Assam: Clause 6 committee defines ‘Who is an Assamese’, AASU makes recommendations public

The High-Level Committee for the implementation of Clause 6 of the historic 1985 Assam Accord has come up with the conclusion that the “definition of Assamese people should consist of Indigenous Tribals as well as other Indigenous communities of Assam over and above indigenous Assamese.”

The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), on August 12^th, 2020 made public the Centre’s confidential high-level committee’s report prepared and submitted for implementation of Clause 6 of the Accord.

The AASU said that it has been 5 months ever since the submission of the report. “Nobody knows where the report is now; whether it was submitted to the Home Ministry or still lying in the chief minister’s office at Dispur. People of Assam have the right to know what the AASU recommended to the high-level committee,” the AASU said.

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It may be mentioned that the Central government constituted the high-level committee on July 16^th, 2019, for recommending measures to implement the Clause 6 of the Assam Accord in which three members of the AASU were included in the committee. Accordingly, the Committee, headed by retired Justice Biplab Sharma, submitted its report to Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in Guwahati on February 25 this year.

“The report was completed and duly submitted within the stipulated time.  Now we need result, no more verbal assurance,” said AASU adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya.

Meanwhile, the General Secretary of the students’ body Lurinjyoti Gogoi alleged that certain leaders of the ruling BJP have violated the ‘secrecy’ of high-level committee’s report.

The Committee had recommended five specific categories to define the ‘Assamese’ keeping in mind the implementation of Clause 6 of the Accord. These categories were – Assamese communities residing in the territory of Assam on or before January 1, 1951, any indigenous tribal community residing in the territory of Assam on or before January 1, 1951, any other indigenous community residing in the territory of Assam on or before January 1, 1951, all other citizens of India residing in the territory of Assam on or before January 1, 1951 and descendants of the above categories.

Further, the committee also recommended for a ‘Upper House’, and 80 to 100 percent reservation for job in various sectors for the indigenous Assamese.

The Accord was signed in 1985 between the Rajiv Gandhi government and the All Assam Students Union (AASU) and All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad (AAGSP) to end the six-year-long anti-foreigner movement in the north-eastern state bordering Bangladesh.

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