The Bodo National Students' Union (BoNSU) launched the movement for the creation of a separate state of Bodoland on Thursday at the Kokrajhar District Sport Association (KDSA) playground, where around 300 supporters gathered.
They were supposed to hold a rally in Kokrajhar town to submit a memorandum, but the police prevented them from doing so. Only union leaders were permitted to travel to the DC office to present the memorandum to India's Prime Minister.
The president of the BoNSU, Bonjit Manjil Basumatary, hoisted the organisational flag and paid tribute to Bodofa UN Brahma at his portrait as part of the programme. Students from various colleges also participated. Speaking to members of the media, the president of the union,
Basumatary stated that they were dissatisfied with the BTR agreement because it did not meet the aspirations of the Bodo people. Only the establishment of a separate Bodoland state, he claimed, would fulfil Bodofa's and the Bodo people's dreams.
The lands of the Bodos and other tribal peoples were not protected, and aboriginal people were becoming guests in their land as a result of the government's failure to protect indigenous people's land, he said, adding that without the creation of a separate state, the protection of land, identity, economic development, culture, and language would be impossible.
Basumatary stated that the BoNSU had begun its fourth phase democratic movement for the creation of a Bodoland state from KDSA, Kokrajhar, and that this movement would continue until their goal was achieved. He reiterated that the Government of India should establish a separate Bodoland state as soon as possible, including raising a Bodo regiment, implementing the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and including Bodos in Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao on the ST (Hills) list. Former MLA Pradip Kr. Brahma and retired BEEO Amar Brahma also attended the event.