O-Boros not majority in BTC but encroachers in tribal belts and blocks: BJSM

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KOKRAJHAR: Expressing anger over the claim of O-Boro Suraksha Mancha that population of O-Boros was 22 lakh out of the total 30 lakh population in BTC, the president of Bodoland Janajati Suraksha Mancha (BJSM), Janaklal Basumatary said that the O-Boros could not be majority in BTC as most of them were non-tribal illegal encroachers in tribal belts and blocks.

Basumatary said that O-Boro leader Jogeswar Kalita's threat of military movement if the O-Boro villages were not excluded from BTR before the State assembly election was absurd and meaningless because BTC was not constituted for Boro and O-Boro as there was no community by the name O-Boro. He said the BTC was constituted on the basis of tribal and non-tribal. "All tribal and non-tribal villages within the tribal belts and blocks cannot be excluded from the BTC as it is constituted with the tribal belts and blocks and TSP area," he said, adding that there was no meaning of 22 lakh non Boro or O-Boro people in BTC as it was not constituted on Boro-O-Boro basis, it was constituted on tribal-non-tribal basis. He said BTC area was constituted by tribal belts and blocks where tribal population was predominant and thus the non-tribal population could not be 22 lakhs in BTC.

Basumatary said that out of the claimed 22 lakh non-Boro population in BTC, nearly 15 lakh non-tribals were illegal encroachers in tribal belts and blocks and reserved forest land and reserved VGR, PGR who were liable to be evicted as per the High Court's order, 20l9 from tribal belts and blocks and Supreme Court's order, 2011 to evict all non-tribal encroachers of reserved forest, reserved VGR, PGR and distribute the land to landless tribal people. "So, there is no question of exclusion of non-tribal villages in this area," he said, adding that Bongaigaon district covered by Bijni tribal block and part Sidli tribal belt was notified on 5.12.1947 and question of exclusion of villages of this belt and block did not arise.

"Bhumeswar Pahar is within Bijni tribal block. The villages mentioned with predominant O-Boro population in Bongaigaon district are within Sidli tribal belt, so there is no question of these villages being excluded," he said, adding that Jogeswar Kalita's demand that these villages should be excluded from notified BTC was absurd and meaningless. Rather, he should be booked under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 for spreading ill will and hatred among tribal and non-tribal communities and causing breach of peace and tranquility in protected tribal society. He also said there was no question of exclusion of so-called O-Boro villages from BTC but all the contiguous tribal villages of tribal belts and blocks must be included in notified BTC.

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