Guwahati: The Assam government has decided to fulfil “85 percent of recommendations” of the high-powered committee appointed by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to implement Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, 1985, in the state by 15 April next year.
The decision comes amid a renewed movement in Upper Assam since last month to ensure the protection of the rights of indigenous communities against the “aggression” of the non-indigenous people. Most clauses of the Assam Accord have been implemented, but successive governments have failed to implement Clause 6, which would provide indigenous Assamese people “constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards”.
Five years ago, the issue had become a flashpoint during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests in the state.
In February 2020, the home ministry-appointed committee, led by Justice (retired) Biplab Sarma, finalised a 91-page report to implement Clause 6 after consultations with various stakeholders. The report was submitted to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government on 25 February 2020. But there was no progress on it despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi assuring at a rally in Assam on 7 February that year that the Centre would work expeditiously to implement Clause 6 once the committee submitted its report.
After more than four years, on Wednesday, the state cabinet decided to implement “57 of the 67 recommendations” of the committee at a meeting in Lakhimpur.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the decision came after going through the Justice (retired) Biplab Sarma-led committee report “in detail”.
“When the committee had submitted its recommendations, we had asked for three years to study the matter. Today, we discussed the report in detail. And, after examining it, we have decided to implement 57 of the 67 recommendations by the committee, which fall under the ambit of the state government,” said the chief minister.
“People of Assam have long been waiting for this—the process for recommendations of the Justice Biplab Sarma Committee has now begun,” he added.
The remaining ten recommendations, which fall under the purview of the central government, would be taken up with New Delhi, said Sarma, adding that the “central government has already implemented one or two of those recommendations, and ten others would be discussed to arrive at some decision”.
Though the details of the recommendations are not public yet, CM Sarma said those would be announced before the media within “three to four days”. A group of state ministers, he said, would also discuss the recommendations with the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and other organisations demanding Clause 6 implementation. The government, he added, has also prepared a roadmap to implement the recommendations successfully.
The AASU’s six-year-long movement against “outsiders” or “foreigners” led to the Assam Accord in 1985.
Speaking to ThePrint, AASU president Utpal Sarma said the student body has taken the government decision positively and will extend all possible support to the state to implement the recommendations. “Six years of the Assam Movement and 40 years of the Assam Accord—for more than 45 years—people of Assam have been rallying for the implementation of Clause 6 of Assam Accord,” said the AASU president.
“All they want now is the result. AASU has considered it positively. Every clause in the accord is relevant and a step towards securing a future for the indigenous people of Assam.”
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‘Suraksha Chakra’
The chief minister also mentioned that during the implementation process, approvals would be taken from authorities under the Sixth Schedule areas of Karbi Anglong, Dima Hasao and Bodoland Territorial Region to ensure “sensitivities around language, culture and traditions are not hurt”.
“We will implement the recommendations in Sixth Schedule areas only after due approvals. Similarly, before implementing a few recommendations concerning language, we will have to get the approval of people in Barak Valley,” said CM Sarma.
“Barring those related to the Sixth Schedule and Barak region, the rest of the 57 recommendations would instantly be implemented,” he added.
Sarma also declared that along with these recommendations, the actions already taken by the BJP-led state government and measures initiated in future would safeguard the future of the Assamese people.
“We would be able to form a big ‘Suraksha Chakra’ for the Assamese people. I read the report of Justice Biplab Sarma thoroughly today (Wednesday), and I think those recommendations, coupled with measures that we would implement in future, would ensure the protection of the land rights of the indigenous people,” he said.
Four years ago, in February, a ‘premature leak’ of the recommendations in the final report revealed that the high-powered committee had unanimously recommended 1951 as the base year for defining the indigenous Assamese people, that is, the ones who would be eligible for constitutional safeguards under Clause 6.
It is believed that the recommendation of setting 1951 as the base year would entitle the indigenous Assamese people and their descendants—included in the 1951 National Register of Citizens (NRC)—to constitutional safeguards, irrespective of their community, caste, language, religion, or heritage.
Besides, the committee is also said to have suggested the introduction of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in the entire state, along with measures for protecting land rights.
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‘Long struggle’
The AASU president revealed to ThePrint that the student organisation leaked the report four years ago because despite assurances from the Centre, it had been lying “neglected”.
“At the peak of the anti-CAA protests, the Union home ministry had formed this committee to submit the recommendations for Clause 6 implementation. The president, general secretary and chief advisor of AASU were part of that committee,” said Utpal Sarma. “The committee submitted the report, and on behalf of the home ministry, the Assam cabinet accepted that report. But when nothing further happened, AASU made it public.”
The AASU president also said that “constitutional amendments” would be required for the government to implement some of the recommendations by the committee.
These include recommendations for a separate Upper House for Assam, seat reservation for Assamese people—from local bodies to assembly and Parliament—to jobs in all government and non-government sectors. “The rest of the recommendations should be taken up with Delhi immediately so the report gets implemented in its entirety,” said Utpal Sarma.
Recalling that it has been a long struggle of over four decades, the AASU president said all political parties had shown a lack of goodwill towards the vexed issue of foreign nationals in Assam.
“For the first time, the state government is formulating a time-bound action plan for implementing 85 percent of the recommendations. All issues raised through street protests must be discussed and deliberated upon. The intent should be good, and the government has to show this in results,” he added.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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