Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday assured that most recommendations of a high-level committee on Clause 6 of the Assam Accord of 1985 that seeks to give more protection to indigenous people of the state will be implemented in a time-bound action plan.
The committee headed by justice (retired) Biplab Kumar Sarma, which was formed by the Centre in July 2019, had submitted its recommendations to the then chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal in February 2020. It had stipulated 1951 as the cut-off date to determine who an Assamese is (those who themselves or their ancestors were living in the state in that year).
The Assam Accord was a tripartite agreement signed in 1985 between the Centre, the All Assam Students Union (AASU) and the All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad (AAGSP) that brought the six-year-long anti-foreigner movement in the state to an end.
Clause 6 of the accord states, “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”.
On Wednesday, the state government held a meeting with representatives from AASU to discuss the recommendations of the committee and their implementation.
“In our meeting, we analysed what are the recommendations of the justice (retired) Biplab Kumar Sarma committee which can be exclusively implemented by the state government, and we have decided to go ahead with their implementation,” CM Sarma said.
He said that certain recommendations which require constitutional amendments fall exclusively under the jurisdiction of the central government. The state government will take up with Centre regarding their implementation and request them to discuss with AASU regarding those recommendations, Sarma said.
The committee had made 67 recommendations. Apart from setting 1951 as the cut-off year to determine who an Assamese is, the other recommendations include protection of the state’s culture, heritage and languages, job safeguards (100% reservation in Grade III and IV jobs and 70% in Grade I and II jobs for Assamese people), protection of land of indigenous people as well reservations in parliamentary and assembly seats for indigenous people and introduction of Inner Liner Permit (ILP) that will regulate entry of outsiders to the state.
Sarma mentioned that 40 of the recommendations are exclusively under the domain of the state government, 12 under joint purview of the state and Centre and 15 are exclusively to be determined by the Centre.
Sarma said that the state government would release an action plan within a month on how to implement the 52 recommendations which can be implemented by Assam.
“That plan will be handed over to AASU on October 25 and our second round of discussions with them will take place. Following the deliberations with AASU, we will try and implement the action plan by April next year,” he said.
He stated that the recommendations won’t get implemented in the three districts of Barak Valley, which have a dominant Bengali-speaking population, and can be implemented only after requisite permission in the two hill districts, which are under the 6th Schedule of the Constitution.
Sarma said that those who (or their ancestors) were born or residing in Assam since 1951 will be considered as Assamese under Clause 6 of the Assam Accord. The recommendations of the high-level committee had stated that while the 1951 deadline would be applicable to rural areas, the same won’t apply in urban areas.
“This was the first meeting between the state government and AASU on implementing recommendations of the high-level committee. Our deliberations were positive. Since the committee was appointed by the Centre, we hope New Delhi will keep its commitment on giving constitutional protection to Assamese people. Till that happens, our struggle will continue,” said AASU chief adviser Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharjya.
