A conglomerate of 22 organizations demanding smaller states across India on Tuesday launched their joint effort with a rally in north-central Assam for the creation of a separate tribal state.
Representatives of two Andhra Pradesh-based organizations – Telengana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) and People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) – lent support to the Bodo tribal state at Thelamara, 160 km northeast of Guwahati. The others including those seeking Gorkhaland, Poorvanchal and Bundelkhand extended their moral support.
“The Bodos’ demand is legitimate because they, like the people in Telengana, have been deprived of their rights over the years,” PUCL president Jaya Vindhyala said. She added: “Political parties such as BSP and NCP have endorsed the creation of smaller states but we don’t understand why the government is silent.”
Exhorting locals to stand up for their rights to be self-ruled, TJAC convenor Gali Vinod Kumar said, “We will soon form a formal federation of the groups demanding smaller states. Our national agenda will be to defeat the bigger forces against our aspirations.”
Warning that TJAC will intensify agitation if the Parliament fails to take a decision during the winter session, Kumar said that the pro-smaller states groups might foray into electoral politics by 2014 to realize their demands.
{{/usCountry}}Warning that TJAC will intensify agitation if the Parliament fails to take a decision during the winter session, Kumar said that the pro-smaller states groups might foray into electoral politics by 2014 to realize their demands.
{{/usCountry}}ABSU president Pramod Boro said the Bodo tribal people would not rest till the creation of a separate state for the Bodos, who were given a territorial council in 2003 after four decades of agitation.