Kokrajhar, March 29: The Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF), which rules the Bodoland Territorial Council and is an ally of the Congress at Dispur, has drawn criticism for burning an effigy of Bodo historian Hira Charan Narzinary.

Students of history in Bodoland University here said the act was unfortunate and unacceptable. “It is simply an act of ignorance and without an intellectual debate or argument,” a release issued by the students stated.

The BPF had burnt the effigy of Narzinary, president of World Bodo Historical Society, on March 25 for saying that king Haria Mondal or Haoria Mech was a Mech king. The BPF maintained that the comment would hurt the sentiments of a certain section of people.

Sources said the controversy had arisen as the Rajbongshis claim that Nar Narayan and Chilarai, both descendents of king Haria Mondal, were Rajbongshi kings and not Mech kings.

The students said, “The burning of Narzinary’s effigy will inspire thousands of Bodos (Mechs are known as Bodos in Assam) to come forward for historical research and to establish the facts.”

They said the act reflected a political agenda rather than historical facts because “history never deceives”. They warned that the identity of a tribe should not be sacrificed at the altar of political agenda.

The comment of a senior BPF leader that there was no contribution of history in the formation of BTC also drew criticism from several quarters.

The students said those who said so did not have proper knowledge of history and added, “If this is right then the Bodos are nearing shadow of end. If the view that there is no historical background is accepted, in future the Bodos may be doubted and questioned as illegal immigrants.”

They said historical facts also lie at the root of the 100-year-old Bodo Movement. It goes back to Gurudev Kalicharan Brahma’s submission of a memorandum to Simon Commission in Shillong in 1927 for protection of tribal rights. “If we did not have this historical base, Bodos would not have progressed this far. Bodo Movement itself is history today,” they stated.