Assam: New tribal Political Party IBPP Formed to ‘Protect Tribal Land and Rights’

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOKRAJHAR: Expressing grave concern over the lack of protection for tribal belts and blocks and systematic exploitation of legitimate rights even after the 78 years of Indian independence, a new political party, Indigenous Bhumiputra People’s Party (IBPP), was formed on November 25 in Guwahati with Tarun Nagar as its headquarter. 

The new tribal political outfit was formed at the behest of Dr Phukan Chandra Boro who was the Chairman of the Volunteer Force (VF), a hardcore wing of the then ABSU mass movement, in late 80s. Dr Boro became the President of the IBPP with Babul Basumatary as General Secretary. The primary objective of the party is to protect tribal lands, to ensure constitutional rights.

Talking to this correspondent, the President of the IBPP, Dr Phukan Chandra Boro said that 78 years had passed since Indian independence but the indigenous tribal people of Assam were still being exploited, constitutional rights denied while their genuine issues were neglected. He alleged that the successive governments in the state did not work for the protection of tribal lands, jobs, and political reservation with true hearts but witnessed lands being grabbed by outsiders illegally, reserved quotas being exploited and denial of constitutional rights.

“The Bodos/Kacharies were called Kirat, Kachari, Mech, etc. and they were a very backward, neglected and marginalized section for which the Britishers protected their lands by enactment of Assam Land and Revenue Regulation Act, 1886. The Government of Assam amended this act in 1947 but despite this protection mechanism, the illegal occupation of land by non-protected class of people in 45 tribal belts and blocks had been continuing,” he said, adding that lakhs of bighas of lands belonging to tribal belts and blocks were under the illegal occupation of encroachers. He also said that several hundreds of bighas of the protected tribal lands had been leased out to Adani Group, Ramdev, and other companies of the capitalist group. He demanded that the Government of Assam must stop leasing out tribal lands to private companies from outside.

 Boro said that when the capital of Assam was in Shillong, the Government of Assam leased out Dimapur, the capital of Kachari kingdom to Nagaland, for 20 years to develop it as a big commercial town but till today, the leasing agreement has not been reviewed for bringing it back under its control. He demanded that the Government of Assam should cancel the leasing agreement and return Dimapur to the Sixth Schedule tribal autonomous council.

Boro also said that the reservation quota for indigenous tribal people of Assam should have been 30 percent but instead the tribal people of the state were given only 13 percent. He also demanded withdrawal of the Zamindari system in North Guwahati and registration of land in the name of genuine land owners whose lands were systematically grabbed by powerful Zameenders.

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