NDFB-P appeals for supporting Boroland issue

The National Democratic Front of Boroland-Progressive (NDFB-P) made an appeal to all Tribal Member of Parliament (MPs) to support and raise the issue of separate state demand of Boroland in the ongoing summer session of the Indian Parliament to meet speedy up of development and good governance. S Sanjarang,Information and Pubticity Secretary, NDFB (P) in a press statement said the Boro people, the sons of the soil of Assam were once ruler of the entire North East region. They were a free and independent nation. But gradually they lost their territory and freedom in course of time due to partly external aggression and partly because of internal conflict. The British annexed their kingdoms to the British Empire on flimsy grounds, such as - enforcement of the Doctrine of lapse, usurpation of power by taking the charge in the form of a protectorate state, invasion etc. Since the British had snatched away the independence ofthe Boro people it was their responsibility to grant state to them just before their departure from India. But the Boro people were way-laid empty handed and were forcibty shoved into Assam just to be dominated, neglected and ridiculed by the chauvinist Assamese. Thus the Boro people were denied their historical rights and were subjugated as the stateless peopte despite having a distinct history. After having independence lndia re-organised its states to meet the demands of the peopte's the new states were created on the basis of language or ethnicity. Each time the illfated Boro people unlike other compatriots were denied their legitimate right to have a state despite having distinct identity with uniqueness of language and culture. The Boro and other indigenous tribal people became restive since the last part of the colonial route to assert their political right. They launched a vigorous democratic movement with demand for separate state Udayachal in the northern bank of the Brahmaputra for the plain tribal of Assam in 1967. Their movement continued f or 27 years but the Government of lndia did nothing to redress their demand. Instead their democratic and peaceful movement was crushed by repressive measures. When the movement for Udayachal took momentum Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh states were created in 1971 and 1972 respectively. By that time the tribal people of Assam were happy that since their immediate neighbours have been granted states without any movement so their dream of Udayachal was not far away from their door step. But their dream for having a state remained elusive.

The movement was later carried out by the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) and the Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) from 1987 to 2003. In between three new states, namely Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand were created which were India's New Millennium's gifts to the down-trodden people of the Eastern, Central and Northern India. Telangana state was declared at midnight of the 9th December, 2009 and despite stiff opposition from large section of people of Andhra Pradesh Telangana state formally came into being in 2014. Instead of granting statehood the Government of India was attempting to console the Boro people by granting Bodoland Autonomous Council and later Bodoland Territorial Area District (in 1993 and 2003), which practically are paralysed and impotent kind of administrative set up, incapable to address the very fundamental questions of the Boro and other indigenous tribal people.

The National Democratic front of Boroland (Progressive), being on peace process for the last ten years is having 14 rounds of dialogue with the Government of lndia on the issue of separate state. Due to lack of political will on the part of the Government of lndia the dialogue is not in progress. The All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) resumed their movement again together with the NDFB (P) since 2010. Till now five rounds of talk have been held so far with the ABSU and its allied organizations but with no progress. The last talk with them was held on the June 9, 2015.

The Boro people have distinct history because they were an independent nation and have a distinct identity with unique language and culture. Not only that they have the largest number of population among the indigenous peoples of the region. Despite all these the Boro people have been repeatedly denied and deprived of their legitimate right to have a state. This is a gross historical injustice,said Sanjarang.

The militant outfit leader earnestly appeal to the tribal MPs to raise the issue in the Indian Parliament and extend support in order that the long standing problem of Boroland demand can be resolved under the provisions of Article 2 & 3 of the Indian Constitution for permanent peace in the region,press statement added.