Guwahati, Sept. 1: Three members of Swadhin Nari Mancha, a newly formed women's group in Assam, tonsured their heads during a protest today at Dighalipukhuri here against various 'misdeeds' of the BJP-led government.

The women - Rekha Talukdar, Geeta Barua and Mousumi Prabhat Bora - said it was a 'mistake' to have voted for the BJP in the Assembly elections.

The group members raised slogans against the state government's decision to set up model colleges in the name of BJP ideologue Deendayal Upadhyaya. Instead, they want the colleges to be named after eminent educationists of the state.

The group has sought action against those who are 'attacking' the indigenous people of Assam.

The nature of the protest was the first of its kind in Assam. Another women's protest which hit the headlines took place on July 15, 2004, in Manipur where 12 elderly women staged a nude protest outside Kangla Fort, then occupied by the Assam Rifles, holding placards that read 'Indian Army Rape Us'.

It was a protest against the rape and murder of 32-year-old Thangjam Manorama by the 17th Assam Rifles.

After today's protest, Bora said, 'We made a great mistake by casting our vote for the BJP in last Assembly election. The government is like our guardian. But in last few months the work and decisions of the BJP-led state government made us feel like orphan. So we shaved off our heads in protest.' The BJP came to power last year in coalition with the AGP.

Criticising the 'weak steps of the government' against those who 'attack' the indigenous population, Bora said, 'We cannot tolerate any injustice against the indigenous people. Cabinet minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the indigenous people alone did not vote for the BJP. It is an insult for us.'

Talukdar said, 'I am a homemaker. I never joined any protest before. In the last election, we thought that the BJP would bring about change. Both the AGP and the Congress were already cheating us. So the BJP was our last hope. But it is repeating same the mistakes committed by the AGP and the Congress.'

Raising the issue of a lack of safeguards for women in the state, Barua said, 'We are not safe. But the government has not taken any step to ensure security of women. Moreover, the indigenous people of Assam being threatened. We demand stern action against this. Government should also make it mandatory for all signboards to be written in Assamese.'

Ulfa leader Anup Chetia was present at the protest. Addressing the group, he said, 'We are going through a very critical time. In Assam indigenous people get threatened. The government has taken some decisions which are completely against Assamese society. But we will not bear it any more. We will fight together.'