~ Pavas Shrigyan
About Bodoland
Bodoland is an autonomous region in Assam, Northeast India. It is made up of four districts on the north bank of the Brahmaputra river, by the foothills of Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan. The region covers an area of around 9,000 square kilometres and is primarily inhabited by the people of Bodo and other indigenous communities of Assam.
Inculcated History
After the British took control of Assam in 1826, they maintained the Ahom-Bhutan arrangement somewhat and following the Duar War in 1865, they took complete possession of the Duars and removed Bhutanese interest for good.
In 1986, with Bodofa Upendra Nath Brahma as the president, the ABSU decided to take over the movement to have a separate state and called it Bodoland further. A mass movement was started on 2nd March 1987, which was retaliated by the Assam Gana Parishad government, and then flushed with the success of the Assam Accord of 1985.
Government and Politics
Bodoland was administered by an elected body known as the Bodoland Territorial Council which came into existence under the terms of a peace agreement signed in February 2003 and its voluntariness was further extended by an agreement signed in January 2020.
A peace agreement that was signed in January 2020, under the terms of which, new districts will be created with the already existing four districts, which will be reorientated into seven districts. The area of the region will be enlarged and would also include two new districts created from the areas which are currently outside the region. The total number of districts within the Bodoland region will therefore be nine in total, as per the recent count.
In the News
BTC polls: BJP promises development, equal importance to Bodo. Moreover, the Assamese language would be included in the election manifesto.
Endangered Species: Malnutrition has plagued some of Assam’s most vulnerable districts and communities. The first part of the transmission is that the endangered species explore the issue of malnutrition mainly in the tea garden labour population, which is one of the most marginalised communities in the country. The prevalence of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), and thus lack of health workers and unequal distribution of services in some of the worst-hit parts of Assam and especially in the Muslim majority districts are some of the major issues in the region.
Narendra Modi in Assam: Addressing a massive rally in Assam, Modi hails Bodo accord and announces Rs 1,500 crore developmental package for BTAD. His recent visit to Assam and West Bengal was on February 7, 2021.
Bodo Peace Accord 2020: A glance at the timeline of major events in the long-standing conflict in Assam.
“Rail Roko” Agitation : Train services are affected in the Northeast due to ‘rail roko‘ agitation which demands a separate Bodoland.
Riots of 2012 : Uneasy calm in Assam’s Kokrajhar district is observed due to the killing of a Muslim leader. It majorly revives the memories of the riots of 2012.
Student’s Body on Bodo Deal
On August 25, in Guwahati, The All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) opposed the allotment of the 485 hectares of land to Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Yogpeeth (Trust) in Chirang district of Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD).
ABSU president Pramod Boro told reporters that the BTC administration handed over that land to Ramdev’s Patanjali last year and they have already started some construction work on it. President said that they do not want this land to be given to Patanjali. And also that the people of BTAD want a government institution on the land for the actual benefit of residents.
“The allotted area includes legally owned land from Bodos, Rajbongshis and a few Muslims. Also, government-owned plots have been handed over. However, the landowners haven’t received any compensation or deal yet. Many owners do not know that their land has been given,” He alleged.
The student leader said most conflicts in Assam were happening thanks to land-related issues then the authorities should have acted responsibly.
“The BTC authority is saying the world is being encroached by illegal immigrants and to prevent that, the land was handed over to Patanjali. What logic is this? There are numerous places across Assam where the encroachments might have taken place. Will all those lands be handed over to Patanjali itself?” He asked.
During the Budget Session in Assam Assembly earlier this month, the minister of state for Revenue Pallab Lochan Das had informed the House that the BTC Authority has allotted 484.93 hectares of land to the Patanjali Yogpeeth officially.
He mentioned that as per the decision of the Executive Council meeting of BTC, the land has been allotted to Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust for the furthermore establishment of Cow and Panchagavya Research for the preservation and promotion of cow breeds and the training and collection of medicinal plants.
The minister had also informed that the land has got to be utilised within three years from the difficulty of the allotment order, otherwise, it might be reverted to the Revenue Department of BTC.
Conclusion
Regardless of all the differences, Bodoland has gone through, now has come the time for its people to live in a more privileged region. Bodoland has been coming up more strongly now, and if everything goes well, with the government helping and funding it with the right intentions altogether, it will just be a matter of few more years before it could originally be considered as a place of residence with everything that would make the lives present there more luxurious and carefree.
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