BPNL demands fresh political dialogue for Bodoland statehood

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOKRAJHAR: The All India Bodo People's National League for Bodoland Movement (BPNL) on Thursday reiterated the demand for fresh political dialogue for Bodoland statehood.

In a statement, the president of BPNL, Sansuma Khunggur Bwiswmuthiary, who is also a former MP, said that fresh political dialogue on Bodoland statehood was the need of the hour as the third Bodo peace accord had nothing new and had only sabotaged the dream of Bodoland state. He said that prior to signing of BTR accord, the Bodo civil society, former ABSU workers, Bodo intellectuals and thinkers were not informed and nor was there any discussion. The governments of India and Assam went ahead with the accord by using the then All Bodo Students' Union (ABSU) president PromodBoro and president of NDFB (P), GobindaBasumatary as their planted saboteurs. He said the Bodoland statehood demand was raised 50 years back and thousands of Bodos had sacrificed their lives for it. He also said that the BTR accord had blocked the way for statehood movement for which the Bodo Civil Society had organized special convention twice to discuss the loopholes of the BTR accord.

Bwiswmuthiary said that BPNL would not compromise on the statehood issue and it would demand fresh political dialogue on the ethno-geo-political and Bodoland statehood as BTR was not the ultimate destination. He also warned that the Commission for boundary issue should not come to BTC until it includes all Bodo and tribal villages of Sonitpur and Biswanath districts in the eastern boundary to BTC.

On the question of inclusion of six communities in ST list, he said the move of the State Government was intended to annihilate the 14 ethnic tribes of the State. He said the Red Indians, the native tribes of America, were finished off by giving settlement to thousands of European immigrants in tribes land in the 1500 century. Hitler also followed the same policy and in a same manner, the Government of Assam was going ahead with the move to include six heterogeneous communities in the ST list just to destroy the existing ethnic tribal communities. He also reminded that by inclusion of Adivasis in ST list in West Bengal, the ethnic tribes like Boro, Mech, Garo and Rabha lost their legitimate rights and privileges. He also alleged that the Government of Assam had a policy to exterminate the original tribal people of Assam by inclusion of six communities that also had immigrant communities.

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