GUWAHATI: The high-level committee on the implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord has finalised its report and it will be submitted to the Centre before February 15.
The committee refused to divulge the contents of the report but it was learnt 1951 has been suggested as the base year to define the term “Assamese”. The committee recommended the reservation of jobs for the Assamese in government, semi-government and public sector undertakings, seats in Assembly and other bodies etc with 1951 as the base year.
The definition of the term Assamese was required as Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, signed in 1985 at the end of six-year-long bloody Assam Agitation, says, “Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards, as may be appropriate, shall be provided to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people”.
Retired Gauhati High Court judge Biplab Kumar Sarma, who heads the committee, said, “There is a deciding definition of the term Assamese in the report. Issues such as land rights, reservation of seats etc are also there in it”.
He said it was a “happy day” for Assam as the committee had managed to prepare the report within the February 15 deadline by taking the views of cross-sections of the society across Assam.
“The report is yet to be submitted to the Central government and as such, we cannot reveal what exactly is there in it. But there are various aspects, including Constitutional safeguards that are to be given to the Assamese, in it. We made some recommendations saying that if these are followed, the Assamese people will be protected,” Sarma said.
Advisor to AASU and a member of the committee, Samujjal Bhattacharya, said the issue of Clause 6 arose as Assam had decided to take the burden of immigrants who migrated between 1951 and 1971.
“After the report is submitted to the Centre, we will share its contents with the people,” he added.