Assam Movement

Polity & Governance glossary

Also called: Anti-foreigners movement · Topic: Regional Aspirations: J&K, Punjab, the North-East and Accommodation · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 7 "Regional Aspirations"

Meaning

The Assam Movement (1979-85) was a mass agitation against "outsiders", mainly illegal Bengali Muslim settlers believed to have come from Bangladesh. It was led by the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) and the Asom Gana Sangram Parishad (AAGSP). It mixed two things:

  • Cultural fear: the Assamese feared becoming a minority in their own land.
  • Economic anger: oil, tea and coal left the state without matching benefits for its people.

Example

The movement demanded that immigrant names be removed from voters' lists and that everyone who entered after 1951 be sent back. Its methods included blockades of trains and of oil supplies to Bihar's refineries. Over 3,500 people died, including in the Nellie massacre of 1983. The movement ended with the Assam Accord (15 August 1985), which set 25 March 1971 as the cut-off for deporting migrants.

Don't confuse with

  • ULFA: an armed group formed in 1979 that wanted a sovereign Assam. The Assam Movement used agitation, not arms, and did not seek a separate country.
  • The 1951 date: this was the movement's demand. The accord itself used 1 January 1966 and 25 March 1971 as its cut-offs.

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