Assembly must define Assamese, says Himanta Biswa Sarma

Guwahati: A day after the All Assam Students Union (AASU) made public the recommendations of the Clause 6 Panel on the Assam Accord, state finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said any definition of the term Assamese must be ratified by the assembly as a 12-member committee cannot define who is an Assamese. The current assembly is on its way out and preferably the next assembly should take up the issue, Sarma said while speaking to reporters.

The Centre has no role in defining who is an Assamese as the thinking of the people is reflected in the assembly, he said. The report must first be discussed in the state assembly and then sent to the Centre for implementation, he added. The AASU on Tuesday made public the confidential report which was submitted in February.

The Centre had set up the Clause 6 Panel to recommend measures to protect the interests of the indigenous people of Assam, following protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The BJP government in Assam had promised to quickly implement the recommendation and the AASU has now accused it of lacking commitment to do so.


The report has recommended 1951 as the cutoff year to determine who is an Assamese. The National Register of Citizens prepared in the state as per a Supreme Court order had, however, set 1971 as the cut-off year. Definition of Assamese is a prerequisite for making the recommendations operational.