BJP MP Nishikant Dubey accuses Congress of ‘Dividing Assam’, revives 1961 language movement debate

Nishikant Dubey on May 19 launched a sharp attack on the Congress, accusing former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the then Congress-led Assam government of conspiring to “fragment” Assam during the language movement of the 1960s.

In a post on X, the BJP MP alleged that the Congress government in Assam and Nehru attempted to divide the state and create tensions between Assamese people and Bengali-speaking communities during a sensitive period marked by the looming Chinese threat.

Calling it a “dark chapter” in Congress history, Dubey referred to the May 19, 1961 police firing in Silchar’s Barak Valley, where 11 Bengali language protesters were killed during demonstrations demanding recognition of Bengali as an official language in the region.

Dubey claimed that the Congress government had imposed Assamese as the mandatory language for education, administration and jobs in 1960, triggering widespread unrest among Bengali-speaking residents of Barak Valley.

“On May 19, 1961, in Assam's Barak Valley, police firing on the Bengali-speaking community killed 11 people on the spot and injured thousands,” he wrote, alleging that repeated appeals to Nehru were ignored until the firing took place.

The BJP MP further alleged that the Congress government’s policies were aimed at weakening Assam socially and politically. He also referred to the broader language conflicts witnessed in various parts of India during the 1960s, including in Tamil Nadu.

Dubey’s remarks came a day after he accused Jawaharlal Nehru of being responsible for the arrest of Syama Prasad Mukherjee in Jammu and Kashmir in 1953 and alleged a subsequent “cover-up” following Mukherjee’s death in custody.

Earlier in April, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had also criticised the Nehru-Gandhi family during a rally in Assam, alleging that they “never had good feelings for Assam.”

Referring to the 1962 Chinese aggression, Shah had claimed that Nehru had said “tata-bye-bye” to Assam during the war. “No one can seize even an inch of Assam’s land. This is India’s Assam,” Shah had said.

The Union Home Minister also highlighted the BJP government’s role in signing multiple peace accords in Assam and accused the Congress of opposing developmental initiatives, including the proposed Indian Institute of Management campus at Palashbari.

The Congress has not yet officially responded to Dubey’s latest remarks.