Guwahati, May 8: The militant United People?s Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) today set a May 26 deadline to the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council to scrap its recommendation for granting Scheduled Tribe status to Bodos living in the hill districts of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills.
In a statement issued by the outfit?s frontal organisation, the Karbi Anglong-North Cachar People?s Resistance, the UPDS squarely held the chief executive members who have controlled the KAAC since 1991 responsible for the current crisis.
It warned the KAAC authorities of ?appropriate? action if the deadline was not met.
The UPDS strongly objects to Clause VIII of the Bodoland Territorial Council accord recently signed between the Centre and the Bodo Liberation Tigers to resolve the Bodo problem. The clause says Bodos living in Karbi Anglong and N.C. Hills districts would be accorded Scheduled Tribe (hills) status.
The majority of Karbis think the clause has hurt their interests. Riding on popular sentiment, the UPDS has now championed the Karbis? cause.
Charging the KAAC with sacrificing the political interests of the indigenous tribal community at the altar of political opportunism, the UPDS said the chief executive members cannot be absolved of blame for the conspiracy against the Karbis and indigenous tribes. The outfit asked the present KAAC led by Khorsing Engti to withdraw the earlier recommendations giving ST (hills) status to the Bodos through an appropriate resolution.
According to the UPDS, the KAAC, during Jayanta Rongpi?s tenure as chief executive member, had adopted a resolution in October 1991 to confer ST (hills) status to the Bodos, the Tiwas and former tea tribes living in Karbi Anglong. Rongpi had forwarded the recommendation to the Union home ministry in November that year.
In response to the demand of the organisation, the KAAC, led by chief executive member Jotson Bey in December 1996 backtracked partially, complaining over the lack of role of the council in the parliamentary committee which had been dealing with the matter.
In July 2002, the KAAC, under the leadership of Engti, again adopted a unanimous executive council resolution requesting the state government and the Centre to solve the Bodo issue pertaining to their status as ST (hills) in the district in the interests of peace.
The ASDC pointed out that the recent ethnic clashes between Hmars and Dimasas has amply demonstrated ?ethnic sensitivity? in the hills. It, however, urged the people of both the hill districts to learn a lesson from this and thwart the conspiracy to divide the tribes on ethnic lines.