The statue of ‘Bodofa’ Upendra Nath Brahma, who is considered the father of the Bodo statehood movement. Picture by Eastern Projections

Dec. 10: The demand for a separate state for the Bodos, Dimasas and Karbis in Assam returned to the centre stage today after Delhi agreed to carve Telangana out of Andhra Pradesh.

The Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF), which is in power in the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) and Dispur, the Dilip Nunisa-led pro-talks faction of the Dima Halam Daogah (DHD) and the United Peoples Democratic Solidarity (UPDS), which is also in ceasefire, asserted that they would pursue their goal with renewed vigour. Other groups demanding separate states include the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB), the DHD (Jewel Gorlosa) and the Karbi Longri NC Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF).

The BPF and the NDFB want a separate state for the Bodos, the DHD factions for the Dimasas and the UPDS and the KLNLF for the Karbis.

BPF president and BTC chief Hagrama Mohilary said if Telangana could be created there was no reason why the Bodos could not have their own state.

He said they had accepted the BTC under the Sixth Schedule as the then NDA government in Delhi had said there was no policy for creation of another state.

“But now as the Centre has approved the creation of Telangana state, a separate Bodoland state should also be created. The Bodos’ demand (for a separate Bodoland) is old,” he said, adding, “We are happy for the people of Telengana.”

The 12 legislators of the BPF, which shares power with the Congress at Dispur, will raise questions on the subject in the Assembly tomorrow, Mohilary said. The party’s Rajya Sabha MP Biswajit Daimary raised the issue in the House today. The party has an MP each in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

The Bodos have been demanding a separate state since the late seventies. The movement gathered momentum in 1987 under the leadership of Bodofa Upendra Nath Brahma, the then president of the All Bodo Students Union (Absu). The union inked the Bodo Accord in 1993, which led to the formation of the Bodoland Autonomous Council. When the agitation was revived soon after and yet another accord was signed, this time with the BLT, the BTC was formed under the Sixth Schedule in 2003.

Lauding the creation of Telangana, the pro-talks NDFB said the UPA government at the Centre, led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, had taken the right decision at the right time.

“We hope the Centre will take similar steps to create Bodoland out of Assam by devolution of power under Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution to resolve the vexed political problem of the Bodo people. There will be no peace in the region if these problems are not resolved politically,” NDFB information and publicity secretary S. Sanjarang said.

“It will be gross injustice on the part of the government of India if the demands of separate states such as Bodoland, Gorkhaland and Dimaraji are not met,” he added.

The Federation of Boro Youth (FBI) said the creation of Bodoland was the only solution for the Bodo people to safeguard their rights.

The joint secretary of the Karbi Anglong-based UPDS, Tung-eh Nongloda, said the development had given them hope and they would renew their demand for a separate Karbi state. “We see no reason why we should not get a state now,” he told The Telegraph.

Karbi Anglong district now has an autonomous council like NC Hills and the four districts of the Bodoland Territorial Areas District (BTAD).

Dilip Nunisa, the chairman of DHD (Dilip), said Telangana would “further invigorate” his supporters to realise the 20-year-old demand for a Dimaraji state. He said the Dimaraji state should be formed keeping in mind the amalgamation of the Dimasa-inhabited areas of NC Hills and the adjoining areas of Cachar, Nagaon, Karbi Anglong and Dhansiri locality in Nagaland where the Dimasas were now in majority,

“If the statehood demand for Telangana could be met, then why are the authorities in New Delhi delaying the Dimaraji state demand which has been hanging fire since 1989? The Centre should now give the statehood without further wasting time,” he said over phone from Haflong.

This demand is now being considered by the Centre’s interlocutor P.C. Haldar, a former head of the Intelligence Bureau.

Evading a direct reply on the issue, chief minister Tarun Gogoi said the government would emphasise on the overall development of these areas and further strengthening of the autonomous councils by providing them more funds.