Guwahati: After nearly four decades since the conclusion of the six-year-long anti-foreigners movement (1979-85) in Assam, the state is on the verge of implementing the crucial Clause 6 of the 1985 Assam Accord, which marked the end of the historic mass movement against illegal migrants.
On Wednesday, the state govt held important discussions with the All Assam Students' Union (Aasu) regarding the implementation of the recommendations made by the Justice (Retd) Biplab Kumar Sharma committee for Clause 6 of the 1985 Assam Accord. The government affirmed its commitment to implement 52 recommendations by April next year.
Clause 6 of the Assam Accord aims to provide constitutional, legislative, and administrative safeguards to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people.
Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the govt has decided to implement the recommendations, which include 40 that fall under the state govt’s jurisdiction, 12 that require concurrence from the central government, and 15 that are solely within the central govt’s domain.
Sarma announced that an action plan would be presented on October 25 to implement Clause 6. “On Oct 25, we will present an action plan to implement Clause 6. If by and large Aasu agrees, before April 2025, we will implement 52 recommendations that are under state govt’s responsibility,” he said. The 52 recommendations can be categorized into three main sections: land rights, cultural rights, and linguistic rights.
The 14-member committee was set up by the Centre in 2019 following widespread protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA), and submitted its report to then chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal in Feb, 2020.
During the meeting, it was decided to make the report public and to identify who will implement each task and how. The state govt will also officially request the central government to implement the clauses under its jurisdiction and to engage in discussions with Aasu.
Sarma clarified, “We have made it clear before Aasu there is no scope to implement the recommendations in the Barak Valley. In Sixth Schedule areas, we can implement the recommendations if and only the authorities there give consent.”
The second phase of the meeting with Aasu is scheduled for Oct 25. Chief adviser of Aasu Samujjal Bhattacharya termed the meeting as a positive beginning but emphasized the need for results. “We cannot allow illegal migrants to control our motherland,” he said.
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