Bodoland :internal security Issue

Historical Origin

• Rich landlords and Immigrants were acquiring tribal lands
• Little economic aid by central government to Bodos
• Education and Infra was inadequate
• apathy shown by State Govt of Assam

Events in the Past

PTCA

In early 1960s the Plains Tribals Council of Assam (PTCA), a political party representing Bodos
and other plains tribals of Assam demanded a Union Territory called Udayachal, to be carved
out of Assam (it never happened)

 ABSU
In the late 1980s, All Bodo Students' Union's (ABSU) and Bodo political parties jointly demanded a separate state, called Bodoland.

 BLTF
Bodo Liberation Tigers Force (BLTF)/ Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) is an armed group in the Bodo dominated regions of Assam
demanded a separate state for the Bodos to be carved out of Assam.
established on June 18, 1996 under the leadership of Prem Singh Brahma.
The leaders of the BLT, together with the leaders of All Bodo Students' Union, formed a political party called BPPF.
laid down arms in 2003, MoU signed and most of the cadres of BLTF were absorbed in CRPF

Current Status : Who Administers Bodoland?

Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC)
BTC was established by a Memorandum of Settlement of February 10, 2003, immediately after surrender of BLTF cadres
The area under the BTC jurisdiction is called the Bodoland Territorial Area District (BTAD).
 That the BTAD is created under the sixth schedule of the Constitution of India

Demographic Reality?

 According to census 2011, there has been a sharp increase in Bengali speaking Muslim population in Bodo areas (This is the main reason and has led to several incidents of violence)

Within the BTAD, (an area covering 35 per cent of Assam), the Bodos constitute less than 30 per cent with no other ethnic group (Assamese speakers, Bengali Muslims, Bengali Hindus, Koch-Rajbanshis) having an absolute majority -- nearly 70 per cent non-Bodo population of the area.
Hence other factions are organizing themselves like Muslims under banners like The All
Bodoland Minority Students’ Union (ABMSU) and ‘Sankhyalagu Aikhya Mancha’
(Minorities United Front)

Telangana Effect
With creation of Telangana as a separate State the Bodos thought it was their right to get a
separate state and intensified the demand again

What can be done?

a large amount of illegal weapons are present in the region, they need to be taken care
of
Modification of the BTC agreement so as to better reflect the demographic realities
How can BTC be modified? By making it more accommodative with a greater share
and proportionate representation to different communities residing in BTAD.
Any other option? Redrawing of BTAD boundaries by removing areas with a
substantial non-Bodo majority (this option will be very sensitive)