Rajya Sabha MP Biswajit Daimary raises issues of indigenous people of North East

Our Correspondent

KOKRAJHAR, July 17: Rajya Sabha MP from Assam, Biswajit Daimary on Tuesday raised some pressing issues affecting the indigenous and tribal people of the Northeast and on which decisions have already been taken by the cabinet or announced in Parliament, after which agreements/accords and Memorandum of Settlement (MoUs) have been signed. He submitted a reminder letter to the Prime Narendra Modi on the issues which are yet to be implemented or executed by the ministries concerned of the Government of India.

Daimary in his reminder letter to Modi said there was a long-standing demand for the inclusion of Bodos of Karbi Anglong and NC Hills Autonomous District Councils in the ST list. He said this was also committed in the Bodo accord which was signed on February 10, 2003 by the Government of India, Government of Assam and the Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) but the matter was still pending. The Karbi people are also demanding for the inclusion of Karbis living in plain areas of Assam (outside the autonomous district council areas) in ST plain. Both these issues received good response from the Prime Minister when he visited Kokrajhar in January 2016 where Modi declared in front of over 2 lakh people that the issues would be resolved by taking a decision in the cabinet and passing the necessary legislation in Parliament.

Daimary said the cabinet, under the initiative of Modi, had taken a decision and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Orders (Amendment) Hill, 2016 was introduced in Parliament. However, the bill is still pending in the Lok Sabha till date, he said, adding that he had pursued the matter with the Parliamentary Affairs and Tribal Affairs ministers. He also said the matter could be resolved by amending or deleting some words from the bill for inclusion of Bodo-Kachari and Karbi in the ST list in the monsoon session of the Parliament.

Biswajit Daimary stated that the princely state of Tripura was merged with the union of India on October 15, 1949. At that time, the then Home Minister, Sardar Patel, had assured that the language, culture, identity and land of the indigenous people of Tripura would be protected and the Government of India would take care of the development of Tripura.

However, the indigenous people of Tripura have been marginalized and reduced to minority in their own land, he said. He also said the very survival of the people of Tripura was at stake and as a result, they were demanding a separate state within their own state. Also, they have been demanding for the inclusion of Kokborok language in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution on the lines of inclusion of Manipuri language (their language was included after merger with the union of India). He also said during the time of recent election to the legislative assembly of Tripura, there was a political commitment to form a high-level commission/committee to resolve these issues, after discussion with the Prime Minister and the IPFT party. Daimary urged the Prime Minister to look into the matter so that the issues could be resolved within a definite time-frame.