What is the Assam Accord's Clause 6 that Himanta indicated the state administration will put into effect?

Assam Government Takes Decisive Steps Towards Implementing Assam Accord Recommendations

In a significant development following a meeting with the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) on Wednesday, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma set the wheels in motion to implement 52 key recommendations made by the Justice Biplab Sarma Committee. These recommendations pertain to Clause 6 of the historic Assam Accord, a long-pending demand for safeguarding the cultural, social, and linguistic identity of the Assamese people. This step, as announced by the Assam government earlier this month, comes more than four years after the high-level committee submitted its report in February 2020.

What is the Assam Accord's Clause 6 that Himanta indicated the state administration will put into effect?

However, it was noted that 15 of the key recommendations would not be implemented immediately as they require Constitutional amendments. Sarma assured that these issues would be raised at the appropriate forums with the central government in due course, as shared via his post on X (formerly Twitter).

What is Clause 6 of the Assam Accord?  

Signed in 1985, the Assam Accord was a landmark agreement between the Rajiv Gandhi-led central government and leaders of the Assam Movement, including AASU. It was designed to end six years of agitation in Assam over the influx of Bangladeshi migrants. The Accord included several provisions to address local concerns, with Clause 6 standing out as a commitment to providing constitutional, legislative, and administrative safeguards to protect the Assamese people's unique cultural, social, and linguistic identity.

The Role of the Justice Biplab Sarma Committee  

In July 2019, the Union Home Ministry established a 14-member committee, chaired by retired Assam High Court Justice Biplab Kumar Sarma, to chart out how to implement Clause 6. Among the committee’s critical tasks was defining who qualifies as “Assamese people” for the purpose of these safeguards. This definition would be crucial for determining eligibility for the proposed protections.

The committee submitted its report in February 2020, but it wasn’t handed over to the Union Home Ministry. Instead, it was given to the then Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. In August of the same year, some members of the committee publicly released the report. The report recommended that “Assamese people” should include Indigenous Tribals, Other Indigenous Communities, Indian citizens residing in Assam before January 1, 1951, and their descendants, as well as Indigenous Assamese. Based on this, the committee suggested various reservations for Assamese people in Parliament, the state Assembly, local bodies, and government jobs.

What Will the Assam Government Implement?

Chief Minister Sarma affirmed that the Assam government has accepted 1951 as the cut-off date for implementing the recommendations. However, he emphasized that this definition of “Assamese people” is applicable only within the context of the report’s recommendations.

Of the 67 broad recommendations in the report, they have been divided into three categories:

- 40 fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Assam government

- 12 require central government concurrence

- 15 are entirely under the Centre’s domain

The 52 recommendations from the first two categories are set to be implemented by April 2025. A roadmap for this will be presented to AASU by October 25, 2024.

The key recommendations largely focus on protecting language, land rights, and cultural heritage. Some of the most notable include:

- Land Safeguards: Creating exclusive Revenue Circles where only Assamese people can own or transfer land.

- Land Titles: Launching a time-bound, three-year initiative to grant land titles to Assamese people who have long occupied land but lack documentation.

- Special Survey of Char Areas: Conducting a special survey of riverine regions along the Brahmaputra (char areas) and treating newly formed chars as government land, prioritizing river erosion-affected people for land allotment.

Language Protection Measures:

- Assamese as the Official Language: Ensuring Assamese remains the official language across the state, as per the 1960 Assam Official Language Act, with provisions for local languages in specific regions.

- Bilingual Governance: Mandating all government acts, rules, and orders be issued in both Assamese and English.

- Language Education: Making Assamese a compulsory subject in schools up to Class VIII or Class X, in both state and CBSE-affiliated schools.

Cultural Heritage Preservation:

- Neo-Vaishnavite Monasteries: Establishing an autonomous authority to support and preserve the sattras (neo-Vaishnavite monasteries), which are integral to Assamese culture.

- Cultural Complexes: Developing multi-purpose cultural complexes in every district to promote the heritage of all ethnic groups in Assam.

The Recommendations Left Out

While the Assam government has committed to implementing 52 of the recommendations, several sensitive proposals were left out, which Congress President Bhupen Borah referred to as the “soul” of the committee’s report. 

Among these excluded recommendations are the introduction of an **Inner Line Permit** (similar to the systems in place in Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Mizoram) to regulate entry into Assam, as well as various reservations for Assamese people. These included:

- 80-100% reservations in Assam’s seats in Parliament and the state Assembly.

- 80-100% reservations in government jobs.

- 70-100% reservations in joint ventures between the state and private companies.

The report also recommended creating an Upper House (Legislative Council) in Assam’s legislature, entirely reserved for Assamese people.

Critics have raised questions about the Centre’s role in this process. Former AASU general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi, who was part of the committee, questioned whether the Union Home Ministry had accepted the report. Without the central government’s acceptance, he argued, the recommendations lack legal or constitutional backing, especially those related to political representation.

Moving Forward: Balancing Attainable Goals with Long-Term Aspirations

Chief Minister Sarma has emphasized that the Assam government’s strategy is to focus on implementing the achievable recommendations while continuing to pursue discussions with the Centre on the more complex issues. The government remains committed to ensuring that progress is not stalled by proposals that may take more time and require constitutional amendments.

As Assam looks to move forward, these initial steps represent a significant moment in the ongoing effort to fulfill the promises made under the Assam Accord, balancing both immediate gains and longer-term aspirations for the Assamese people.