PDMB demands Bodoland state by reorganizing Assam; calls 100-hour bandh

From our Correspondent

KOKRAJHAR, August 31: The People’s Democratic Movement for Bodoland (PDMB) has strongly advocated that further re-organization of Assam is the only way out to bring-forth peace, normalcy and stability in the region. The organization demands reorganization of Assam to create Bodoland state.

In a press statement, the president of the PDMB, Jebraram Mashahary said Bodoland, being in the strategic location between Indo-Bangladesh and Indo-Bhutan borders, had importance from the point of tiol security. He said the ubated aggression of illegal migrants from neighbouring countries like Bangladesh had threatened the existence of the indigenous people as well as the tiol security of the country, and the successive governments in Assam had totally failed to stop the infiltration. It would be an act of imprudence on the part of the Government of India to allow such a conflicting situation to continue for the larger interest of the region as well as of the tion, he said.

The PDBM reaffirmed that the continued demand for Bodoland was not a demand of the politically privileged class, rather it was a demand of the largely unprivileged class in the field of politics, socio-economy, culture, language and other day-to-day affairs. He said people, irrespective of caste and community, were living without education and proper health service. Due to lack of proper education facilities, the literacy rate among the tribal and other backward class may hardly reach the level of 35 per cent, which is quite contrary to the tiol average. Economic activities in production sector, service sector and marketing sector are poor in this part that results in colossal growth of unemployment among the youths. Declining agricultural economy is also causing huge unemployment among the farmers because despite healthy production the economy has gone downhill due to poor marketing facilities, he said. He also said that such unemployment problems were fuelling the growth of extremism or militancy.

Law-and-order situation has tragically collapsed in Bodoland area. Crime rate is rising day by day due to utter negligence by the police department, he alleged. He further said, “In most of the cases, police have to maintain the method of peaceful co-existence with the anti-social elements to ensure their self-interest and also for their security but in many cases police are found in league with anti-social elements of various forms and opt for disgraceful means of making easy money.”

Mashahary said the PDBM deeply deplored the growth of political goons which had become a crucial cause of concern for the law-abiding common people in the State.  He said in Assam militancy was on the rise since there was a tendency that each and every community preferred the path of arms movement to assert their rights.  

The PDMB strongly believes that smaller states are easy to be properly maged and it helps to facilitate the multiple interests of the multi-ethnic groups.  Even the recent Planning Commission reports described the fact that newly-created States were growing faster than the old ones, said Mashahary. “The tardy development in Assam can be converted into  prompt and speedy development by bifurcating Assam into more new States as such Bodoland, Karbiland and others,” he said.

Mashahary said the creation of Bodoland would ensure the removal of regiol disparity; faster economic growth and all-round development; intensive human development in the field of language, literature, culture with proper back-up of economic growth; strengthening of participation of ethnic groups in the tion building process; equal, fair and timely justice to all sections of people; minimize the gap between the rich and the poor; more employment generation; proper control of law and order for more effective and functiol administration; proper and speedy exploration and utilization of tural resources and streamlining them to the process of growth with proper maintence; strengthening of tiol integrity by removing the feeling of alietion; and peace, stability and prosperity.

In order to realize the long cherished dream of Bodoland, the PDMB will live no stone unturned for the best interest of the people living in the proposed Bodoland and will intensify its series of peaceful and vigorous democratic mass movement for Boroland with effect from September 12, starting with 100-hour Bodoland bandh, Mashahary said. He said the PDMB had submitted a memorandum to the Home Minister of India Rajth Singh after a three-hour sit-in on July 18 at Dispur Last Gate, Guwahati, to expedite the peace talks between Government of India and the ceasefire groups of the NDFB and to find an amicable solution to peacefully end the 87-year old aspiration of Bodoland. But the government has neither reciprocated nor shown any keen interest in dealing with the Bodoland issue.