A man walks past torched houses in Narayanguri. File picture

Guwahati, May 18: The Assam State Commission for Minorities has proposed that Dispur hold consultation with all stakeholders to work out a road map for permanent peace in the Bodoland Territorial Areas District (BTAD).

The commission has suggested representatives of different communities and intellectuals from across the state, including the BTAD should be consulted so that an inclusive solution could be found to the conflicts taking place among groups in the area.

The commission’s suggestion came following its meeting on Thursday to discuss the crisis arising out of the recent violence in Kokrajhar and Baksa districts. Altogether 46 people, including 24 children belonging to the minority community, were killed in the carnage.

More than 100 people had died and over four lakh displaced in the riots in the BTAD in 2012. “Since the area is witnessing frequent incidents of violence and killings, there is a need to discuss the reasons leading to the conflicts and suggest a road map to the government. If the state government supports us, we are ready to take the initiative and hold the consultation,” an official of the commission said.

The official said the proposal for the consultation was made, as the commission was unhappy with the killing of women and children by armed groups.

The official said the government should speed up efforts to solve the foreigners’ issue so that genuine Indians are not killed on the suspicion of being illegal Bangladeshi migrants.

“The magnitude of the problem and its constant recurrence affecting different groups of citizens at intervals speaks of a well-planned and intentional operation by extremists to create confusion and mistrust among people of different communities in the BTAD. While some groups are suffering from a threat of losing their identity and rights over resources, others are under constant fear of conflict and violence. The civil society and our government must take a joint initiative so that a solution acceptable to all groups is found leading to lasting peace,” the official said.

The BTAD governed by the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) was set up in 2003 under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to put an end to the violent movement led by the militant group, the Bodo Liberation Tigers. But the “political solution” remained short of establishing peace and killings, abduction and extortion by groups such as the NDFB (Songbijit) is still a concern among the people of different communities in the four districts of Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa and Udalguri.

“India is a country with citizens of different religion, community, culture, language and customs. While rights and privileges have been extended to some groups or communities to preserve their culture or ethnic identity, no group can take the lives of innocent people,” the official said.