GUWAHATI: Three lakh Bodos in Assam have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding the early creation of 'Bodoland' state.
The All Bodo Students Union (ABSU), which has been spearheading a movement for the creation of Bodoland state since 1987, said the letters were written by people from all walks of life. "The movement for political right of the indigenous Bodos started way back in 1967.
After a long movement and bloodshed, arrangements such as the Bodoland Autonomous Council (BAC) and the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD) were made in 1993 and 2003 respectively. But none of these was demanded by the Bodos. They were designed to appease the then Bodoland movement leaders and not to resolve the genuine issues," the letters read.
The Bodoland Territorial Council, created in 2003 in the aftermath of Centre's signing of the Bodo Accord with erstwhile insurgent group Bodo Liberation Tigers, looks after administration and development in four BTAD districts of Kokrajhar, Chirang, Udalguri and Baksa.
In the letters, the Bodos pointed out that the BAC and the BTAD could not fulfil the aspirations of the community and the people living in the Bodo belt. "Therefore, the basic judgment, for which the Bodos were bound to demand a new state hived off Assam, is still in existence, and it is a matter of great distress that no government at the Centre or state comprehended the need of urgent solution to the issue," they wrote.
They pointed out that the Bodos at large had extended unconditional support to the BJP based on its pre-poll promise to bring about lasting solution to the Bodoland issue. "Therefore, we feel that it is necessary to hold the talks at the political level and arrive at a decision acceptable to all," the letters read.
The Bodos said the Centre's adoption of dilly-delaying tactics in settling the issue was only complicating the prospect of peace in the Bodo areas. ABSU president Pramod Bodo urged the Centre to create Bodoland in line with Telangana. Earlier, a section of the Bodos had taken up guns to seek a separate Bodoland state.