Assam PCC headquarters Rajiv Bhawan, the venue of Tuesday’s meeting. Picture by Eastern Projections

Guwahati, Aug. 24: Virtually put on notice by Dispur, the Assam PCC today decided to set up an in-house panel to come up with the definition of “Assamese people” by August 31.

The move to float a nine-member panel, to be headed by PCC general secretary Haren Das, was disclosed by state unit president Bhubaneswar Kalita at the PCC office-bearers’ meeting at Rajiv Bhawan here this morning to discuss issues related to next year’s Assembly polls.

However, Kalita “requested” those present to keep the announcement within the party till the job was done.

Though Das discussed the PCC’s plans on firming up the party’s election strategy by the first week of September, he did not disclose anything on the move to finalise the Congress’ stand on the definition of the term.

“All I can say is that our party is in poll mode,” he said.

The panel, PCC sources disclosed, has been asked to consult party MPs and MLAs for their views on the issue and submit its report by the August 31 deadline, set by the implementation of Assam Accord department for political parties on the issue.

The urgency to have the report was because of the deadline and lack of time to hold the PCC executive for a “final” threadbare discussion on the issue. This is the second time the PCC is working on the definition.

The earlier view of the party was that anyone living within the boundaries of Assam, including those who came before March 24, 1971, and who patronised the local language and culture of Assam, was an Assamese.

Accord minister Bhumidhar Barman, who heads the cabinet sub-committee to finalise the definition, had told The Telegraph earlier that the AGP and BJP, who are crying themselves hoarse over the issue, were yet to submit their views. The panel will wait till August 31 before finalising the definition by October.

Resolving the vexed definition issue has become important as Clause 6 of the Accord provides for constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards, as may be appropriate, to protect, preserve and promote the social, cultural, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people. For the implementation of this clause, it is important to define the term “Assamese people”.

However, a consensus definition has continued to elude the state — even one provided by the state cabinet in 1989 and AASU have not found favour so far. The Sahitya Sabhas, on the other hand, have mooted that the term “Assamese people” be replaced with “indigenous people of Assam”.