One of the founder members of the All Assam Students Union (AASU), Hareswar Barman left the organisation, AASU at the height of the Assam Movement along with a sizeable number of others who were his followers, when he felt that they organisation they had built has taken a sharply chauvinist and even somewhat communal line. Since then, he has been at the forefront of the struggle against communal, chauvinist activities in the state. Other than ploughing his paddy fields, he has devoted all his time towards public causes and played a commendable role to harbor peace, harmony and resistance during moments of ethno-communal strife in Assam.
The founder of the Sanmilita Janogosthiya Sangram Samitee, Hareswar Barman is actively associated with the Agricultural Land protection Committee, Forum against Pollution. He is an eminent writer and columnist of the state, fondly called the Leo Tolstoy of Assam by his followers. In this Interview with Teesta Setalvad, Barman talks about the NRC, the Citizenship Amendment Bill and how the ruling party is manipulating the Assamese population to side with them, to label Muslims as illegal immigrants and to create an artificial demographic situation by inviting Hindu foreigners.