Assam: PPFA urges release of Tiwari Commission report on 1983 Nellie massacre

Guwahati: Supporting the Assam government’s decision to table the report on the Nellie massacre in the legislative assembly, the Patriotic People’s Front Assam (PPFA), a forum of nationalist citizens, insisted that the full truth behind the 1983 incident should be revealed.

The PPFA also demanded that any alleged conspiracy to malign the Axomiya people as ‘anti-Muslim’ be addressed, stating that the current negative narrative could be countered with factual revelations.

The group noted that national and international media outlets often report the Nellie massacre, which took place on February 18, 1983, resulting in the deaths of over 2,000 Bangladesh-origin Muslim settlers, as one of the most horrific mass killings in India.

In their statement, the PPFA presented several counter-questions regarding the established narrative. They asked what weapons were used for the slaughter and whether, with no sophisticated arms, the locals could eliminate all these people within a few hours.

They also questioned if the victims were Muslims, where they were buried, and whether there were any indications of mass graves in the Nellie locality of central Assam.

The group's statement added that while media reports claimed the victims were mostly women and children, the group questioned whether another thousand aggressors, identified by the PPFA as tribal and mainstream Assamese individuals, were also killed in retaliation, claiming that this aspect had not been reported.

The PPFA concluded that the initiative to make the Tiwari Commission report public could help clarify the facts behind the Nellie incident.