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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | A distraught tribal: The genesis of Assam ethnic violence

A distraught tribal: The genesis of Assam ethnic violence

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published Published on Aug 13, 2012   modified Modified on Aug 13, 2012
-The Economic Times

Ethnic conflict in Assam, like in some other parts of the north-east is decades old, but has increased in frequency since the late 1970s.

An extremely militant agitation ostensibly to throw out 'foreigners' , but targeted more generally against all non-Assamese people, gripped the state from 1979 to 1985 . It was led by the All-Assam Students Union (AASU).

One of the factors that gave the agitation ground support was the large-scale influx from Bangladesh , particularly after 1971 . The Muslim population of Assam rose 77% between 1971 and 1991 , whereas the Hindu population rose about 42% during the same period.

The Muslim population in Assam consists of various streams. There are indigenous Assamese-speaking Muslims whose forefathers came as Mughal warriors, Muslims from East Bengal who settled in Assam before Partition, those who migrated from erstwhile East Pakistan , and immigrants from Bangladesh after its creation in 1971, who crossed over through the porous border.

Post-1991, census figures show that Assam's population grew by 18 .9% during 1991-2001, lower than India's average of 21.5%; in 2001-2011 it grew by 16 .9%, again slightly lower than the national average of 17.6%. So it would appear that large scale illegal immigration isn't taking place any more.

Major ethnic clashes have been a feature of Assam since 1983, when 1,800 people, including women and children , were killed in one day in Nellie in present day Morigaon district.

The Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal ) Act passed in 1983 during Indira Gandhi's regime specifically to apply to Assam put the onus of proving that somebody is a foreigner on the accuser.

This was unlike the Foreigners' Act, applicable to the rest of the country , which puts the onus of proving citizenship on those accused of being foreigners . The Supreme Court struck down the Act in 2005 terming it discriminatory.

The AASU-led agitation came to an end with the signing of the Assam Accord in 1985 , when Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister . Part of the deal , signed between the Centre and leaders of the agitation , was that immigrants who came after 1971 would be declared illegal while those who came between 1966 and 1971 would not be allowed to vote for 10 years.

The AASU /Asom Gana Parishad swept the assembly elections in 1985.

The Assam Accord paved the way for several ethnic groups in Assam to start agitating for the ouster of ethnic groups other than their own from specific regions. The most prominent was the Bodo movement demanding a separate state of Bodoland.

Bodos clashed repeatedly with other groups . In October 1993 , Bodo-Muslim clashes affected around 4,000 families in Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon, in 1994 , 113 were killed in Barpeta ; Bodo-Adivasi clashes in 1996 and 1998 saw almost 400 people killed and over 3 lakh displaced; again in 2008, Bodo-Muslim clashes left 65 killed and over 2 lakh displaced.

Similarly, Karbi-Kuki clashes in Karbi-A nglong in 2003-04 saw 98 killed and some 11,000 displaced; Karbi-Dimasa clashes in 2005 led to 103 deaths and nearly 50,000 being displaced.

The movement for Bodoland , led by the All-Bodo Students Union (ABSU ) and the Bodo People's Action Committee (BPAC) between 1987 and 1993 culminated in the First Bodo accord in 1993 between ABSU /BPAC, the Centre and the Assam government . The accord proved a non-starter because the proposed Bodo territory was not fully demarcated.

The second Bodo Accord between the Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT), the Centre and the Assam government in 2003 led to a compromise . The demand for separate statehood was given up and a Bodoland Territorial Autonomous District (BTAD) was formed with jurisdiction over an area of 8,970 square km in the districts of Kokrajhar , Chirang , Baksa and Udalguri. It is administered by the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), which was created after the accord.

The BTAD has a mixed population, including Bodos, Koch-Rajbangshis, Rabhas, Adivasis, tea tribes, Assamese and Bengali Hindus and Muslims. Bodos are about 29% of the population.

The 2003 accordhasfailedto resolve the inherent contradictions and ensure the protection of non-Bodos living in the BTC areas. A conglomerate of 27 non-Bodo outfits has launched a movement to exclude non-Bodo villages included in the BTC areas. Bodos in turn are fighting to oust non-Bodos from BTAD areas.

The Economic Times, 12 August, 2012, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/a-distraught-tribal-the-genesis-of-assam-ethnic-violence/articleshow/15458830.cms


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