Bodoland is an area located in the north bank of Brahmaputra river in the state of Assam in north east region of India, by the foothills of Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh; inhabited predominantly by Bodo language speaking ethnic group. Currently the hypothetical map of Bodoland includes the Bodoland Territorial Areas District (BTAD) administered by the non-autonomous Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC). The map of Bodoland overlaps with the districts of Kokrajhar, Baksa, Chirang and Udalguri in the state of Assam. At present, Kokrajhar serves as the capital of Bodoland.
Contents[hide] |
[edit] Bodoland Movement
[edit] Demand for a Homeland, called Bodoland
The early history of Bodos is largely unknown. By definition, Bodos do not display any tribal culture and they do not participate any tribal rituals, i.e. they do not live in caves or jungles or go hunting wild animals. For centuries majority Bodos remained as farmers, cultivators, and peace loving society. Like many cultures in the world today, Bodos are also ethnocentric or nationalist society. Cultural assimilation with Assamese was not productive. In brief, before the British Raj, Bodo-kachari Kingdom may have included a vast area extending far and beyond Assam, a small province in the North-East India. History suggest that Dimapur was the capital of Bodo-Kachari kingdom (Dimasa Kachari kingdom and not Bodo Kachari Kingdom). The British-India colonial rulers effectively adapted divide and rule policy for over 300 years. It is likely that Bodo-Kachari were lagging behind their fellow Indians in terms of education and employability. Since the time of British Raj, Assam is known to produce oil and natural gas, and Assam tea. Before independence (1947), North-East India was a remote place.
Compared to other parts of India, such as West Bengal and Maharastra, education came to North East India only after Indian independence (1947). Following Indian independence, the Bodos were given opportunity to take advantage of scheduled tribe (ST) status. This process lead to the creation of tribal belts and blocks, protected lands meant for farming and grazing, specifically for the Bodo people. However, the list of ST in Assam continues to grow. There are a sizable number of Assamese who are claim ST or SC status.
[edit] Plains Tribals Council of Assam
In the early 1960's the Plains Tribals Council of Assam (PTCA), a political party representing Bodos and other plains tribals of Assam realized that tribal belts and blocks were gradually being acquired by rich landlords or new immigrants through illegal means. Moreover, Bodos had little or no access to economic aid that were given by the central government. Without economic package to the Bodo dominated areas, education was a distant cry. In those days, there were hardly any roads that connected Bodo dominated area to the main cities of Assam. These were several reasons for which, in 1967, PTCA demanded a Union Territory called Udayachal, to be carved out of Assam. The proposed Udayachal map included mainly those areas that was known as tribal belts and blocks. The creation of tribal belts and blocks (for scheduled-tribes) was a mechanism to protect farming and grazing lands mainly from rich landlord and illegal immigrants. The demand for Udayachal never materialized. Many government came and gone, players changed and so did the game. By the end of 70's it became clear that Bodos had a little or no influence in the Indian political process. Specifically, in Assam Bodos areas were neglected. Neglects included diverting and misuse of tribal-plan funds. For similar reasons, Khasis and Garos, carved out Meghalaya from Assam. In the late 80's, All Bodo Students' Union's (ABSU) became very concerned about decades of neglects. ABSU and Bodo political parties jointly moved and demanded a separate state, called Bodoland. However their ultimate goal is to become an indistinguishable part of India. They equally want to contribute in the development of their nation.
[edit] All Bodo Students' Union (ABSU)
The official Bodoland Movement[1] for an independent state of Bodoland started on March 2, 1987 under the leadership of Upendranath Brahma of the All Bodo Students' Union (ABSU). The ABSU created a political organization, the Bodo Peoples' Action Committee (BPAC), to spearhead the movement. The ABSU/BPAC movement began with the slogan "Divide Assam 50-50". The ABSU/BPAC leadership of the movement ended with the bipartite Bodo Accord[2] of February 20, 1993 and the creation of the BAC. The accord soon collapsed amidst a vertical split in ABSU and other Bodo political parties brought about mainly by the split between S K Bwiswmuthiary and Premsingh Brahma, and violence erupted in Bodo areas leading to a displacement of over 70,000 people. GUWAHATI, APRIL 2: The Assam government today notified the Bodo Autonomous Council (BAC) area with the inclusion of a large number of tribal belts and blocks falling in the Bodo inhabited districts. A number of villages which have less than 50 per cent tribal population have been included in the BAC, accommodating the demands of the Bodo groups to the maximum possible extent.
Case pending in the High Court, whose interim order had prohibited inclusion of villages with less than 50 per cent tribal population in the BAC, had been withdrawn by the petitioner.
Subsequent to the withdrawal, the state government has notified the boundary with 2941 villages in the BAC area as against 2682 notified already.
For Details http://www.absu.co.in Visit Here]
[edit] Bodo students plights
Even after independence, for several decades, higher education was out of reach for most Bodos. Universities and higher educational institutes are located in far away places such as Gauhati (now called Guwahati), Shillong, or Dibrugarh. Moreover, year after year majority Bodo students were not admitted to some of the best educational institutes in Assam like Cotton College, Assam Agricultural University, Assam Engineering College and Gauhati University. In addition, even after obtaining a college degree, Bodos had limited or no job opportunities. These reasons fueled disappointments among Bodo students. Although, Bodos were given ST quota, most of those jobs or opportunities went unfilled. Every office in Assam were filled with Assamese speaking folks, from officers down to peons. Creating easier educational opportunities for Bodos became first goal for ABSU. When the All Assam Students Union's (AASU) agitation to drive out illegal immigrants (year 1979-85) was slowing down, the demand for a separate state called the Bodoland was gaining momentum. The demand solely depends on the so-called equal rights for everyone as described in constitution of India.
Despite the Bodo accord, neglects remain, no economic parity is apparent. Lately, there are a few signs of efforts to improve these situations. However, there are thousands of people still languishing in refugee camps including Bodos and non-Bodos. Their lives have been disrupted several times in last two decades. Although, a few dozen single lane roads have been repaired in last few years, while hundreds of bridges remain in poor condition. Once in while, The Assam Tribune has been reporting those neglects. The national highway is in the process of expansion. Whether the BTC addressed the issues of Bodo self-determination is still an open question. [3]
No comments:
Post a Comment