After the Assam riots, which cost Muslims dearly, almost 4 lakh Muslims took shelter in more than 200 relief camps. Meanwhile the Jamaat-e-Islami, right from the very first day, undertook the task to provide relief for the victims. The secretary of JIH’s ‘Khidmat-e-Khalq’ department relentlessly supervised the relief work on a continuous basis. JIH Secretary-General Nusrat Ali, while giving details of the relief work done in Assam till now said, on the one hand where JIH provided victims with food to eat, clothes to wear, daily use items, tents, doctors, and established centres to give religious education to the children of victims, on the other hand it also arranged legal help for the victims so that they can pursue their cases to get justice.
JIH tried to work out ways so that victims could go back to their homes and it also met with the Bodo leaders in order to acquaint them with the real situation and exchanged views on the issue of peaceful co-existence of both. It also met with the government officials and discussed the issue with them to ensure that such incidents do not happen in future. Thanks to Allah that a large number of people have returned to their homes. Those who went to their homes were given ration for one whole month.
Expressing pain and anguish over the incident, the Secretary General said that the loss of lives and property caused by the recent riots in Assam is difficult to be compensated in the near future. It is a matter of great sorrow that even after such massive destruction of established businesses, fertile fields and houses, the government has not acted in a way it should have done. However, one positive thing one can derive from this is that Muslims came to the forefront and helped the victims in every way possible. The Jamaat believes that the rehabilitation would be time-taking and requires a well-planned strategy. A huge sum of money would be needed which the millat would inshaAllah contribute to.
In a statement released by the Jamaat it was stated that the victims were distributed items of use in large numbers. A total of number of 40,212 items including cooking and daily use utensils, buckets, etc. were distributed, 28,545 families were helped with food items, and 12,500 plastic sheets, 5,000 mosquito nets and 2,850 tarpaulins were distributed.
On the occasion of Eid al-Adha Qurbani of 835 big and 94 small animals was done. 3,100 families were given Eid al-Adha kits and 13,000 families were given legal help in terms of filing FIRs, etc. With the winter setting in there is a plan to distribute 50,000 blankets while 32,000 thousand blankets have already been distributed. 47,600 people have been given medical assistance for free, 107 religious education centres have been established, 15,000 Islamic books have been distributed, 250 students have been assisted in getting their books, uniform and school fees, 75,000 suits for women, 5,000 new clothes for children and 1 lakh old clothes have so far been given to the victims. Arrangements for the marriage of 20 couples were made and tube-wells were dug at 30 different places. 10 houses have so far been refurbished and the construction of 50 new homes is underway. Plans to construct and refurbish more homes have been made.
The Secretary General expressed firm determination that the Jamaat with its limited resources and with the help of benevolent persons would construct 1,000 new homes and renovate 25,000 damaged homes. Besides, Jamaat has plans to educate the people religiously and take them out of the abyss of poverty, destitution and helplessness.