08-26-2012, 05:48 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-26-2012, 05:50 AM by G.Subramaniam.)
Tehelka
ââ¬ËCall for separate Bodoland might grow louder if our land is not protectedââ¬â¢
It has been more than a month since the clashes broke out in Kokrajhar, but the situation in the Bodo heartland in Lower Assam remains tensed. The party in power in the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), the Bodoland Peoplesââ¬â¢ Front (BPF) is in a tizzy after its legislator was arrested in charges of rioting. In an exclusive interview to Tehelka, the chief of BTC and the head of BPF Hagrama Mohilary tells Ratnadip Choudhury why the idea of alienation still rules the roost in the Bodo areas.
Photo: Ujjal Deb
Fingers are now being pointed at your party after your MLA Pradeep Brahma was arrested on charges of being directly involved in rioting. Would you agree that your leaders have played a part in aggravating the situation?
There is no evidence of rioting against any member or leader of BPF, this is a false propaganda and a section of the administration is also trying to falsely implicate BPF in this case. This is again a case of step-motherly treatment towards the Bodos. Ours is the party of aboriginals, our voice is the voice of the people of Bodo areas and the way our party is gaining popularity even amongst non-Bodos, some people are perhaps politically jealous of it. Brahma is totally innocent. All allegations are baseless. It was a mistake to arrest him. We will continue protesting democratically.
ALSO READ
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Bodo MLAââ¬â¢s arrest for abetting riots leaves Kokrajhar tense
Kerala police to probe PFIââ¬â¢s role in spreading rumours
So you mean to say there is a political conspiracy. Who is behind this? You are very much a part of the government, is the Congress playing a part in this since the state police says there is evidence against Brahma?
It is a mistake by police and administration. If the police have evidence against him, why donââ¬â¢t they hold a press conference and let the people of Assam know what proof they have against a public representative. Talking about Congress, we have been their ally for 11 years. It has been a smooth relationship, so it will not collapse because of our MLA being arrested. We donââ¬â¢t hold Congress or Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi responsible. It is the administration which has been giving wrong information for a long time regarding the Kokrajhar riots to the government and I have told this to the Chief Minister. The state government and the BTC have brought development in the Bodo areas and it cannot stop due to riots.
So you are not pulling out of the Tarun Gogoi government. A section of your leaders have threatened to do so. You have called for an indefinite bandh in Kokrajhar, is it pressure tactics?
Right now there is no necessity of pulling out. Whatever our leaders said, it was exaggerated. We never threatened Congress. We are a matured political party. Our mandate is peace. We called an indefinite bandh against the curfew which has been clamped. Why do you need to clamp curfew when you arrest someone? Why the administration does not have confidence? These issues need to be addressed. It happened when situation is slowly turning normal, now with the curfew being imposed, people will again be in fear. We need to build confidence. The district administration is only taking adhoc measures.
You say this is propaganda, what is the permanent solution? Who are the people who should be allowed to settle down in the Bodoland Territorial Autonomous Districts (BTAD) areas?
This is propaganda of the All India United Democratic Front (AIDUF) and its leader Badruddin Ajmal. He is the person responsible for communalising the riots. It was not about religion at all, but he builds up the propaganda and it spreads in other parts as well. He should be arrested and put behind bars. Why did the police not arrested the killers of the four Bodo youths who were killed in front of police on 20 July? Bodos have the right to question this. BPF will protest the injustice both inside and outside the government. The solution lies in sealing the Indo-Bangladesh border, updating of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and deportation of illegal migrants. We never said that only Bodos will live here, all community will live, but they have to be Indian, they cannot be foreigners.
BPF has decided to take up the issue with the Centre. You have a meeting with Union Home Minister on 27 August, what are you going to push for?
It was in 2003 that the Centre, through the Bodoland Accord, formed the BTC under the Sixth Schedule and after that, with the help of Assam government, we have been able to bring a sense of peace and development in the area. Now Ajmal has demanded the dissolution of BTC, which is a constitutional body, so Government of India has to react and take a strong step against his communal politics, otherwise it will destroy the unity in diversity that Assam has. We want only those people to be rehabilitated who have proper land document (land patta), citizenship certificates and we want a mandatory citizenship and land record check of every refugee in every camp, both Bodos and Muslims. In this way, we will check illegal migrants. Our genuine Muslim brothers will definitely get their land rights if they have patta, but we cannot allow encroachment of our forest land.
So the issue of land rights of aboriginals, one of the key factors for the call for a separate statehood in the Bodo areas 25 years back, remains unresolved? After the riots, do you see the call for a separate Bodo state growing louder?
To answer this, first I would like to point out that Bodos are happy with the development in the area through BTC and they are also happy with the coordination between the state government and the BTC. So the demand is not as strong as it was 25 years back when we joined the movement. At that time, the state government was totally step-motherly. But it is a fact that every community has its aspiration and for the Bodos, a separate state is an aspiration. In 2003 when we signed the Bodoland Accord, we pushed for separate state to the NDA government. The government had then created three new states. So we had also taken up efforts on this, but after creation of BTC, we have seen that in coordination with the state government, and since BPF is an ally in the government, we have been able to bring peace in the area. We have been able to change the mindset of the administration. There lies the success of the Accord. I do agree and that if further alienation of the Bodo people happens, if one-sided decisions against them are taken like in the case of Pradeep Brahmaââ¬â¢s arrest, situation can turn turtle. I have discussed this with the Chief Minister and apprised him. If our land is not protected and if our forest is not saved then we might see the call for separate homeland grow louder, and at that time, New Delhi will have to answer.
