[Assam] The Center is Responsible for Ethnic Violence in Assam

[Rajen Barua]

The Center is  Responsible for Ethnic Violence in Assam
The ethnic violence in Assam should be an eye opener to GOI and to all in Assam. Assam has about 3% of India's total population but has 140 different ethnic groups compared to India;s total about 600 total ethnic groups. The significance is clear when we realise that this 3% population of Assam is carrying about 25% of India's ethnic burden resulting in about 12 times more ethnic stress in Assam compared to the rest of India. I donot see that this point has been realised and presented  in proper perspective by any political leaders either from the state or from the center.  Assam simply cannot take any more ethic stress.
Ethnic violence results from conflictc in ethnic groups trying to take proper ethnic identities.  In an multi ethnic state like Assam, one will have to take multi identity for harmony of all. Thus the identity of Assamese with all ethnic groups that also consists of Hindus and Muslims is ideal for harmony. However, if one odes not want to take the Assamese identity that is fine as long as one doe not push too much on its own narrow ethnic identity to make additional room in Assam where room is simply not there.  I hope this should be an eye opener to all in India.
Against this background, the present ethnic violence in Assam is plainly a case in point which shows how the GOI is exploiting Assam under the terror of Indian Democracy.  The ethnic homeland such as Bodo Land in a state like Assam which is already full of many different ethnic groups is not tenable, and the GOI should have known it. Many were opposed to the creation of the BTAD under the sixth schedule of the Constitution but Delhi which is the arbiter in all such cases does not think too far ahead. The center is trying to ceate rooms where room is not there.
The GOI is doubly to blame, because this particular problem is created mainly by influx of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh which the GOI is supposed to take care f in the first place. This also shows the lack of leadership of the Assam political leaders in not being able to present in proper perspective the complex ethnic map of Assam with its proper  significance