Dharna seeking Bodoland

With the continuous movement strategy seeking statehood,the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU), National Democratic Front of Boroland-Progressive(NDFB-P)and Peoples Joint Action Committee for Boroland Movement(PJACBM) staged a three-hour grand mass dharna seeking early creation of Bodoland under Article 2 & 3 of Indian constitution, ensure constitutional safeguard for protection of the land and political rights of the Bodo people living outside the proposed Bodoland,grant ST(Hills) to the Bodo people living in Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao.

In Kokrajhar, near DC office over 8000 employees of Bodos, youth activists and supporters of Bodoland participated with banner, placards participated in the mass dharna on Friday that was started from 11 am and continued till 2 pm.The agitators shouted slogans which waves sky in the limit, like ‘divide Assam 50/50, No Bodoland no rest, we want Bodoland, we want justice, this land is our land’ seeking early solution of long standing demand of Bodoland state. The ABSU and its allied movement NDFB-P and PJACBM have been organizing continuous movement to put pressure government for solving the Bodoland issue through political dialogue in immediate manner.

This time, the movement groups carried out the agitation with the nomenclature of employees’ dharna, involving all sections of employees of the Bodos in support of Bodoland demand. On July 15, the movement groups had organized farmers’ dharna in Guwahati in support of Bodoland which created attractions in the movement spirit. The ABSU, NDFB-P and PJACBM have urged the government of India to take bold initiative while solving Bodoland issue through political dialogue, otherwise government would be face vigorous mass movement in coming days.

A memorandum signed by employees was submitted to Rajnath Singh,Union Home Minister through Deputy Commissioner, Kokrajhar seeking early creation of Bodoland state and constitutional safeguard for protection of the land and political rights of the Bodo people living outside the proposed Bodoland.

Agitated employees participating the dharna have put pressure the government to create Bodoland separate state through political dialogue as soon as possible. They said that the employees today come out in support of Bodoland state so that the long standing demand of Bodoland could come out in immediate manner.

‘We have been seeing that Bodos carrying various movement steps to create Bodoland statehood since five decades to meet healthy administration and welfare of the proposed Bodoland, but yet solution remains far from reality due to insincerity from the government. Solve the Bodoland issue through political dialogue’, agitated employees said.

Lawrence Islary,General Secretary of the ABSU participating the dharna said that even though the ABSU and its allied organization are taking part in the tripartite talks on the Bodoland state with government, but no fruitful result reached so far. He has demanded early creation of Bodoland state to meet healthy administration and welfare to the citizens of the proposed Bodoland.

The ABSU and its allied movement organizations have been carrying several agitation programmes to put pressure government for creation of Bodoland statehood. He has warned to take stronger mass movement after August 15 if government failed to solve the Bodoland issue in days to coming.

‘Bodoland is birth right of Bodos.Creation of Bodoland is the ultimate goal of Bodos’,Islary said.