Assam CM urges Bodos to grow fellow feeling with other ethnic groups

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma has appealed to the people of all ethnic groups living in the BTR with the mindset of fellow feeling for the greater interests of the Bodoland region.

The Chief Minister made this appeal in the presence of BTC CEM Pramod Boro at a special programme – Bodoland Speaks: from vision to action—at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra in Guwahati today. Launching several books of the BTR, the Chief Minister said, “These are not just small books; the branch is a symbol of unity that connects with strong elements, representing the language, understanding, and hopes of the region’s 26 local communities.”

The Chief Minister also conferred the Bodoland Lifetime Achiever Award to 18 personalities who contributed immensely to the enrichment of folk culture in the BTR.

The Chief Minister said that words like ‘Bodos’ and ‘non-Bodos’ should be done away with in the BTR so as to let people of all ethnic groups live there together. Apart from the Bodos, the BTR has habitations of as many as 26 communities who have their own problems. Maintaining peace and harmony in the BTR is a shared responsibility, and the Bodo community, including the 26 tribal communities residing in the region, is playing a pivotal role. Sorting out their problems amicably is a possibility if they want so, he said, adding, “I’ve seen the BTR administration making all-out efforts to keep the 26 ethnic communities together.”

The responsibility of restoring peace and prosperity in the BTR lies with the Bodo organizations, who need to assure other ethnic populations living in the Bodoland area that they are integral parts, the chief minister said, adding that the Bodo organizations need to realise the fact that the other ethnic groups living in the BTR are not a formidable threat for them. “Nobody living in the BTR should nurture the mindset of second-class or third-class citizens. They need to think that they are all first-class citizens in the Bodoland,” the Chief Minister said.

The Chief Minister said that Bodoland has a history of hatred, leading to an armed movement, as each of the ethnic groups living in the region was apprehensive of their existence. “That phase is passé now at the initiative of the BJP government at the Centre. In the past four years, the BTR experienced not a single blast or firing. This is beyond imagination. Allowing this hard-earned peace to prevail in the BTR is the responsibility of all ethnic groups living there,” he said.

 Also Read: Bodo tribe has become refugee on its own land due to illegal settlers

Also Watch: