SUMMARY
The Bodos (alternative names: Boros, Bodis, Kacharis) are an ethnic group living in northeastern India, mainly in the highlands of Assam region, in the vicinity of the Brahmaputra River. A smaller number exists in Northern Bangladesh, close to the Indian border. Scholarly sources estimate the total number of Bodos at approximately 3 million (including the closely-related Achiks and Garos tribes). The Bodos are non-uniform, tribal- and clan- based society , currently being classified by the Indian Government as a scheduled tribe (ST). Most Bodos are Hindu, a minority being Christian (mainly converts by British missionaries in the 19th and 20th centuries) – however, their beliefs are deeply influenced by traditional religion – and many Bodo clans or tribes, even though Hindu, are not part of the caste system.
Originating from the Tibetan Plateau, the Bodos settled in the hills around the Brahmaputra Valley around the 13th century; there, the Bodos have maintained control over the jungle covered areas of the highlands for more than 500 years. During this period, their main enemies were the Assamese, with whom they fought a number of wars, establishing a pattern of confrontation that continued after the installation of British rule in the 1820s. Incorporated by the British Raj into Assam province, the Bodos quickly became a minority in the areas they populated through immigration, mainly of Bengalis and Santhals.
Considering their existence threatened by immigration, and seeing other ethnic groups and tribes (such as the Nagas and the Assamese) fighting and obtaining concessions from the Indian government in the 1970s and 1980s, the Bodos organized themselves . These organized Bodo groups demanded recognition of their territory, separation from Assam and the expulsion of Bengalis and Santhals, claiming the Government of India and the State of Assam to be indifferent to their problems. The first such group was the All Bodo Student’s Union (ABSU), formed in 1980, followed by the Bodo Security Force (BdSF, currently known as the National Democratic Front of Bodoland, NDFB), a paramilitary group formed in 1986.
Violence quickly ensued, starting with kidnappings of tea plantation employees in 1987, followed by a very violent general strike in 1989, leading to strong reprisals by the Government, and finishing with demands for full independence in 1994. The response of the Indian authorities, the creation of a relatively weak, non-autonomous Bodoland Executive Council (BEC) in 1993, compounded the problem, increasing the levels of violence. As such, on one hand, pro-BEC Bodo groups began fighting anti-BEC, pro-independence groups. On the other hand, Bengals and Santhals, already targeted by the Bodos as unwanted immigrants, felt threatened and began to be more militant. This led to a violent conflict, culminating in various forms of ethnic cleansing, with some reports of over 200 000 Bodos and Santhals being forced out of their homes and into relief camps as internally displaced people. Over 45 000 Bodos and Santhals are still housed in such camps, usually in very poor conditions. Further, the Assam state had its role in increasing insurgency through its actions. The state officials, fearing yet another breakup of Assam state, stepped up its pressure on Bodos by ignoring their demands and by delaying the introduction of BEC by not establishing any territorial boundaries until March 1999. All these factors led to the splintering and fragmentation of Bodo groups under various platforms, with the potential of further radicalization and increase in insurgency.
The strategy of the Government of India towards the Bodos did change, however, in 2003, when the State of Assam, the Government of India and some insurgent Bodo groups reached a memorandum of understanding, leading to the creation, on 10 February 2003 of a stronger, yet still not autonomous, Bodo assembly, the Bodo Territorial Council (BTC).
The Bodo have been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence.
