Bodoland Statehood Agitation goes global, issue hits the United Nations

GUWAHATI: The Bodo community of the northeast said that it will intensify the agitation to press for its demand for a separate state, as the BJP-led central and Assam governments continue to ignore their cause.

As part of the agitation, over 5,000 people from the Bodo community began their three-day 'dharna' or sit-in at Jantar-Mantar in the capital city. They are also planning a march from Rajghat to Parliament Street on Tuesday.

The People's Democratic Movement for Bodoland recently in Kokrajhar decided to take up the Bodoland issue at the United Nations platform and would submit to the new secretary general of the United Nations(UN).

The president and secretary of the PDMB, Jebraram Mashahary said India was one of the leading nations in the United Nations who had voted in favour of the UN declaration the rights of indigenous people in the UN General Assembly in 2007 but it had utterly failed to protect the rights of the indigenous people at home.

India has several laws and constitutional provisions which recognize people's right to land and self governance but numerous shortcomings and their implementation was far from pushing the indigenous people's 87 years continued struggle!

On the other side, President Pramod Bodo, President of the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) said that, "The BJP promised in its election manifesto that it would resolve the Bodo problem immediately if it could come to power at the Centre. It's now two-and-half years. But, there is no initiative to fulfil this promise."

Jebraram Mashahary even went further that 87 years of long struggle for Bodoland, the Bodo people had suffered unbtold atrocities, torture, gang rapes and harassments and thus they had been facing a lot of gross human violation only because they had been demanding a legitimate demand based on their historical and birth rights.

The leaders of the PDMB in a press conference declared that it will set to intensify the Bodoland movement with immediate effect and had resolved to call for 12 hour Bodoland bandh on December 16.

Source inputs: The Sentinel

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