‘An act of retaliation’: Assam CM cites key finding ahead of Nellie report re-tabling

Guwahati, Nov 13: Putting to rest all speculation, the Assam cabinet has approved the tabling of the TP Tiwari Commission Report on the 1983 Nellie massacre on the first day of the upcoming Assembly session on November 25.

Calling the move a step towards upholding the “commitment to the House”, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recalled how former Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, while tabling the report in the Assembly in 1986, had promised to make its copy publicly available.

“But it got delayed. This November 25, on the first day of the Assembly session, we will distribute the copies and realise his promise by upholding the commitment to the House,” Sarma said, addressing the press after the cabinet meeting, on Thursday.

Offering a rare glimpse into the contents, the Chief Minister said the Tiwari report, which covers the period between 1979 and 1985, points to the massacre as a “retaliatory response” by the indigenous populace.

“From whatever I have read, the commission has presented the factual situation in Nellie prior to the massacre. It says there were several incidents before the violence that had antagonised the tribal population. And in an act of retaliation, the tribal community attacked the Muslim community,” he said.

He added that the report also highlights “the demographic changes that took place in Assam since 1951”.

“Farmland ownership of the local population plummeted during the period and the Assamese, at large, had lost their economic, political and cultural identity. It has beautifully narrated the situation of the state at that time,” he said, noting that it is part of Assam’s history and “should not be kept under lock and key”.

Although the 600-page report was submitted to the Assam government in May 1984, its contents were not made public by successive governments, drawing criticism that withholding it denied justice to the victims.

The government’s earlier announcement on October 24 that the report would be made public had triggered reactions from the Opposition. Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia questioned the need to release the report after 43 years.

“I don’t understand why such an old report will be made public after almost 43 years of the incident. When the wounds have already healed, why scratch those now? Is it being done to instigate people ahead of the assembly elections?” Saikia had said.

He also warned that at a time when communities in the greater Nellie area are living in harmony, making the report public could disturb the prevailing peace and trust.

During the Assam Agitation, over 2,100 people, mostly Bengali-speaking Muslims, were killed in a single night in the Nellie massacre of 1983.