State government, AASU agree on 38 recommendations on Assam Accord: CM Himanta Sarma

The Assam government and the All Assam Students Union have agreed to implement 38 out of the 52 recommendations relating to Clause 6 of the 1985 Assam Accord made by a high-level committee, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Sunday.

The Assam Accord was signed in 1985 between the Union government and the leaders of the Assam Movement, which was launched in 1979 to identify and deport undocumented immigrants. The All Assam Students Union was among the groups leading the movement.

The Accord aimed to satisfy the demands of Assamese nationalists who claimed that the land, culture and political rights of the “indigenous” people of the state were under threat from “foreigners”.

Clause 6 of the Accord states that the government must enact constitutional, legislative and administrative measures to protect, preserve and promote the “cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people”.

In 2019, the Union home ministry set up a 14-member committee headed by retired Justice Biplab Sarma to implement Clause 6 of the Accord as there was no consensus on the legal definition of “Assamese people”.

The 52 recommendations are those that come under the purview of the state government.

On Sunday, the chief minister said that the 38 recommendations will be implemented within a timeframe through provisions in the…

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