The Assam government has decided to implement most of the recommendations made by a Centre-appointed panel pertaining to Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday, reported The Hindu.
The Assam Accord was signed in 1985 between the Centre and the leaders of the Assam Movement, which was launched in 1979 to identify and deport undocumented immigrants.
The Accord aimed to satisfy the demands of Assamese nationalists who claimed that the land, culture and political rights of the “indigenous” people of the state were under threat from “foreigners”.
Clause 6 of the Accord states that the government must enact constitutional, legislative and administrative measures to protect, preserve and promote the “cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people”.
In 2019, the Union home ministry set up a 14-member committee headed by retired Justice Biplab Sarma to implement Clause 6 of the Accord as there was no consensus on the legal definition of “Assamese people”.
The committee submitted its report in 2020 to Sarbananda Sonowal, who was the chief minister of Assam at the time.
On Wednesday, Himanta Biswa Sarma said the state government would implement 57 of the committee’s 67 recommendations.
“We sought three years to study the recommendations the committee submitted and today, we have decided to implement 85% of these recommendations that fall under the ambit of the state government,” said the chief minister.
The remaining 10 recommendations fall under the purview of the Union government, Sarma said, adding that they would be taken up with New Delhi “conveniently”.
This marks a “historic milestone for Assam and stands out as one of the most significant efforts since Independence to protect the rights of the people of the state,” the chief minister was quoted as saying by PTI.
“The state government has already initiated measures beyond the recommendations of the committee to safeguard the interest of the indigenous population’,” Sarma added.
To implement the recommendations, the state government would hold discussions with the All Assam Students’ Union, the organisation that led the Assam Movement.
Sarma said recommendations would also be taken from authorities of the Bodoland Territorial Region, the Dima Hasao Autonomous Council and the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council – areas that fall under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
The Sixth Schedule under Article 244 (Administration of Scheduled Areas and Tribal Areas) of the Constitution of India guarantees certain protections for land and a nominal autonomy for citizens in designated tribal areas.
Similar consultations will be held in the Bengali-dominated Barak Valley in southern Assam, according to The Hindu.
The decision to implement the recommendations on Clause 6 of the Assam Accord comes against the backdrop of fundamentalist organisations allegedly threatening Miya Muslims in Upper Assam to leave the administrative region.
The threats were issued after the alleged gangrape of a 14-year-old girl in the Dhing area of Assam’s Nagaon district on August 22.
A 24-year-old, identified as Tafazul Islam, was among three persons accused in the case.
The term “Miya Muslims” refers to Muslims of Bengali origin who are often falsely accused of being “illegal immigrants”. The administrative division of Upper Assam, comprising nine districts, is the heartland of Assamese politics and is home to several ethnic communities.
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