ABSU warns of new Bodoland stir over accord delays
The All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU) has issued a stern warning to the Centre and the Assam Government over the lackadaisical implementation of the 2020 Bodo Peace Accord, cautioning that further delays could force the community to re-ignite its historic struggle for a separate State of Bodoland.
The warning follows the crucial Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) meeting held in New Delhi on Tuesday, which took place after being postponed four times since June 1. Expressing deep resentment over the slow progress, the key signatory organisation highlighted that over six years have elapsed since the tripartite agreement was signed on January 27, 2020, between the Government of India, the Assam Government, ABSU, the United Bodo People’s Organisation (UBPO), and four factions of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB).
The ABSU leadership criticised both Governments for testing the patience of the Bodo people. A major point of contention remains the augmentation of the boundary of the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR).
According to the union, the commission constituted under Paragraph 14 of the Sixth Schedule expired on March 31, 2025, after including only 60 claimed villages.
A total of 634 villages — comprising 198 revenue villages, 98 sub-villages, 24 forest villages, and 314 Forest Rights Act (FRA) villages spanning from Simuliguri in Lakhimpur to Biswanath and Sonitpur — remain excluded, alongside 94 disputed villages from the 2003 accord.
“This Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) is written with the sentiments, emotions, and the supreme sacrifice of over 5,000 martyrs who laid down their lives during the three-decade-long Bodoland agitation. It deserves dignity and implementation without further delay,” stated ABSU President Kwrwmdao Wary and General Secretary Khanindra Basumatary in a joint statement.
The ABSU has placed a direct demand before the Central Government to table and pass The Constitution (125th Amendment) Bill, 2019, during the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament. The passage of this bill is vital to fulfilling the structural provisions of the 2020 Bodo Accord.
The student body has outlined five key legislative requirements that must be addressed immediately, including the expansion of the legislature to increase the number of constituencies in the Bodoland Territorial Council Legislative Assembly to 60 members, the immediate devolution of new powers and functions as outlined in Annexure 1 of the MoS, and the introduction of anti-defection laws within the Sixth Schedule Council to ensure political accountability.
Furthermore, they are demanding independent elections conducted directly under the supervision of the State Election Commission, alongside financial autonomy achieved by strengthening the financial mechanism of the council through an amendment to Article 280 of the Constitution.
Drawing parallels to historical precedents, the ABSU reminded the authorities that the collapse of the first Bodo Accord of 1993 led to a renewed, intensified armed and mass democratic agitation by 1996, which eventually culminated in the 2003 BTC Accord.
The ABSU leadership warned that if the State and Central Governments fail to deliver the promised “Freedom of Development” in the BTR, the democratic suspension of their movement will be revoked.
The union stated it would be bound by the collective sentiment of the Bodo people to bypass current arrangements and directly demand the creation of a separate State of Bodoland under Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution of India.
