Background and Causes
The Assam Movement was a mass uprising against illegal immigration, especially from Bangladesh.
Spearheaded by All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad (AAGSP).
Aimed at demanding:
Identification and expulsion of illegal immigrants
Safeguards for indigenous Assamese people
Trigger Events
In 1978, following the death of Hiralal Patwari, massive irregularities in the voter list during the Mangaldoi Lok Sabha by-election sparked protests.
AASU demanded deletion of illegal voters before holding elections.
Course of the Movement
27 Nov 1979: AASU-AAGSP called for closure of educational institutes and picketing of govt. offices.
December 1979: Mass picketing blocked nominations across Brahmaputra Valley.
10 December: Statewide bandh declared; curfews were imposed.
In Barpeta, police violence led to the death of Khargeswar Talukdar, honored as the movement’s first martyr.
Nellie Massacre (1983)
On 18 February 1983, over 2,000 Bengali-speaking Muslims were killed in Nagaon district.
Known as one of the worst massacres in post-independence India.
Assam Accord (1985)
A Memorandum of Settlement signed between AASU-AAGSP and the Government of India on 15 August 1985.
Major provisions:
Cut-off date: 1 January 1966 for detection of immigrants.
Post-1971 immigrants to be deported.
855 protestors died during the movement.
Political Outcome
Leaders of the movement formed the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP).
AGP won the 1985 Assembly elections and later again in 1996.
Rise of Insurgency: The Emergence of ULFA
Formation and Ideology
United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) formed in the early 1980s.
Advocated armed struggle to establish a sovereign Assam.
Believed that:
Assam was never part of India historically.
The Indian State was exploiting Assam’s natural resources without investing in its development.
Objectives and Methods
Aim: “Liberate Assam (78,529 sq. km) through armed struggle.”
ULFA justified violence as a response to Indian “colonialism”.
Known for bomb blasts, assassinations, kidnappings, extortion.
Social Impact and Support
ULFA gained massive public sympathy in its early years.
It became risky to criticize ULFA in public.
ULFA’s popularity stemmed from the public’s feeling of exclusion and neglect.
Intellectual Perspectives
Scholar M.S. Prabhakara (1990): “ULFA is a state of mind in Assam.”
ULFA created a narrative that separated Assamese identity from Indian identity.
Narrative of Exclusion
ULFA capitalized on:
The mainland’s alienation of the northeast.
The marginalization of Assamese identity.
The failure of the Indian State to integrate Assam politically and culturally.
Political and Ethnic Dimensions
Scholar Samir Kumar Das: Critiqued India’s totalizing nationalism.
ULFA’s demand for secession was rooted in the inadequacy of Indian nationalism to accommodate regional identities.
ULFA projected itself as the voice of Assamese nationalism.
Critique of State Response
State failed to address ULFA’s concerns within the constitutional framework.
ULFA rejected solutions within Indian Constitution, demanding complete sovereignty.
Legacy and Contemporary Implications
The Assam Movement and ULFA insurgency revealed deep identity-based divisions.
Issues of illegal immigration, ethnic identity, resource control, and regional autonomy remain unresolved.
The idea that northeast India is distinct and marginalized continues to influence regional politics.
Movements like ULFA leveraged this narrative to mobilize public sentiment and articulate demands for independence.