KOKRAJHAR, March 10 - Members of the All Bodo Students� Union (ABSU) and other organisations sat on an indefinite hunger strike on Friday morning at Kokrajhar to exert pressure on the government to create a separate State of Bodoland. The demands also include political right to the Bodos living outside the proposed Bodoland, protection and safeguard of the identity of the Boros and other tribal people and to provide justice to live with dignity and honour in their inherited land.
Hundreds of members from the ABSU and other allied Bodo organisations, like the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB-P) and People�s Joint Action Committee for Boroland Movement (PJACBM) gathered here to participate in the strike, which started at 9 am near FCI Godown in Kokrajhar today.
ABSU president Pramod Boro said they would continue to agitate till their demand for a separate State of Bodoland is met. He also said that the BJP promised in its election manifesto that it would resolve the Boro problem immediately if they could come to power in New Delhi. They were voted to power and their regime in Delhi is more than two-and-half years old now. However, there has been no initiative in this regard and instead the party has also stopped the dialogue process, which apparently means the regime is not willing to resolve the problem.
�If nothing emerges from this indefinite hunger strike, the joint movement groups will be compelled to declare a course of vigorous democratic programmes such as 4-hour-long maha women dharnas at all district headquarters, 24-hour National Highways and Railway blocked from the first week of April, jail bharo by end of April, non-cooperation with State and Central offices, followed by 100- to 1000-hour economic blockades and Assam bandh calls,� warned the leaders of the joint movement groups today.
