Kamrul (Islam) Hussain Laskar, Udharbandh, Cachar, Assam
Detention Timeline Case Study #9 [written in Bangla by Kamal Chakraborty, translated into English by Riya]
On April 22 2020, Kamrul Islam Laskar or Kamrul Hussain Laskar was released on bail from the detention centre after the Supreme Court ruling called for the release of people who have completed more than three years in the detention camps. This decision took place in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.1
Before coming across this case, I had no clue that lousy handwriting is a good enough reason to put Bengalis in detention camps. Yes, you read it right because a member (judge) of the Foreigners' Tribunal in Silchar cited 'bad handwriting' as one of the reasons behind declaring Kamrul as an 'illegal foreigner' regarding his case and mentioned the same in the final Judgement Order as well.
Kamrul Hussain Laskar lived in Chandighaat Part III (Paangram), Udharband, right in front of Mimi Factory. Kamrul studied till the eighth standard. He was eighteen when he last went to school, and since then, he has been cut off from education, formal or otherwise. He is a driver by profession. He was never too good with academics, and for multiple reasons, he ended up taking up driving as his source of income instead of pursuing education. He has a school-leaving certificate that clearly states that he is Kamrul Hussain Laskar, son of Abdul Hussain Laskar, born in 1988. We will soon come to know why this is relevant in this case.
When I met Kamrul at the Silchar Detention Camp, I learned that his real name is Kamrul Hussain Laskar, not Kamrul Islam Laskar. By then, Kamrul was imprisoned for more than three years in the detention camp. I understood from his case that if Kamrul did not receive the notice issued by the Foreigners' Tribunal, he could have avoided this ordeal because the notice issued was in the name of Kamrul Islam Laskar, and he was Kamrul Hussain Laskar. But I also know how police deliver notices and force and threaten people to receive them. So now that he has accepted the notice, he must appear before the Tribunal, fight the case, prove his citizenship even though the notice was never for him.
After getting an overview of his case and understanding the problems, I collected the contact information of his family members. I met his wife, Jhuma Begum, who works in the Mimi Factory, in front of her house. Shubhankar Chanda, teacher in Udharband School, Kajal Di (Kajal Demta), retired school teacher from Barshinga village, and our driver Waktar also accompanied me to Udharband. Jhuma has four sons, and with her job at the factory, it was difficult for her to make ends meet, provide food and clothing. Her brother Azaad used to help her out financially from time to time. After speaking to Jhuma and Kamrul, I also understood something else about this case. Kamrul's father, Abdul Hussain Laskar, who lived in Chandighaat Part I, received the notice from the Tribunal about Kamrul Islam Laskar first. Both Jhuma and Kamrul alleged that Abdul confirmed to the police that, Kamrul was not his son, and he is, in fact, an illegal foreigner. According to them (Jhuma and Kamrul), Abdul did that as a reaction to an ongoing feud and quarrel with Kamrul. After Abdul said this, the police did the rest of the work.
Later, the Foreigners' Tribunal judges declared Kamrul (Islam, not Hussain) an illegal foreigner, while his father's name remained unchanged. One member of the Tribunal also stated that not only is he a foreigner but an illegal intruder who came to India after 1971. On March 19, 2016, the police sent Kamrul to a detention camp, where he spent more than three years imprisoned for no fault of his own.
The question begs to be asked, if the son is a Bangladeshi intruder, then how can his living father Abdul Hussain Laskar and Kamrul's mother continue to be Indians? According to the Foreigners Tribunal, Kamrul is a foreign national—for argument's sake, let us assume that it is true—Kamrul came from Bangladesh illegally after 1971. How did the judge get his father's name? Based on which document did they declare him a foreigner when his father continues to be an Indian citizen? Kamrul Islam Lashkar's lawyer Baharul Islam Lashkar posed this very question before the court2.
A similar incident happened in the case of Suchandra Goswami—a resident of Malugram, Silchar. Even though Suchandra's name was wrong in the notice, it did not match her actual name; she had to appear before the Tribunal where she was declared a foreigner through a unilateral verdict, making her live in Silchar Detention Camp for several days.
In order to prove his identity, Kamrul's school leaving certificate was used where his name, father's name, and date of birth were clearly mentioned. However, the court did not give importance to the details present in the certificate of Kamrul despite it bearing the countersign of the Inspector of Schools.
Moreover, a member of the Foreigners' Tribunal wrote about Kamrul's handwriting, that the handwritten statement that he had submitted to the court looked like it was written by a student of class one or two. The writing of a student who has studied up to class eight cannot be so messy and childlike. Hence, their doubt about his identity, his citizenship persists, and he is declared a foreigner, sent to be imprisoned in detention camps, away from his family, in the prime of his life.
In dealing with these cases, sometimes I wonder how the inexperienced lawyers take up the foreigners' Tribunal related cases? Once they take up and cannot handle it, they give up on the cases very quickly. As a result, many such 'Indians' are being declared foreigners due to the incapable and inexperienced lawyers. So in the future, it is crucial to pay a little attention to these issues of legal resources that people have access to in such situations. However, the only way left open to move forward with Kamrul's case and hope of his release was through the High Court. But Kamrul's family did not have the financial capacity to fight the case in the High Court. So, one of the most critical chapters of his family life was spent in imprisonment.
After the release of Kamrul Islam Laskar from the detention camp, Malay Das, Ravi Shankar Bhattacharya and my friend Gunakar Das came to visit Kamrul at his house on behalf of Bikkhan Cine Commune, Silchar to help him and his family financially. When we visited Kamrul, he requested us to arrange for the documentation of his Driver's License; that task has been completed.
Kamrul Islam Hussain Laskar is currently 29 years old. His case is now being taken to the High Court. Prominent Guwahati High Court lawyer Aman Wadud has promised to fight Kamrul's case pro bono.
[This is the Ninth Case Study from the book আসামে নাগরিকত্ব হরণের দহনলিপি // Transliteration: Assam-e Nagorikottwo Horoner Dohonlipi by Kamal Chakraborty. The book was first published in February 2021 by Kotha Bikolpo Pariwar, Silchar, Assam. To know more about the book and this translation project or contact the translator or the author, click here. If you want to order this original book in Bangla, you can get it from the People's Book Society, College Street in Kolkata. Contact Number: 033-22199256; instead, you may also contact the author or the translator. ]
More on the ruling: Supreme Court clears release of long-detained foreigners - The Economic Times
Translator’s Note: Kamrul’s lawyer gave up on his case while Kamrul was still in detention. Kamrul was not even aware of this development till Kamal Chakraborty and others reached out to him.