GUWAHATI: Gorkha civil society organisations here have unanimously demanded early implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord and exemption of Assam from the purview of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019.
Addressing a joint media conference here on Saturday, representatives of the Assam Gorkha Sammelan Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangha, Assam and Bharatiya Gorkha Mahila Parisangha, Assam State Committee, expressed apprehensions of CAA posing a threat to indigenous communities, including Gorkhas of Assam who are a constituent of the greater Assamese community.
“The Act, if allowed to take effect, will not only change the demography of Assam but will adversely affect language, communities cultural assimilation, arts and literature, eventually challenging the constitutional protection of indigenous communities as committed in the Assam Accord,” Bhaskar Dahal, general secretary of the Assam Gorkha Sammelan, the parent Gorkha organisation of the state, said.
Prakash Dahal, general secretary of Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangha, Assam state committee, said, “The Assam Accord is a national commitment by the Centre to the people of Assam and Clause 6, which guarantees constitutional protection of indigenous communities, should be implemented even before CAA is notified nationwide, exempting Assam and Northeast.”
It may be mentioned that people from the Gorkha community are spontaneously taking part in the ongoing anti-CAA movement and Gana Satyagraha across the state.
Elaborating the stand of the Gorkha community on Clause 6 of Assam Accord, the BGP general secretary said, “Gorkhas too need constitutional protection as one of the constituent indigenous communities of Assam under Clause 6 of the historic Assam Accord. Besides, several Gorkha youths had laid down their lives during the Assam Agitation.”
“We have submitted a joint representation from all Gorkha civil society organisations and noted personalities before the empowered committee and would request them to honour our demands for our protection as enshrined in the Constitution,” he added.