{"id":55832,"date":"2020-02-28T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-28T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogadmin.forumias.com\/?p=55832"},"modified":"2020-02-28T17:03:40","modified_gmt":"2020-02-28T11:33:40","slug":"7-pm-with-pacts-on-defence-oil-and-lng-new-chapter-begins-in-india-us-relations-28th-february-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/7-pm-with-pacts-on-defence-oil-and-lng-new-chapter-begins-in-india-us-relations-28th-february-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"7 PM | Still no finality, the third time round| 28th February, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Context:\n<\/strong>Third\nBodo Accord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>More\nin news:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The\nMinistry of Home Affairs (MHA), the&nbsp;Assam&nbsp;government and the Bodo\ngroups have signed an agreement to redraw and rename&nbsp;the Bodoland\nTerritorial Area District (BTAD) in Assam.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Bodo\nTribe:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Bodos\nare the single largest community among the notified Scheduled Tribes in Assam. <\/li><li>Part of\nthe larger umbrella of Bodo-Kachari, the Bodos constitute about 5-6% of Assam\u2019s\npopulation.<\/li><li>The\nBodos, according to some versions, were the original inhabitants of the\nBrahmaputra Valley. They were present there much before the Ahoms, the present\nAssamese, who are believed to be the descendants of the \u201cTai\u201d people from Burma\nand moved to the Valley back in 1228 AD.<\/li><li>In\nancient Sanskrit literature, Bodos were called \u201cKacharis\u201d or \u201cKiratas\u201d. Pushya\nVarman was a Bodo king who founded the Kamarupa kingdom in the 5th Century CE.<\/li><li>The\nfirst clash between \u201cBodos\u201d and \u201cAhoms\u201d was in 1490 AD which was won by the\nformer. But they were defeated in 1536. By 1747, Bodos were pushed to a small\narea in Southern Nowgong. <\/li><li>The\nBritish rule brought them more problems. Sandwiched between the British\nplanters, Ahom merchants and Bengali (mainly Muslims) settlers, the Bodos moved\nto the North where they faced Nepali migrants. Foundations of Bodo-Ahom enmity\non one hand and with Muslims on the other were laid because of these\ndevelopments.<\/li><li>Bodos\nare politically active and dominant in the Kokrajhar, Baksa, Udalguri and\nChirang districts of the Bodoland Autonomous region in the state of Assam.<\/li><li>The\nBodo people speak the&nbsp;Bodo language,&nbsp;a Tibeto-Burman language\nrecognized as one of&nbsp;twenty-two scheduled languages&nbsp;in the Indian\nConstitution.&nbsp;<\/li><li>The\nBodo people are recognized as a&nbsp;plains tribe&nbsp;in the&nbsp;Sixth\nSchedule of the Indian Constitution.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"429\" height=\"472\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogadmin.forumias.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/bodo.png?resize=429%2C472&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-55839\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The\nBodoland Dispute:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>In\n1966-67, the demand for a separate state called Bodoland was raised under the\nbanner of&nbsp;the Plains Tribals Council of Assam (PTCA),&nbsp;a political\noutfit.<\/li><li>In\n1987,&nbsp;the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU)&nbsp;renewed the\ndemand.&nbsp;\u201cDivide Assam fifty-fifty\u201d,&nbsp;was a call given by the ABSU\u2019s\nthen leader, Upendra Nath Brahma.<\/li><li>The\narmed group Bodo Security Force arose, under the leadership of Ranjan Daimary,\nin October 1986. It subsequently renamed itself National Democratic Front of\nBodoland (NDFB), and later split into factions.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Background-\nPrevious Accords:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>First Accord:\u00a0<\/strong>The first Bodo accord was signed with the All Bodo Students Union in 1993, leading to creation of a Bodoland Autonomous Council with limited political powers.<\/li><li><strong>Second Accord:\u00a0<\/strong>In 2003, the second Bodo accord was signed with the militant group Bodo Liberation Tigers, leading to formation of a Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) with four districts of Assam- Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baska and Udalguri called Bodoland Territorial Area District (BTAD).<ul><li>A BTC (Bodoland Territorial Council) created under 6<sup>th<\/sup> Schedule of the Constitution has been given legislative powers over 40 subjects.<\/li><li>BTAD (Bodoland Territorial Area District) created in 2003.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Bodo\nAccord:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The\nBodo Accord provides political and economic benefits to the tribal areas\nwithout seeking a separate Bodoland state or union territory.&nbsp;<\/li><li>A\ntripartite accord was signed on January 27, 2020 by representatives of Bodo\norganisations with the Central and Assam governments, presents a new model of\npower sharing and governance in Assam under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian\nConstitution. <\/li><li>The\nBodo parties to the agreement include the All Bodo Students\u2019 Union (ABSU), the\nUnited Bodo People\u2019s Organisation (UBPO) and all the four factions of the\nNational Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB).&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key\ntakeaways from the Accord:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Territory:<\/strong> The area under the jurisdiction of BTC, formed under the 2003 Accord, was called the Bodo Territorial\u00a0Autonomous District\u00a0(BTAD). The BTAD was renamed Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR).<ul><li>BTAD comprises\u00a0Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa and Udalguri districts, accounting for 11% of Assam\u2019s area and 10% of its population.\u00a0<\/li><li>The new Accord provides for \u201calteration of area of BTAD\u201d and \u201cprovisions for Bodos outside BTAD\u201d.