All Bodo Students’ Union opposes Citizenship Bill, ST status to advanced communities

All Bodo Students’ Union opposes Citizenship Bill, ST status to advanced communities

Our Correspondent

KOKRAJHAR: The 51st session of the All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU) held at Gwjwn Fwthar, Kumarikhata in Baksa district concluded on Wednesday. The speaker of the ABSU, Jayanta Basumatary said that the union discussed core issues of the Bodos and took important resolutions. He said the ABSU had discussed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and decided to continue the support to 30 indigenous organizations and other movement groups for protection of the rights of indigenous communities of the State. At the same time, the ABSU strongly resolved to oppose any decision of the government to include advanced communities not fulfilling the criteria for inclusion in ST list as that would affect the rights and privileges of the existing tribal people of Assam. “If some more advance and populous communities are enlisted in the ST list, the existing tribal people will lose their land, political representation, education, employment and economy,” said Basumatary.

Basumatary said that for the protection of the identity, culture, land and political right of the indigenous Bodo people, the ABSU would continue its democratic mass movement and intensify it to achieve the long-cherished goal of creating Bodoland. “The delegate meeting empowered the central cabinet to take any policy decision on the matter of movement and politics and resolved to work more effectively for all-round development in bringing quality education to Bodo medium education through ‘Mission Quality Education’. The union also strongly demands to take care of the Bodo medium school and to distribute textbooks for the new academic session soon and to fulfil all demands raised by the union,” he said, adding that the delegate meet also decided to continue the work against witch hunting, superstition, child marriage, drugs and alcohol and gambling through the ‘Bodofa Mission for Sustainable Change’.

The student body condemned BTC chief Hagrama Mohilary for his statement there was no criterion for creation of Bodoland state at the present moment as there was lack of infrastructure, industry and IAS/IPS officers in the Bodoland area to create Bodoland. “It is an insult to the great Bodo leaders like Bodofa UN Brahma, Premsingh Brahama and Bir Chilagang Basumatary and to the 5,000 martyrs who died for the great cause. It hurts the genuine sentiment and aspiration of the Bodo people, working and fighting democratically to protect the distinct identity, culture, language, land and existence of the Bodo people through creation of a state called Bodoland,” the union said in a release.

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