NELLIE: For the 3,000-odd residents of Nellie, every election brings up the memories of the one in 1983, when 14 votes led to a mass murder of 2,000.With another election round the corner, and a disturbingly familiar anti-foreigner sentiment guiding politics again, Nellie demands the justice that has eluded it for 36 years.The anti-foreigner sentiment and belligerent protests against "migrants" being included in voter lists was the major election issue then, just as it is now.Since 1980, a year after the anti-foreigner movement began in Assam, 12 of the 14 Lok Sabha seats had been lying vacant since 1980. In 1982, the assembly was also dissolved. Holding an election was imperative and the announcement was made on January 6, 1983 - polls for the Lok Sabha and assembly seats would be held in four phases. The powerful All Assam Students' Union (Aasu), which had launched the anti-foreigner movement and demanded that the electoral rolls be "purged" of the names of "illegal migrants from Bangladesh", issued a poll boycott call. Delhi, meanwhile, was busy preparing for the first NAM summit it was to host a month later.In Nellie, 14 people voted on February 14.Four days later, thousands of Assam Agitation leaders lay siege to Nellie and its surrounding villages, all populated by Bengali Muslims who had migrated from Bangladesh in the 1940s and 1950s. In a span of eight hours, 1,819 villagers were killed."Thousands from All Assam Students' Union (Aasu) surrounded our villages, dressed in all-white with gamosas wrapped around their heads. They had brought loudspeakers along. There were women among them too, carrying drums. It looked like a festive occasion," says Shafdar Ali (48), a survivor of the attack. "Soon, the loudspeakers came to life -- 'now start killing'. And we ran for our lives," he adds.The killings went on all day. "Later, police came here with sweepers to collect the bodies," says another survivor, Mohd Moniruddin (44), who lost all his family members that day. "My father, mother, elder brother and three younger sisters were killed. Only I survived because I could outrun the attackers," he adds.The Nellie massacre remains one of the biggest the country has seen. Yet, the Tiwari Commission report on the massacre remains outside the public domain. None of the perpetrators were ever brought to the book. And reparations are a far cry."The Kopili river had turned red that day. Bodies piled upon bodies as far as you could see. Now, those who killed our people are called martyrs. We can't even get the government to acknowledge that what happened was wrong," says maulana Suleiman Qasimi, a survivor of the massacre.The 855 Aasu members who died during the Assam Agitation have been recognized as 'martyrs' by the present BJP government and received compensation thrice - Rs 5,000 from a Congress government, Rs 30,000 from the Asom Gana Parishad government under Prafulla Mahanta and Rs 5 lakh under the present BJP government of Sarbananda Sonowal, a former Aasu leader himself. Families of those who died in the Nellie massacre received Rs 5,000 from the Congress government soon after the killings and that was it. "The government announced Rs 5 lakh for each survivor of the 1984 Sikh riots and as much for the Gujarat riot victims. We demand the same compensation," Suleiman adds.Now, Nellie wants to move past the divisive sentiments that had fuelled the violence. The only thing holding them back, they feel, is the political establishment that won't let tension die down."Many people here did not make it to the draft NRC (published in July last year). Maybe Rahul can make things better," says Bahirol Islam (32), a well-digger, adding, "Congress at least speaks in our favour. Can't say that of the others." The National Register of Citizens (NRC), being updated in Assam, is a list that identifies citizens and, consequently, migrants."We always voted for Congress, believing they would do something for our welfare. They talked a lot but did nothing. Then came the BJP government, with its 'vikaas' (development) promise. But it is even worse, inciting hatred with its Hindutva politics," Shafdar adds.The only 'vikaas', Suleiman says with a wry smile, is a road running through the village for police to move fast."People are served notices by Foreigners' Tribunals, get marked as 'D' (doubtful) voters and are arrested. Producing documents doesn't help. The authorities are not interested. Even Bengali Hindus in Ganesh Beli, down the road, face the same harassment," says Nabi Hussain (50), adding, "None of this is new, but the frequency of such things has gone up since 2014. And with the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, the government is trying to divide us. BJP-RSS does not want people to live in peace. Whatever be our past, we don't feel there are differences among people around us. It is just political parties that don't want tension to subside."The bill, introduced by BJP, seeks citizenship for non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. While the bill is set to lapse, the BJP government at the Centre has said it will reintroduce the bill if it comes back to power. "That is a dangerous prospect. BJP leaders are quite open about their dislike for Muslims like me. Himanta (Biswa Sarma, Assam minister) says he is upset whenever he visits Dhubri or Barpeta because he sees so many Muslims. What can we expect from them?" Shafdar says.