ABSU, PJACBM demand early solution to Bodoland issue

From our Correspondent

KOKRAJHAR, Dec 3: A cycle rally was taken out by the All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU) and its movement group, the People’s Joint Action Committee for Boroland Move ment (PJACBM), on Friday demanding early solution to the long-standing demand of Bodoland state and political right to the Bodos living outside the proposed Bodoland area. The rally started from Khargaon via Mijing Nwgwr-Kokrajhar town-rabari-Batipara-Gendrabil to Hariguri where a meeting was held.

The movement group demanded to resolve the Boro people’s demand for creating Bodoland state immediately, to ensure political right to the Bodos living outside the proposed Bodoland area, and to protect, preserve and safeguard the identity of the Boro and other tribal people with language, culture and tradition by creating Bodoland state.

 The group appealed to the Government of India to come forward with a pragmatic policy decision on the Bodoland issue as almost half a century had elapsed in agitation of different ture, which has taken more than 5,000 lives.

They also announced a series of agitation programmes like maha rally, dhar and hunger strike in Delhi during the winter session of Parliament in December and 24-hour tiol highway and railway blockade in January, 2017 and indefinite mass hunger strike in March, 2017 to pressurize the government on the demands.

ABSU general secretary Lawrence Islary said that the BJP promised both in writing (manifesto) and verbally that they would resolve the Boro problem immediately if they could come to power in New Delhi. They were voted to power and their regime in Delhi is more than two years now. But the fact is that there is no initiative to materialize their promise. They have stopped the very continuity of dialogue which apparently means the regime is not willing to resolve the problem, he said.  

Deputy Convenor, PJACBM Garjan Mushahary said “The Boro people, an indigenous people of Assam, have been subjected to socio-economic exploitation, suppression, oppression and political domition and are at threat of total extinction. Even after 70 years of India’s independence, the State has failed to protect, preserve and safeguard the land, identity, language and culture of the Boro people.”

 “Boro people are very much part of the great Indian community and are loyal to the Constitution of India. The Boro people want to live with dignity and honour under the provision of the Constitution of India.  For that purpose the Boro people launched their movement for socio-political right in 1967. The All Bodo Students’ Union, the vibrant young force of the Boro people, launched its first phase of movement for Bodoland state in 1987.  The Government of India signed two Bodo Accords in the me of resolving to the Bodo people’s demand. But both the Bodo Accords could not fulfill the political aspiration and also could not address the fundamental questions of the Boro people. So the tiol Democratic Front of Boroland (Progressive), an armed militant organization which signed a truce, has been negotiating with the government on the issue of creating Boroland state under the provision of Article 2 & 3 of the Constitution of India since 2005. They had 14 rounds of tripartite talks but there was no progress. The ABSU and other allied groups which launched their third phase of movement demanding to create Bodoland state has had five rounds of formal talk so far with the Government of India. But talk has made no progress at all,” he said.

The group said the movement would continue until and unless the government of India conceded to their demand. The rally was also carried out in different parts of the State in district, anchalik and village level.