A meeting of the“Tribal Belt & Block Protection Forum” (TB& BPF) was held on Monday to discuss numerous issues pertaining to protection of tribal lands particularly in BTAD & Assam in general. The meeting was chaired by Manik Kr.Brahma,President of TB & BPF in the premises of Rupnath Brahma Memorial Bodo Sahitya Sabha Bhawan in Kokrajhar.
Members of Tribal Belt & Block Protection Forum from all four districts of BTAD,viz.Baksa,Chirang,Kokrajhar and Udalguri attended the meeting. Charan Narzary,ex-M.P.,Lok Sabha,Rakeshwar Brahma,MLA,Mazbat and renowned citizens of Kokrajhar were also present in the meeting.
Charan Narzary, who is also Adviser to the organization TB & BPF said that subsequent governments of both the State and Central since independence of India have failed to safeguard the legal & constitutional rights of the tribals in Assam and vast tribal lands have been illegally encroached.Rakeshwar Brahma, MLA,Mazbat also said, “Today because of huge encroachments in tribal lands it has adversely effected demographic pattern resulting in manipulation of electoral politics of Assam. It is indeed sad that we have no representative in Lok Sabha by Bodo community inspite of Bodo being one of the 8th Schedule languages in Indian Constitution.”
It is an open secret that tribal lands especially in Tribal Belts & Blocks have been illegally encroached violating the land law as given in Chapter X of Assam Land & Revenue Regulation Act, 1886.
The forum has been formed to work and raise the land alienation issues of indigenous tribals in Tribal Belts & Blocks of Assam. The organization is also concerned of the vast deforestation in forests of Tribal areas and illegal encroachments under it because of gross negligence of State Government.
The Organization also demands the update of NRC on the basis of 1951 Census instead of 1971 specially in Tribal Belts & Blocks for safeguarding the indigenous tribal population of Assam.
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