Sibal Has Read Wrong Book Of History, Assam Was Never Part Of Myanmar: Solicitor General Tells Supreme Court
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta today rebutted the submission of Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal before the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court that Assam was a part of Myanmar.
"It seems he has read a wrong book of history. Assam was never a part of Myanmar. This has some relevance when we deal with some other matter at some other level. It was never a part. Myanmar has now maximum immigration and therefore to say that it was always a part of Assam...", Tushar Mehta submitted today during the hearing of challenge to Section 6A of the Citizenship Act 1955.
Tushar Mehta started by saying that Sibal's comment may not have any relevance for the purpose of deciding the validity of Section 6A.
Sibal then explained the context in which he made that statement. "Quiet frankly, the website of the Assam government also says the same thing", Sibal submitted.
"I don't wish to join issue on that, but it was a wrong book that my learned friend read", Mehta submitted. "Kindly look at your own website, it says exactly that", Sibal responded.
"Migration of peoples and populations is embedded in history. It cannot be mapped. No migration can ever be mapped. And if you look at the history of Assam, you will realize that it's impossible to figure out who came when. Assam originally was a part of Myanmar and it was way back in 1824 after the British conquered a part of it that a treaty was entered into, by which Assam was handed over to the British", Sibal has submitted during the previous hearing.
Along similar lines, Advocate Indira Jaising had also submitted that "Assam was part of Burma, actually, and then ceded to India under a treaty with the Burmese".
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi had refuted the said claim of Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal and Indira Jaising. (read report)
The Constitution bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Surya Kant, Justice MM Sundresh, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra has completed the hearing of the pleas and has reserved judgment.
