Tanka Bahadur Rai, General Secretary of the Sammelan told The Indian Express here today that the authorities in Assam have violated the provisions of the Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship signed in July 1950, according to which the two Governments had agreed to grant, on a reciprocal basis, the same privileges in matter of residence to nationals of either country.

While the Foreigners (Restricted Areas) Order, 1963, had stipulated that foreigners entering the northeastern region of India had to obtain Restricted Area Permits (RAP), the Ministry of Home Affairs of India, had, through a notification on May 19, 1995, amended the provisions, making it free for Nepalis to enter Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura.

``But Nepalis are still beingdiscriminated against in large numbers despite the amendment in the provisions, and are continously harassed,'' Rai complained.

Nepalis are often asked to prove their citizenship status, detained, harassed and deported back to Nepal, from the border checkposts in the Assam-Bengal and Assam-Meghalaya entry points, the Sammelan has alleged.

``When a national from Nepal does not require possession of a passport or a Restricted Area Permit to enter and stay in Assam and Meghalaya, there is absolutely no justification for the authorities to harass the Indian gorkhas who are already settled here,'' Rai added, quoting from a memorandum recently sent to the Prime Minister.

He gave examples of the alleged harassment of several Nepali settlers living in and around Guwahati, and said that while several of them have been released after being arrested, some of them are still languishing in judicial custody following rejection of bail.