Agencies
GUWAHATI, MARCH 17
Assam is engaged in an interesting debate these days: who is an Assamese? From literary bodies to student unions, all are trying to crack his identity.
Clause 6 of the Assam Accord which was signed six years after the anti foreigners' movement, stipulates constitutional safeguard for the Assamese. And to implement this clause, the government has sought a definition of the word 'Assamese'.
Former chief minister and Congress politician Bhumidhar Barman said in the state assembly recently that Clause 6 of the Accord could not be implemented because of the delay in finalising the definition of "Assamese people". The Accord, which is a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) signed between the Government of India representatives and leaders of the Assam movement in New Delhi on August 15, 1985, hasn't been implemented after 29 years. Union home ministry is the nodal ministry for ministry for implementation of the Accord.
"Assam Sahitya Sabha believes that all Indian citizens who live in Assam and for whom Assamese is mother tongue or either their second or third language, irrespective of the places of their origin, ethnicity, caste or religion, are inseparable part of the greater Assamese society and hence, they are Assamese," Dhrubajyoti Bora, president of the apex literary body, Asam Sahitya Sabha, said. However, there's no consensus on this.
DN Chakravartty, former president of Kamrup Mahanagar Zila Sahitya Sabha, termed this definition as "preposterous, ludicrous and dangerous", arguing that it would not only throw the indigenous communities into wilderness, but will also frustrate the very basis of the Assam Accord and nullify the sacrifices made by the 800-odd martyrs for the cause of protecting the identity of Assamese people. Chakravartty said that all castes like Kalitas, Keots and Brahmins numbering about 20, and ethnic groups should be categorized in the list of Assamese community.
He added that Muslims who came to Assam prior to and after the 13th century during the Ahom days and later came to be known as Goriyas and Moriyas will also be considered Assamese. Various tribes hailing from central India and Odisha during the 19th century to man the tea gardens of Assam would also be considered bona-fide Assamese as would be over a lakh of Sikhs who were brought in by Ahom king Chandrakanta Sinha in 1816. However, there are critics to this definition as well.
All Assam Students' Union (AASU), which is signatory to the Accord under Clause 6, is demanding reservation of seats in the Assembly, Parliament and local bodies for Assamese people. AASU adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya maintained that reservation for indigenous people is necessary to prevent a foreign national from getting elected to such bodies.
