Assamese definition: Speaker to take fresh initiatives

BY OUR STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI, March 4: Who is an Assamese? The State government doesn't have a proper answer yet. On the floor of the House on Tuesday, Assam Accord Implementation Minister Bhumidhar Barman told that the State government had not yet been able to filise the definition of Assamese.

On this issue on Thursday, Assembly Speaker Prab Kumar Gogoi told the House that he would take persol initiatives during the ongoing Budget session to hold discussions with political parties, social and indigenous groups to get their opinions about fixing the proper definition of Assamese.

When AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam on Thursday tried to draw the attention of the House on this issue, the Speaker interfered and told that such a sensitive issue might hurt the sentiments of somebody, adding that the fil definition of the word Assamese was yet to be fixed.

It may be mentioned here that the definition is required to provide constitutiol, legislative and administrative safeguards to the Assamese people under Clause 6 of the Assam Accord.

Speaker Gogoi said, “Now-a-days, some tribal groups living in the State prefer not to call themselves Assamese. But we can’t leave them too like other indigenous people, non-Assamese, Bodos, Rabhas, Koch Rajbongshis while fixing the definition.”

He stated that there should be no place for “extreme tiolism” in the State.

On the Speaker’s initiative, all parties extended their cooperation and support.