ASSAM STRIKE OVER SEPARATE STATE
Tribespeople in
India's north-eastern state of Assam have begun a 100-hour strike demanding a
separate homeland.Normal life has been
disrupted in Dima Hasao, which the Dimasa tribespeople want to turn into a
separate state.It follows protests in neighbouring Karbi Anglong, where the
Karbi tribes people are demanding a separate state.Last week's move to create
Telangana out of the southern Andhra Pradesh state has sparked off similar demands
in the states of West Bengal and Assam.The main Gorkha ethnic group in West
Bengal state has called an indefinite strike in the tea producing Darjeeling
region from Saturday.In Assam's Dima Hasao
district, the strike by Hill States Democratic Party has affected road and
train traffic between northern and southern Assam.Violence continued in the
neighbouring district of Karbi Anglong, where Karbi tribespeople have also
joined the campaign for a separate state.Several government offices were burnt
down in the area on Sunday night, prompting Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi to
call Karbi groups for negotiations.Groups representing the Bodo tribespeople in
Assam have also resumed their campaign for a separate state.On Monday, two Bodo
MPs demonstrated for their cause in front of the Indian parliament in Delhi,
while Bodo legislators staged similar demonstrations before the Assam
legislative assembly in the state capital Guwahati.The Bodo National Conference
has said they will intensify their movement in phases.
"All these
campaigns are old movements for separate states that were pacified by various
packages of autonomy. But now with Telangana being announced, they have all
being revived simultaneously," says analyst Samir Kumar Das.Dozens of
groups in the north-east have been fighting for decades for independence from
India or for greater autonomy in Assam.Assam is sandwiched between China,
Burma, Bhutan and Bangladesh and is only joined to the rest of India by a
narrow 22km (13.6 miles) corridor.In the neighbouring state of West Bengal, the
Gorkha Janamukti Morcha began an indefinite strike demanding a separate state
for Nepali-speaking Gorkhas on Saturday.Last week, the government announced
that the southern Andhra Pradesh state would be split to form a new Telangana
state.Telangana, with a population of 35 million, comprises 10 of Andhra
Pradesh's 23 districts.
Prof. John kurakar
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