Assam: Renewed agitation in Haflong as indigenous bodies demand bifurcation of Dima Hasao district

Amid mounting discontent over long-standing administrative demands, members of the Indigenous Peoples Forum (IPF), Indigenous Students Forum, and Indigenous Women’s Forum staged a protest march in Haflong on Wednesday, reiterating their call for the bifurcation of Dima Hasao district into two separate administrative units.

The demonstrators marched through the town and assembled in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office, raising slogans such as "No Bifurcation, No Rest", demanding urgent government action for improved governance and equitable representation for non-Dimasa tribal communities in the hill district.

According to IPF, the demand for bifurcation has persisted for over 15 years, stemming from a sense of marginalization following the renaming of the erstwhile North Cachar Hills district to Dima Hasao on March 30, 2010, by the then Congress-led government under Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. The change, which sought to honor the Dimasa community, reportedly alienated other indigenous groups residing in the region.

Addressing the media, IPF President L. Kuki criticized the government’s inaction despite previous commitments. “Numerous districts have been created across Assam without resistance or prolonged agitation. Yet our justified demand, backed by years of struggle, continues to be ignored. We call upon Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma to deliver on his promise and formally announce the bifurcation of Dima Hasao,” Kuki asserted.

General Secretary L. Lima Kevme recalled a meeting held on October 28, 2023, at the Haflong Circuit House, where the Chief Minister had assured IPF representatives that the demand would be met before the 2026 Assembly elections. “Based on that assurance, we suspended our agitation. However, no concrete steps have followed since. This renewed protest serves as a reminder of that unfulfilled promise,” Kevme said.

He cautioned that if the state government fails to take action, the Indigenous Peoples Forum would escalate the agitation in the coming days.