-
What a guy, the Bodo leader makes open threats to mullahs and Sonia govt
ââ¬ËCall for separate Bodoland might grow louder if our land is not protectedââ¬â¢
It has been more than a month since the clashes broke out in Kokrajhar, but the situation in the Bodo heartland in Lower Assam remains tensed. The party in power in the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), the Bodoland Peoplesââ¬â¢ Front (BPF) is in a tizzy after its legislator was arrested in charges of rioting. In an exclusive interview to Tehelka, the chief of BTC and the head of BPF Hagrama Mohilary tells Ratnadip Choudhury why the idea of alienation still rules the roost in the Bodo areas.
Photo: Ujjal Deb
Fingers are now being pointed at your party after your MLA Pradeep Brahma was arrested on charges of being directly involved in rioting. Would you agree that your leaders have played a part in aggravating the situation?
There is no evidence of rioting against any member or leader of BPF, this is a false propaganda and a section of the administration is also trying to falsely implicate BPF in this case. This is again a case of step-motherly treatment towards the Bodos. Ours is the party of aboriginals, our voice is the voice of the people of Bodo areas and the way our party is gaining popularity even amongst non-Bodos, some people are perhaps politically jealous of it. Brahma is totally innocent. All allegations are baseless. It was a mistake to arrest him. We will continue protesting democratically.
ALSO READ
Ceasefire Bodo rebel group says it wonââ¬â¢t allow Bangladeshis in Bododland
Bodo MLAââ¬â¢s arrest for abetting riots leaves Kokrajhar tense
Kerala police to probe PFIââ¬â¢s role in spreading rumours
So you mean to say there is a political conspiracy. Who is behind this? You are very much a part of the government, is the Congress playing a part in this since the state police says there is evidence against Brahma?
It is a mistake by police and administration. If the police have evidence against him, why donââ¬â¢t they hold a press conference and let the people of Assam know what proof they have against a public representative. Talking about Congress, we have been their ally for 11 years. It has been a smooth relationship, so it will not collapse because of our MLA being arrested. We donââ¬â¢t hold Congress or Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi responsible. It is the administration which has been giving wrong information for a long time regarding the Kokrajhar riots to the government and I have told this to the Chief Minister. The state government and the BTC have brought development in the Bodo areas and it cannot stop due to riots.
So you are not pulling out of the Tarun Gogoi government. A section of your leaders have threatened to do so. You have called for an indefinite bandh in Kokrajhar, is it pressure tactics?
Right now there is no necessity of pulling out. Whatever our leaders said, it was exaggerated. We never threatened Congress. We are a matured political party. Our mandate is peace. We called an indefinite bandh against the curfew which has been clamped. Why do you need to clamp curfew when you arrest someone? Why the administration does not have confidence? These issues need to be addressed. It happened when situation is slowly turning normal, now with the curfew being imposed, people will again be in fear. We need to build confidence. The district administration is only taking adhoc measures.
You say this is propaganda, what is the permanent solution? Who are the people who should be allowed to settle down in the Bodoland Territorial Autonomous Districts (BTAD) areas?
This is propaganda of the All India United Democratic Front (AIDUF) and its leader Badruddin Ajmal. He is the person responsible for communalising the riots. It was not about religion at all, but he builds up the propaganda and it spreads in other parts as well. He should be arrested and put behind bars. Why did the police not arrested the killers of the four Bodo youths who were killed in front of police on 20 July? Bodos have the right to question this. BPF will protest the injustice both inside and outside the government. The solution lies in sealing the Indo-Bangladesh border, updating of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and deportation of illegal migrants. We never said that only Bodos will live here, all community will live, but they have to be Indian, they cannot be foreigners.
BPF has decided to take up the issue with the Centre. You have a meeting with Union Home Minister on 27 August, what are you going to push for?
It was in 2003 that the Centre, through the Bodoland Accord, formed the BTC under the Sixth Schedule and after that, with the help of Assam government, we have been able to bring a sense of peace and development in the area. Now Ajmal has demanded the dissolution of BTC, which is a constitutional body, so Government of India has to react and take a strong step against his communal politics, otherwise it will destroy the unity in diversity that Assam has. We want only those people to be rehabilitated who have proper land document (land patta), citizenship certificates and we want a mandatory citizenship and land record check of every refugee in every camp, both Bodos and Muslims. In this way, we will check illegal migrants. Our genuine Muslim brothers will definitely get their land rights if they have patta, but we cannot allow encroachment of our forest land.
So the issue of land rights of aboriginals, one of the key factors for the call for a separate statehood in the Bodo areas 25 years back, remains unresolved? After the riots, do you see the call for a separate Bodo state growing louder?
To answer this, first I would like to point out that Bodos are happy with the development in the area through BTC and they are also happy with the coordination between the state government and the BTC. So the demand is not as strong as it was 25 years back when we joined the movement. At that time, the state government was totally step-motherly. But it is a fact that every community has its aspiration and for the Bodos, a separate state is an aspiration. In 2003 when we signed the Bodoland Accord, we pushed for separate state to the NDA government. The government had then created three new states. So we had also taken up efforts on this, but after creation of BTC, we have seen that in coordination with the state government, and since BPF is an ally in the government, we have been able to bring peace in the area. We have been able to change the mindset of the administration. There lies the success of the Accord. I do agree and that if further alienation of the Bodo people happens, if one-sided decisions against them are taken like in the case of Pradeep Brahmaââ¬â¢s arrest, situation can turn turtle. I have discussed this with the Chief Minister and apprised him. If our land is not protected and if our forest is not saved then we might see the call for separate homeland grow louder, and at that time, New Delhi will have to answer.
-
What a guy, the Bodo leader makes open threats to mullahs and Sonia govt