By Abu Zafar, India Tomorrow,
New Delhi, 11 June 2014: More than a hundred students and activists, who took a long journey from Assam to New Delhi, protested at Jantar Mantar near Parliament House on Tuesday demanding the government for a meaningful solution to the conflict between ethnic Bodo and non-Bodo groups in Assam’s Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD).
Lafiqul Islam Ahmed, general secretary of All BTC Minority Students’ Union (ABMSU), demanded the government to review BTC.
“We came here to register our protest and demand the government to come out with a permanent and meaningful solution to conflict and violence in the area,” Ahmed, who hails from Kokrajhar district, told India Tomorrow at the site of demonstration.
“The only solution is that government should review BTC accord and BTC Act,” he demanded.
“We don’t enjoy most of schemes for minorities provided by the government,” he alleged.
For the past couple of years, BTAD has witnessed massive violence and displacement of a large number of people. In 2012, more than 100 people were killed and nearly four lakh others were forced to leave their homes. In early May this year also, at least 45 Muslims including 20 children were allegedly killed by Bodo militants in Baksa and Kokrajhar districts of BTAD area.
BTAD and BTC
BTAD is administered by Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) which was established in 2003 by the then Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government at the centre under the Memorandum of Settlement. It has a territorial privilege based on the Sixth Schedule of Constitution of India. Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) rules BTC which is a parallel set-up of government within the state of Assam. Kokrajhar is its capital. BPF is a political version of former militant secessionist group Bodo Liberation Tigers Force.
Ahmed also alleged that local Bodo authorities are involved in violence.
“The BPF is fully involved in rioting, kidnapping and killing of innocent people but the state government did nothing against them,” said Ahmed who is also pursuing a master’s degree in Political Science from Guwahati University.
He demanded seizure of all illegal arms, a massive operation against militants, proper security for non-Bodo people and the review of BTAD.
Influx of ‘Bangladeshi migrants’
Asked about alleged influx of Bangladeshi migrants in BTAD, Ahmed said that it is a political stunt which is used to demoralize Muslims in the area.
“I have never seen any Bangladeshi there. If they found anyone and proved their claims then we will hand over the person to police,” he said.
“It is duty of the government to investigate as to who came to India from Bangladesh after 25 March, 1971,” he stated.
He said that Congress played politics on the issue of BTAD. NDA government set up the BTAD and now that it has come to power at the centre again it should review it.
Ibrahim Ali, a class 12 student who travelled from Nalbari district of Assam, said that Bodo people want to evict non-Bodo people from BTAD.
“They are creating problems because they are only 27.28 percent of the BTAD population and the rest are non-Bodo people. Bodos kill non-Bodo people and set fire to their homes because they want to force them to leave the area, only then they can prove their majority,” Ali explained.
Khalilur Rahman, who belongs to Baksa district and came to Delhi to support the protest, thinks that BTC government is against Muslims and other non-Bodos.
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Members of All BTC Minority Students’ Union demonstration at Jantar Mantar near Parliament House on 10 June 2014 (Photo – India Tomorrow)
“BTC government is not with us. Whatever happened or is happening there is a conspiracy of Congress-led state government,” he said.
Answering a question about role of the Badruddin Ajmal-led All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Rahman said they should do more.
“Of course they did some good work but it is not sufficient to resolve the issue. We expect more from AIUDF,” Rahman responded.
He said that by branding non-Bodos as Bangladeshis, Bodos want to grab their lands.
“They want to give a bad name otherwise I have been living here since my birth and we have a land which was registered in the name of my grandfather in 1942,” he further added.
Delhi based social activist Navaid Hamid who also participated in the protest also demanded review of the BTC accord.
“The decision which was taken by the Central Government in 2003 was aimed to prevent violence in the area but it couldn’t stop. Therefore the government should review it,” he demanded.
The protestors demanded the government to set up a special enquiry under the supervision of Supreme Court of India to probe incidents of massacres, arrest of all culprits who are responsible for violence, seizure of all illegal arms in BTAD within one month, deployment of permanent armed police at all sensitive areas, rehabilitation of displaced people and compensation of Rs 10 lakh each to families whose kin were killed in the violence.
