Land patta should be issued to indigenous tribals only: BJSM

KOKRAJHAR, Aug 17: Bodoland Jajati Suraksha Mancha (BJSM) on Thursday expressed resentment at chairman of Committee for Protection of Land Rights of Indigenous People of Assam and former Chief Election Commissioner, Hari Shankar Brahma for suggesting the BTC authority to give land pattas to the indigenous people of Udalguri district during his recent visit to the district.

 The president of the BJSM, Jaklal Basumatary said Brahma had mixed up the term ‘indigenous’ as for him those who were born in Assam on or after 1951 are indigenous, as stated by the State Government. “He has mixed up the people who had migrated during British colonial rule for employment occupation of land and some businessmen and also mixed up the illegal foreigners from East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, and people migrated from other States of India with the indigenous people,” he said, adding that the tea tribes brought by British tea planters migrating even today from States like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bengal and Madhya Pradesh for work were occupying the forest land illegally. He said they were not indigenous and similarly, the Rajbongshis who migrated from West Bengal and Rangpuria of Bangladesh and Bengali migrants were not indigenous people. He also said the Bengali migrants from erstwhile East Bengal and East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, both Hindu and Muslim, were not ‘indigenous’ people of Assam.

“How they can be indigenous?” he questioned. He further said the migrants from other States were also not indigenous in Assam. The tribals were the only undisputed origil indigenous sons of the soil of Assam. Basumatary said the land rights of BTC area were protected and reserved for tribals under chapter-X of land law as amended in 1947 and under the 6th Schedule. Thus, land patta should be issued to the ‘indigenous’ tribal only in tribal belts and blocks area and 6th  schedule area in BTC, mixed-up migrant people as urged by HS Brahma. He said the tribals should get land patta in forest land as per Forest Dwellers’ Act, 2006, without further delay.

The illegal encroachers in tribal reserved land should be evicted by the government and tribal land should be restored to tribal people. He also said Brahma could not urge the BTC authority to issue land patta to other indigenous people in line with language, caste and creed. He further said in BTC area, land survey settlement should be completed and tribals should be issued land patta in revenue villages and forest area of BTC.