\u00a0<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>A committee will be formed to decide the exclusion and inclusion of new areas. <\/li><li>The memorandum of settlement says that\u00a0the criminal cases registered against members of the NDFB factions for \u201cnon-heinous\u201d crimes shall be withdrawn\u00a0by the Assam government and in cases of heinous crimes it will be reviewed.<\/li><li><strong>Bodo-Kachari Welfare Council: <\/strong>The government will set up a Bodo-Kachari Welfare Council for focused development of Bodo villages outside BTAD \u2014 which opens up a way to potentially address the needs of Bodos outside BTAD.<\/li><li><strong>Structural Changes: <\/strong>The accord provides for more legislative, executive, administrative and financial powers to BTC; and amendments to the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to \u201cimprove the financial resources and administrative powers of BTC\u201d. <ul><li>Subsequently, the total number of Assembly seats will go up to 60, from the existing 40.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>The 2020 agreement says the Government of Assam \u201cwill notify Bodo language in Devanagri script as the associate official language in the state\u201d.<\/li><li>The families of those killed during the Bodo movement would get Rs. 5 lakh each.<\/li><li><strong>Funding: <\/strong>A Special Development Package of Rs. 1500 Crore would be given by the Centre to undertake specific projects for the development of Bodo areas.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Significance\nof the Accord:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The\nobjective of the agreement is to increase the scope and powers of the BTC and\nto streamline its functioning; resolve issues related to Bodo people residing\noutside Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD); promote and protect Bodo&#8217;s\nsocial, cultural, linguistic and ethnic identities; providing legislative\nprotection for the land rights of tribals; ensure quick development of tribal\nareas and rehabilitate members of NDFB factions.<\/li><li>It is\nexpected to usher in a new dawn of peace, harmony and togetherness and that\nthose associated with armed resistance groups would now enter the mainstream\nand contribute to the nation&#8217;s progress.<\/li><li>The\naccord will successfully&nbsp;bring together leading stakeholders&nbsp;under\none framework ending&nbsp;the 50-year-old Bodo crisis.<\/li><li>People\npreviously associated with armed resistance groups like NDFB(P), NDFB(RD) and\nNDFB(S) will enter the mainstream and contribute to the nation\u2019s progress.<\/li><li>It will\nfurther&nbsp;protect and popularise the unique culture of the Bodo\npeople&nbsp;and will give them access to a wide range of development-oriented\ninitiatives.<\/li><li>This\nagreement will facilitate all-round development of the Bodo areas, their\nlanguage and culture will be protected without compromising the territorial\nintegrity of Assam.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Issues\nwith the Accord:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The\nBodos have portrayed themselves as the most rightful representatives of the\nBTAD. The BTC (Bodoland Territorial Council) is predominantly Bodo, as per the\nprovisions of the Bodo Accord of 2003, but the BTAD areas do not have a\nhomogenous demographic profile. Several Bodo groups have been demanding a\nseparate land for the ethnic community since 1972, a movement that has claimed\nnearly 4,000 lives.<\/li><li>As of\nnow the agreement has not addressed the issue of&nbsp;\u201ccitizenship or work\npermit\u201d&nbsp;for non-domiciles in the BTAD, to be renamed as&nbsp;the Bodoland\nTerritorial Region (BTR).<\/li><li>According\nto North-east experts, the creation of BAC or BTC in 2014 did not solve their\nproblem. This is because of the innate contradiction that the newly created\nBodo lands have physical majority, estimated as 73%, of non-Bodos such as\nMuslims, Assamese, Bengali Hindus and tribal groups such as the Adivasis and\nKoch-Rajbongshis. However, under the Bodo accord, the levels of political\npower, including representation in the local council or assembly, access to\nfunds and the force of weapons are with the Bodos.<\/li><li>To\nsolve this, a very tricky provision was introduced in the 2020 accord on the\nappointment of a commission to include the Bodo majority areas in the BTR and\nto exclude non-tribal majority areas from it. <\/li><li>From\npast experience, carving out boundaries in this volatile region and\ndisplacement of residents have only resulted in violence with new terrorist\ngroups emerging out of the 220 ethnic groups.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Way\nForward:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the whole, the\nnew Bodo Accord has many firsts and it can well be taken as a peace template as\nand when the government pushes its peace efforts in states like Manipur, for\ninstance, where, too, there is a strong civil society presence which could well\nassist efforts at ending militancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source:\n<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/opinion\/lead\/still-no-finality-the-third-time-round\/article30925387.ece\">https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/opinion\/lead\/still-no-finality-the-third-time-round\/article30925387.ece<\/a><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Context: Third Bodo Accord. More in news: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the&nbsp;Assam&nbsp;government and the Bodo groups have signed an agreement to redraw and rename&nbsp;the Bodoland Territorial Area District (BTAD) in Assam. Bodo Tribe: Bodos are the single largest community among the notified Scheduled Tribes in Assam. Part of the larger umbrella of Bodo-Kachari,&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/7-pm-with-pacts-on-defence-oil-and-lng-new-chapter-begins-in-india-us-relations-28th-february-2020\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">7 PM | Still no finality, the third time round| 28th February, 2020<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":49370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[130],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-7-pm","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/7-PM.png?fit=1000%2C500&ssl=1","views":{"total":156,"cached_at":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}