BTC chief Hagrama Mohilary speaks at the meeting held in Khanapara, Guwahati, on Sunday. Picture by UB Photos

Guwahati, Aug. 18: The Bodo National Conference (BNC) today assured organisations representing non-Bodos living in areas covered by the proposed Bodoland that it would be a state for all communities and not just Bodos.

Leaders of BNC — an umbrella organisation representing several Bodo groups and individuals — today met representatives of 15 organisations at Khanapara here. They decided to meet every month to “dispel confusion and mistrust” growing among non-Bodos living in BTAD and the areas that fall under the proposed state of Bodoland. Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) chief Hagrama Mohilary presided over the meeting.

Aboro Suraksha Somittee, a joint body of 46 non-Bodo groups including the influential All Bodoland Minority Students’ Union (ABMSU), however, said the non-Bodo groups that attended the meeting were pro-Mohilary and did not include important groups opposing the separate state.

BNC convener Anjali Daimari told The Telegraph that during the meeting, they heard out the concerns and the questions of people belonging to different non-Bodo communities. The groups were assured that they had nothing to worry about and that their interests would be taken care of even after the separate state was created.

“Today’s meeting was part of our effort to build trust and faith among people belonging to different communities regarding our demand for a separate state. We assured them that though the state’s name was Bodoland, it would not be only for Bodos. The rights of other communities will be equally taken care of. We have decided to meet the non-Bodo groups once every month and, if required, twice in a month, to apprise them about the issue,” Daimari said.

Sources said the meeting was convened by BNC following growing opposition to the Bodoland state demand by non-Bodo groups.

Groups which took part in today’s meeting included Religious Minority Council (RMC), Adivasi Seva Samity, All Adivasi Students’ Association, Khilonjia Muslim Parishad, All Gorkha Students’ Union and Bengali Students’ Federation. Organisations like ABMSU and All Koch Rajbongshi Students’ Union did not take part despite being invited. The All Minority Students’ Union was not invited to the meeting.

RMC secretary Alauddin Ali, who attended the meeting, said they asked the BNC to provide them with details about the proposed state and their policy for non-Bodos living in it. “We made it clear that the fundamental rights of people belonging to other communities should be protected if a separate state is granted by the government. This was our first meeting with them and we will continue to raise the concerns of non-Bodos living in BTAD,” he said.

Aboro Suraksha Somittee secretary Jogeswar Kalita said they would continue to oppose the demand for Bodoland and demand deletion of 1,800 villages with non-Bodo majority population from BTAD. “If Hagrama Mohilary is really serious about the non-Bodos, they should have invited us, as we are an umbrella organisation of 46 non-Bodo groups. We will continue to oppose further division of Assam. We will soon meet governor J.B. Patnaik with a plea not to allow further division of our state,” he said.