Bodo group calls for state separate from Assam

The Bodoland State Movement Council has urged the central government to introduce a bill in the current session of Parliament to create a separate state without further delay for the over six million people belonging to the Bodo community in Assam.

BSMC chairman S K Bwiswmuthiary and general secretary Rabi Ram Brahma, in a memorandum to Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral in New Delhi on Sunday, apprised him of the group's problems and aspirations. It was not possible for them to maintain their distinct ethnic identity and economic development of the region if it remained in Assam.

''Immediate creation of Bodoland as a full-fledged separate state is a must and is the only lasting political solution to the burning problem in Bodoland,'' they said.

The Bodo leaders said the central government could not ignore the situation in Bodoland. It must intervene as the situation had been complicated by the regional political party -- the ruling Asom Gana Parishad -- with a regional outlook, determined to remain in power ignoring the sentiments, hopes and aspirations of the tribal people.