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Business News/ Politics / News/  Simmering tension over control of land comes to a boil
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Simmering tension over control of land comes to a boil

Simmering tension over control of land comes to a boil

Cycle of violence: Firefighters at a house set on fire at Gosaigaon in Kokrajhar. Photo: APPremium

Cycle of violence: Firefighters at a house set on fire at Gosaigaon in Kokrajhar. Photo: AP

Kokrajhar (Assam): Between 30 May and 6 July, three Muslim workers were shot dead and two more survived similar attacks at various places in Assam’s Kokrajhar district.

The administration says extremists from among local tribals were behind these attacks—cases were registered but none nabbed.

On the night of 20 July, four youths from the Bodo tribe—the dominant one in the district—were gunned down in what is being seen by the Kokrajhar police as a retaliatory attack.

The district was on the boil within hours.

Cycle of violence: Firefighters at a house set on fire at Gosaigaon in Kokrajhar. Photo: AP

Thrice before—in 1995, 1996 and 2008—the agitation for a separate state for the Bodos coincided with communal clashes in Assam, according to Rwngwra Narzary, an adviser to the All Bodo Students’ Union (Absu).

New states such as Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand have been created, and the Gorkhas in West Bengal have got greater administrative autonomy, he said, but the demand for Bodoland—a separate state—“remains largely ignored".

Absu, along with two banned outfits, Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) and National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), launched a movement for a separate state for the community almost two decades ago.

When BLT laid down arms and renamed itself Bodo People’s Front (BPF) in 2003, Bodo Territorial Council (BTC) was formed under an accord with the Centre and the Assam governments, giving the community some autonomy in the administration of around 3,100 villages.

These were carved out of eight districts and put under the Bodo Territorial Autonomous District (BTAD)—the administrative block jointly governed by BTC and the Assam government.

The formation of BTAD gave the Bodos a certain degree of authority and control over the areas inhabited by the community and ended almost a decade-long insurgency in Assam; but nine years on, the move appears to have failed in its objective.

The Bodos are again feeling nervous and edgy, and the extremists formerly harboured by BLT and NDFB are rearing their heads, according to a leader of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), which ruled the state from 1985 to 1989 and from 1996 to 2001. This person declined to be identified.

Their adversary remains the same—immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh, or Muslims, who now claim Indian citizenship, armed with electoral identity cards and ration cards. They have lawmakers representing them in Assam’s legislative assembly.

For over three decades, the people of Assam have been opposing the unchecked immigration of Bangladeshis into the state—the movement was peaceful in its early days, but has, over the years, become increasingly violent, the AGP leader said.

The extremists involved in last week’s skirmishes used sophisticated firearms, said U. Bora, deputy commissioner of police of Chirang—one of the worst affected districts—citing cartridges recovered from a site where two Muslims were killed.

There are several guerilla organizations in operation in the neighbouring states such as Nagaland, which regularly supply firearms to extremists from both camps in Assam, said state intelligence officials, who did not want to be identified. “For years, both sides have been preparing to fight a bloody war," said one of them.

Land politics

The conflict stems from control of land, according to politicians and academicians. The Muslim immigrants have overrun Bodos even in districts traditionally dominated by them, such as Dhubri and Barpeta, according to Absu’s Narzary.

He said 75% of the Bodos have lost control over their land. Though his statistics should be seen in the light of his political motivation, it shows the community’s desperation.

The Bodos have traditionally leased out their land to the immigrants for tilling and have had problems taking them back, according to Akhil Ranjan Dutta, associate professor of political science at Guwahati University.

Ownership documents have never been in order—as is typical with tribal lands—and the state’s land records, too, are not clear, he said, adding that the 2003 accord did not have “adequate provisions" to protect their ownership.

The Muslims, on the other hand, say they are the oppressed lot even in areas where they are “not minorities anymore".

“We have been recognized as Indian citizens, yet the Bodos routinely extort from us," said Zia-Ul Rahman, a village-level leader, currently living in a relief camp. “We have to pay them even out of funds received under central development schemes such as Indira Awas Yojana."

The Muslims aren’t a pushover politically. Their All India United Democratic Front, a political party, is the second biggest in the Assam legislative assembly with 18 lawmakers out of 126, whereas the Bodos’ BPF party has 10.

The political might of the immigrants is being increasingly felt as their numbers swell, according to Atul Bora, an AGP leader. “With panchayat (village council) elections scheduled to be held in the state next year, the Bodos are feeling increasingly insecure," he added.

Though village council polls are not held in BTAD, the Bodos fear they are going to get marginalized in areas outside it.

BPF chief Hagrama Mohilary, who is also the chairperson of BTC, alleged that last week’s communal tension was a conspiracy aimed at taking away from the Bodos their authority over the autonomous district carved out for them in 2003.

He said extremists belonging to various groups—Muslims, non-Bodo tribals, and even those living outside BTAD—were trying to create “such political instability that the administration is forced to scrap the BTC".

Not that the BTC has much relevance anyhow, said Absu’s Narzary. It has little autonomy and receives only a small fraction of the funds it asks for—for instance, last year it received only 290 crore for developmental work, whereas, going by the population it serves, it should have received at least 1,000 crore, he said.

Militancy

Extortion is the principal income for a section of Assam’s youth, said Chirang police’s Bora, and they “cut across all communities".

Arms dealers have a “huge role to play" in the organized violence that Assam saw last week, he added.

Assam’s gross domestic product grew last year at 6.5%, according to Dilip Baruah, professor of economics at Guwahati University.

The growth was worse at 2-4% in the previous years, even when India’s economy was growing much faster.

The state’s economy has lately got a fillip from the services sector—it accounts for almost 50% of Assam’s economy, said Baruah, but the tribals and immigrants don’t benefit from it.

Unemployment among the rural youth is the main cause for insurgency in Assam, according to Dutta, the teacher of political science.

“The money comes from extortion," he said, “and the arms, from the dealers who are allowed to flourish by the state administration for political gains."

“Volunteers" can be hired for 2,000-3,000 a month, said a Bodo leader, who did not want to be named. “In these difficult times, a firearm is a prized possession," he added.

romita.d@livemint.com

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Published: 30 Jul 2012, 09:32 AM IST
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