Cabinet to table non-government commission report on Assam Agitation for first time

Guwahati: The Assam cabinet has decided to place the report of a non-government commission, set up by civil society groups to examine incidents of violence during the anti-infiltration Assam Agitation, in the Assembly, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

He noted that this will be the first time a report prepared by a commission formed outside the government will be tabled in the House.

The Assembly’s five-day session begins on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Sarma said the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) had earlier asked the government to make public the report of the Justice (Retd.) T.U. Mehta Commission, which was formed by Mukti Jujaru Sanmilan and agitation leaders.

“AASU wants people to know all aspects of the events, so we have approved its tabling,” he said.

The cabinet also agreed to table the report of the Tewary Commission, which was set up in 1983 to examine incidents of violence that year.

Although the report was placed in the Assembly in 1987 by then Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, only a single copy had been submitted to the Speaker.

Sarma said copies of both reports will be made available to all MLAs and others on Tuesday. He clarified that while both reports are technically public, they were never widely circulated.

He added that the Tewary Commission report, formed by the then Congress government, was “neutral and prepared with considerable effort.” He criticised the present Congress leadership for opposing its release, saying their concerns are unfounded. “It is an important historical document, and keeping it hidden would mean losing valuable information,” he said.

According to Sarma, the report contains critical observations about AASU, but the organisation has no objection to its publication.

He added that making the reports public will help younger generations understand the circumstances of that time.

The Assam Agitation lasted six years and ended with the signing of the Assam Accord in August 1985, though concerns over illegal migration continue.

Sarma also said the cabinet has approved about 27 Bills for introduction in the upcoming session.

These include proposals on land allotment for tea garden workers, regulation of fees in minority-run private educational institutions, and the establishment of a philanthropic university by the Azim Premji Foundation.