Save Assam, a voluntary organization of the state of Assam has requested the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh to reject the ongoing demands of further dividing Assam by several organizations and get necessary amendments in the Constitution of India to include the Koch Rajbongshis, Ahom, Chutia,Moran, Matok and Tea Tribes in the list of Scheduled tribes.
In a memorandum recently sent to the Prime Minister, the organization has said that since the independence of the country, Assam has been cut short several times. During the year1963, a new state namely, Nagaland came into existence by cutting a part of the state. Again during the year 1971 two other states, namely, Mizoram and Meghalaya were created and carved out of Assam. On the extreme northern part, the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA) was also granted statehood during the year 1972.
After creation of all these four states the state the Assam remained confined into 78,438 sq kilometers of land area, the memorandum of the organization added. It was then expected that there would be no further division of the state. But the recent decision of the Union government to create a new state namely, Telangana carving out of Andhra Pradesh, has given a ‘wrong’ signal to the Karbi, Dimasa, Bodo, Koch Rajbongshi, Tai Ahom, Matok and other indigenous communities of Assam to raise demands for separate states diving Assam further. The agitations have turned violent this time destroying public property and offices, schools, colleges, etc; creating inconveniences to general public by declaring strikes, road blockades etc. Supply of essential articles have been affected badly due to disruption in road and train services
Assam is a mini India, the memorandum added that a number of indigenous communities had been living in this state together for the time immemorial. If separate states are formed for the agitating communities, the other communities would lose their political and economical rights in their own home land. These communities would be compelled then to begin agitation for their homeland, which is bound to create more dangerous situation. Assam would lose its identity if such demands continue and are entertained by the government. The organization has further demanded that the Union government should give more political and economical powers to the existing autonomous councils which can bring permanent peace in the state. The memorandum has been signed by the organization’s Vice President Kabindra Chandra Goswami and Publicity Secretary Anup Barman.
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