Publishers outside Assam have skipped the book fair held as part of the 75th Asam Sahitya Sabha session at Sualkuchi in Kamrup district because of the ongoing protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the state.

Talking to this correspondent at the inauguration of the book fair on Thursday, Sabha president Paramananda Rajbongshi said: “We invited a number of publishers of repute from outside Assam to participate in the book fair. However, all of them opted out on situational grounds at the last moment. The publishers from outside the state have cited the ongoing anti-CAA protests for their absence.”

Sualkuchi, also known as the silk town of Assam, is about 45km from here.

Protests against the CAA have been going on in several states and in some places it has resulted in law-and -order problem.

The CAA, which grants citizenships to illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan who had entered India till December 31, 2014, is being opposed as it allegedly violates the secular fabric of the Constitution and the 1985 Assam Accord. In Assam, illegal immigration is seen as a threat to the culture and identity of the Assamese people. Protests in Assam are on since December.

According to Rajbongshi, merely 71 publishers from the state, mostly from Guwahati turned up till the inauguration on Thursday. A member of a publication house said usually there are around 100 publishers.

Terming the 75th Sualkuchi conference of the Sabha “a great festival of literature”, Rajbongshi said: “Book is the soul of all intellectual exercise. We urge everyone to visit the book fair and collect the books of their favourite writers.”

Rajbongshi said more than 300 books would be released throughout the conference.

“We are expecting that at least 150 noted litterateurs from across the world will take part in various literary events of the conference. Interaction with them is another attraction for the state’s aspiring writers,” Rajbongshi said.

Manash Kalita, a retired college teacher and a resident of Sualkuchi who visited the book fair along with his family members, said: “Fewer book stalls and limited collections have saddened me a lot. I came with a good budget to collect a number of foreign novels. However, I am simply disappointed to return empty handed.”