
“Caste, community will rapidly
disappear. We have to speedily forget all these things. Such boundaries hamper
our growth”. These
famous words of Sardar Patel seem relevant in the present scenario of Assam and
particularly in Bodo accord.
The central government along with
state government has recently signed the historic Bodo accord. However, this is
not the first time when the government has engaged the Bodo community for
dispute settlement. But this Bodo accord has its significance in the bright
future of the Assam in general and Bodo people in particular. Different people
have hailed the accord as historic.
After the 1986 Mizo Accord, at least
five major peace agreements have been clinched with insurgent groups. But for
the first time a student organization which had acted as a catalyst and unifier
has become a signatory to an accord along with a civil society conglomeration.
This could well be a new peace template for the region.
In a tripartite agreement, all the
parties to the agreement have agreed upon on all the main issues which had
caused thousands of death and uncountable destruction to public and private
property. Apart from Central and State government all the four factions of
NDFB, ABSU, UBPO were the parties to the historic accord which in the
government’s opinion will bring prosperity in the region.
The BTAD (Bodoland Territorial Area
Districts) and other areas mentioned under the sixth Schedule of the
Constitution have been exempted from the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019
that enables undocumented non-Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan
who entered India on or before December 31, 2014 to apply for Indian
citizenship.
History of violence and agreement
The Bodo which is also known as
Kacharis and Mech is an ethnolinguistic group. They are a part of the greater
Bodo-Kachari family (constitute 5-6% of Assam’s population) of ethnolinguistic
groups and are spread across northeastern India. They have their political
presence in four districts of Assam namely, kokrajhar, Chirang, Baska, and
Udalguri. They have been living in the region for centuries.
The demand for a separate Bodoland was
first raised in the 1960s. At that time the demand was mainly about autonomy to
certain Bodo dominated areas. It gained momentum from 1987 when All Bodo
Students Union (ABSU) launched an agitation for a separate state. In the late
1980s, the violent and militant means were adopted by the Bodo people which
caused several deaths and large human displacement. Finding no other option,
the government agreed to bring the matter on the table. After several
negotiations, the 1st Bodo accord was signed on 20 February 1993
between Central and State governments and ABSU-Bodo Peoples Action Committee
(BPAC). It provided the Bodo Autonomous Council (BAC) composed of 40 members
with 38 subjects-matters. But later on, the Bodo people rejected the accord
which gave another start to violent protests for the demands. The violent protests
got more support from the formation of Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) in June
1996.
On 10 February 2003, the 2nd
tripartite Bodo accord was signed which led to the formation of the Bodo
Territorial Council (BTC) with increased autonomy and powers. In addition to
that Bodoland Territorial Areas District (BTAD) was created under the 6th
Schedule of the Constitution of India which included four districts of the
state of Assam. Also, the Bodo language was added to the 8th
Schedule of the Constitution by a Constitutional Amendment in 2003.
However, all these things failed to
impress Bodo people. The NDFB divided into several factions and continued their
demand for greater autonomy to the Bodo community.
Latest accord and the way forward
The present dispensation has been very
keen to solve long pending issues of the North-East Region (NER). Recently the
23-year long-pending issue of rehabilitation of Bru-Reans in Tripura has been
solved finally. Apart from this, from the very first day, the NDA government
has been working with great zeal to develop the entire NER. This becomes
evident from the fact that a separated Ministry has been formed namely
Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER) which has been given adequate
powers and responsibilities for the overall development of the region. To solve
this issue, the Centre started acting in August 2019. Many rounds of meetings
took place with all the stakeholders. Finally, the accord was signed on 27th
January 2020.
The government while working on its
mantra of “Sab ka Sath, Sab ka Vikas, Sab ka Vishwas” has agreed on all the
issues of Bodo representatives and succeeded to maintain the integration of
Assam. The government also succeeded in tackling the main issue of delay in the
implementation of the provisions of the accord. The accord provides for the
time-bound implementation of all the provisions of the accord. The government
is committed to doing everything possible which will help not only in achieving
peace and prosperity in the region but also the overall development of the
region and the Bodo community in particular.
A total of 1500 crore rupees will be
earmarked over three years equally by the Central and the State government.
Both the governments will also rehabilitate the armed insurgents of the total
of eight banned outfits who have surrendered on 30th January 2020.
The entire issue revolved around the
ethnic and linguistic identity of Bodo people. The present accord deals with
this issue with the required importance. The accord provides for the provision
wherein the Bodo language in Devanagari script will be notified as an associate
official language in the state. A separate directorate for Bodo medium schools
will also be constituted in upcoming days.
As far as legislative and political
autonomy to BTC is considered the accord has kept the provisions in accordance
with the expectations of the Bodo people within the Constitutional framework.
The BTC will become a 60 membered council having jurisdiction over the BTAD,
which is proposed to be renamed as Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) with
increased legislative, administrative, financial and executive powers. A
Commission will be appointed under Section 14 of the Sixth Schedule to the
Constitution of India, with representation from the state government, ABSU, and
BTC, which will recommend the inclusion and exclusion of Bodo people residing
in villages adjoining the BTAD areas within six months of its appointment. For
the welfare of the Bodo people, the Government of Assam will form a Bodo-Kachari
Welfare Council as per the existing procedure. The accord also proposes to keep
the rights of tribal people over the land without halting the development of
the area.
BENEFITS
As per the estimation it will bring
peace to the region and the accord will successfully bring together
leading stakeholders under one framework. Reportedly, there were nearly
4000(Civilians, security personnel and Bodo cadres) death and millions of
people were displaced since the demand of the separate state but now we have
this peace accord and expect no more death in the name of separate state. People previously associated with
armed resistance groups will enter the mainstream and contribute to the nation’s progress.It
will further protect and popularize the unique culture of the Bodo
people and will give them access to a wide range of development-oriented
initiatives. It will bring peace, harmony and togetherness in the
people of Assam.
As per the pact, it
will provide general amnesty to cadres involved in non-heinous crimes and
consideration on the case to case basis for those who are involved in heinous
offences. Assam government is revamping its rehabilitation program to ensure
that these cadres who have been surrendered should not go back to insurgency.
CONCLUSION
Meanwhile, peace in
the Bodoland Territorial Region, which has witnessed several incidents of
ghastly ethnic violence, will depend on the evolving relationship between the
Bodos, the dominant but not the majority in the BTR and other communities.
We have to learn from
past experiences. Meghalaya was also a part of Assam, it got separated because
of a dominant community. In case of the BTAD movement, the same thing happened.
We did not take Bodos in confidence during the Assam Agitation. The BTAD is mix
of many communities. They will have to take other communities into confidence
if the region has to prosper.
Reaching to the agreement does not
mean that the age-old problem has ended. The problem may emerge once again if
the loopholes are not dealt with firmly and on an urgent basis as and when
required. Earlier also two accords were signed between the government and other
stakeholders but what had happened afterward, the entire world knows. So, the
government needs to be very alert to ensure that any unprecedented issue can be
dealt with in the initial stages. Also, the government needs to save itself
from making all the mistakes that had caused unrepairable loss to life and
limb. The government has to make sure that all the provisions of the accord are
fulfilled in their originality and in a time-bound manner.
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Shivani Singh Sengar
Thank you ! This is very informative and comprehensive article.
Shivani Singh Sengar
Thank you ! This is very informative and comprehensive article.