Guwahati: The Bodo National Students’ Union (BoNSU) protested on Monday in New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar calling for the creation of a separate Bodoland state.
The protestors raise slogans of “Divide Assam 50/50”.
Later, the Delhi Police got involved and took some of the protesters into custody.
Earlier, in the month of April, they led a movement in Kokrajhar demanding separate state for Bodoland.
A memorandum was also submitted to the Prime Minister through the Deputy Commissioner.
According to BoNSU president Bonjit Manjil Basumatary, the identity, land, economics, culture, and language of the Bodo people may be in jeopardy if there is no distinct state for them.
The National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB), one of Assam’s most feared insurgent organisations, and representatives of the Central Government and the then-Assam Government signed the Bodo Peace Accord in January 2020.
The Bodo Peace Accord was signed in an effort to broaden the authority of the Bodoland Territorial Council and streamline its operations; to address concerns about Bodo residents outside of BTAD; to promote and safeguard Bodo social, cultural, linguistic, and ethnic identities; to provide legal protection for tribal members’ land rights; to hasten the development of tribal areas; and to rehabilitate NDFB faction members.
The agreement also calls for the creation of a Bodo-Kachari Welfare Council in accordance with established protocol, notification of the Bodo language as a co-official language in the State, and the creation of a special directorate for Bodo-medium schools.
The Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD) was renamed to Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR).
Notably, this was the third agreement to be signed following the start of the violent Bodoland state separation campaign.