The citizenship crisis in Assam is unfolding through two major mechanisms, namely the National Register of Citizens and the “Doubtful voter” (D-voter). While the NRC has attracted much of the public attention, the process of categorising D-voters is largely functioning in a silent manner and has caused unprecedented damage to the lives and livelihoods of millions of marginalised people of the state. The D-voter is a political tool solely based on baseless doubts and is used by the government to deprive lakhs of marginalised people of a series of constitutional, political and social rights, including the right to vote.
Assam has been marked by severe violence for decades which has unfolded in a structured manner since the days of the infamous Assam movement. It is because of this movement that multiple massacres have taken place in the state, separated by periodic lulls. This article looks at the Bodo movement and how the government and non-Bodo communities of the state must deal with the effects it has unleashed.
The Bodoland Territorial Area District elections this time has seen votes getting split between multiple parties. Will the Bodoland People’s Front, who have been allegedly involved in violence earlier, able to bring peace in the region?
The violence that erupted in the Assam-Nagaland border a month back has been the fallout of poor governance by the respective state governments. Their complicity in the violence is linked to the interest of extremist elements who fuel insurgency by alienating people of both the states.
The recent violence in the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts highlights the faulty model of the BTAD, where the minority Bodos rule over the majority non-Bodos. The government needs to urgently review the BTAD model, curb the proliferation of illegal weapons, and ensure equal rights and opportunities to all socio-religious and ethnic communities in the area.
