in Banglr. Solution:Ban 6 fake PMO Twiter acnts&impose 5 SMS @PMOIndia—
Shailendra Verma (@justshailendra) August 22, 2012

Violence in Assam, Mumbai, threats in Bangalore, new scams one after the other, but all that concerns them is #PMO's parody twitter accounts—
Hemant Sahal (@sahalhemant) August 22, 2012

"I hate censorship, but I don't want to be seen as communal" If that is you, let me help you out, you are both a weasel and a coward.—
  (@dubash) August 22, 2012

The Players

BODO is a Militant group which long fought for BODOLAND who is responsible for massacre of Muslims in Assam.—
kashif imran (@kashifbangalore) August 16, 2012

@asadowaisi sir one of your party member is our tenant and not giving the rent and showing his party power wat shall we do ?—
ammar mohammed riyaz (@ammarmohdriyaz) August 23, 2012

@mefarzan But I know both ABVP & KFD(Popular Front) sending batches regularly to Assam from Manglore for last few yrs? For what? Service?—
Abdulla Madumoole (@AMadumoole) August 22, 2012

Seems that two friends @asadowaisi & @sagarikaghose enjoy playing game of RTing each other's tweets!—
Rahul Kaushik (@kaushkrahul) August 23, 2012

R.H.Khan is a Scam Star of Assam, already involved in 1000 cr. Scam…and more to come…—
Phirmi Bodo (@Phirmi_Bodo) August 18, 2012

Why so many programs, debates and repors by #AntiHinduMedia on Godhra riots, but barely a headline on Assam, Kashmir, Hyderabad, Munbai etc.—
Mitesh Sevani (@MiteshSevani) August 22, 2012

I told them we are not like Bodo militants who rendered four lakh Muslims homeless in Assam. We will protect you-Asaduddin Owaisi.—
Ratnakar Sadasyula (@ScorpiusMaximus) August 17, 2012

"NE Students in QUEUE for Luch, served by RSS Swayamsevaks at Railway Station Bangalore http://t.co/GppY5b5f&quot; #bodo #ulfa #assam—
Sumeet Mahendra (@sumt7) August 17, 2012

One #Ajmal was responsible for mumbai attack, while another elected representative #Ajmal is responsible for the Assam mess – Sources says.—
Girin Govind (@GirinGovind) August 16, 2012

Bending over backwards. Read. Retweet. This is why I hold @madhutrehan in high esteem. m.indianexpress.com/news/%22bendin…—
Kanchan Gupta (@KanchanGupta) August 21, 2012

#Owaisi: Not a word on his Mumbai mulla's ANTI NATIONAL speech & he wants the BODO leaders 2 make a statement ? #Assam—
  (@aregeepee) August 16, 2012

Voices in the dark

Fighting between Bodo tribes & Muslim settlers in Assam #India but not much safer in #Pakistan: 25 Shia Muslims killed in Gilgit #1947—
Saria T. Sheikh (@sariasheikh) August 16, 2012

@AmanWadud them to stay We must understand two wrongs don't make a right an eye for an eye will make us blind—
Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) August 15, 2012

@Mistrymania okay tomorrow in Hyderabad tell me the place and get your tribe as well let us see whether you turn up ?stop tweeting—
Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) August 10, 2012

I wasn't aware of the Assam issue.Due to RT's morcha I read abt it. I didn't understand, why the rally by raza academy was in Mumbai?—
☼ Laddolicious ☼ (@MirchiLaddoo) August 22, 2012

Indians are suffering form paranoia- Bengali specially Bengali muslim take over of Assam!Just becoz they hv now 30% population.Hate-mongers!—
Abdullah Karim (@Dilir123) August 22, 2012

Most journalists, here & abroad are scared to be labelled as pro-Hindu, BJP or RSS. I am proud to defend Hindus. There are not many like me—
Francois Gautier (@fgautier26) August 20, 2012

Undivided Bengal (wo Assam) had 55% muslim population.Did they take over Bengal land,jobs,zamindari?Hindus ruled everywhere!No problem.—
Abdullah Karim (@Dilir123) August 22, 2012

In Bangladesh a day laborer now earns $4 per day,even in villages! Why wd they go now to work in Assam for Rs90?—
Abdullah Karim (@Dilir123) August 22, 2012

@asadowaisi its good you atteneded the function. Now please spare Kashmir and let kashmiris live preacefully—
Rameez Farooq (@farooqrameez) August 23, 2012

@ansh_gupta99 Dont tell me but Media…1 child in well will have 24/7 coverage but a killing of 1000 Muslims will not even have a Headline.—
yaser khan (@mynameiskhan94) August 21, 2012

I am an Indian Muslim, and without me, my nation is incomplete!—
Skr (@skrahman) August 19, 2012

@mynameiskhan94 i dont think in India anywhere 1000 of muslims were killed recently ?—
Anshul Gupta (@ansh_gupta99) August 22, 2012

@ansh_gupta99 let it be anywhere…y forget Azad maidan peaceful protest turned riots and Assam killings?—
yaser khan (@mynameiskhan94) August 22, 2012

Au contraire! The Assam Police did their job. Was any VIP's person or property damaged? @timesofindia—
Suchindranath Aiyer (@Suchindranath) August 22, 2012

Who told HJS to tell the truth underlying the riots
in Assam and Mumbai? They are no Fu**ing Journalist. They are some mad Hindus.—
SOURAV GHOSH (@souravWB) August 22, 2012

Indian Man, Jadav "Molai" Payeng, Single-Handedly Plants A 1,360 Acre Forest In Assam huff.to/HbL1ac via @HPGoodNews—
Jolanda Roux (@JolandaRoux) August 22, 2012

Comedy Central

@asadowaisi Eid Mubaraq brother, May your dream of making #India an #Islamic state come true soon.—
Anjem Choudary (@anjemchoudhary) August 17, 2012

@anjemchoudhary sorry no such dream we want a prosperous and a strong India this what we are striving and stop sending such things y r blkd—
Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) August 17, 2012

Related Articles

• India Shaken as Region’s Ethnic Strife Reverberates (nytimes.com)
• Assam violence not Hindu-Muslim clash: Minister for Northeast (assamtribune.com)
• Assam: ‘Rehabilitate Muslims after verification’ (ibnlive.in.com)
• India focuses on Pakistan after panic (edition.cnn.com)
• India asks Pakistan to explain warnings (cnn.com)
• India Continues to Grapple with Fallout from Assam Violence (world.time.com)

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