18th February marks the 40th anniversary of the Nellie massacre in Central Assam.
According to official reports, around 2000 Muslims of East Bengal origin from various villages under the Nellie Police Station in Assam’s Nagaon district (now Morigaon) were killed by their tribal and low-caste Hindu village neighbors in 1983. It was a planned genocide as Hindus raised slogan, “We will kill all these Bideshi Mians. They have made us Bideshis in our own country”.
The majority of the victims were women and children. Three media personnel, Hemendra Narayan of Indian Express, Bedabrata Lahkar of Assam Tribune and Sharma of ABC were witnesses to the massacre which is also regarded as one of the worst pogroms since World War II. All Assam Students Union (AASU) is believed to have played a very active part in the massacre.
Elements of RSS (Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh) involvement cannot be ruled out in the Nellie massacre. Sources say, RSS and agitators of Assam movement maintained a cordial relationship. The bloodbath started from Nellie after the government decided to hold the controversial Assembly elections in 1983 in the face of opposition from several elements in the state.
The Police officials reportedly had suggested holding the polls in phases in order to avoid violence. The official Tiwari Commission report on the Nellie massacre is still a closely guarded secret (only three copies exist) which is the 600 pages report submitted to the Assam Government in 1984. Although, a total of 688 cases were filed in relation to the massacre, the Police filed charge sheets in only 310 cases that were eventually closed.
All these cases were dropped by the Government of India as a part of the 1985 Assam Accord; and, as a result, not a single person received punishment. The Assam United Democratic Front and others tried making legal efforts to make the Tiwari Commission report public to ensure that reasonable justice is delivered to the victims of the genocide, at least 40 years after the incident.
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