User:Barakland

Demand for separation of Barak Valley (Undivided Cachar district) now comprising Cachar, Karimganj, Hailakandi districts, from Assam was raised during the early sixties after the Bengalee language movement in which eleven people were martyred. Different organisations mushroomed and vanished mostly due to state oppression. One group demanded an union territory status for Barak Valley and they later made dramatic climb down to creation of development council and later to 'economic council' only to resurface again with the union territory demand. The people lost trust on this UT demand group as they were suspected to be agents of the state government floated with a view to puncture statehood movements. But the separation movement gained momentum in 1995 when one of Barak Valley’s promising sons Rati Ranjan Roy took up the cause. It was Rati Ranjan Roy, a news-journalist and social activist who was also a former students’ leader, who interacted with all sections of the people and formed the Barak Gana Parishad (BGP), spearheaded the mass movement for a separate state called BARAKLAND to be carved out of Assam. Barak Valley is the homeland of Bengalis, Kacharis, Hmar, Bishnupriya, Meitei, Rongmei Nagas, Hindi-speaking and tea garden people.and the frontal organizations of these communities are committed to s separate Barakland / Barakbhumi at any cost. BGP delegations led by its president Rati Ranjan Roy already met Prime Minister Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee and Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani in New Delhi few times besides other central leaders and submitted memorandums in support of the demand. In 1998, BGP delegation met Assam Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta,also Asom Gana Parishad leader and to this day the AGP-BGP rivalry or more appropriately rivalry between Barak and Brahmaputra Valley continues.

BACKGROUND: Immediately before partition, in July 1947, the Sylhet referendum was held. It was virtually a vote on the issues of the reorganisation of India on a communal and of the province of Assam on a linguistic basis. Bengali Hindus who had for decades agitated for a re-union with Bengal now clung to Assam. On the Bengali (Sylheti) question, the Assamese public opinion remained cold, but consistent with its hatred stand. "The only alternative to the state of things is", wrote Gopinath Bardoloi to Sardar Ballabbhai Patel in February 1946, "to separate the Bengali district of Sylhet and a portion of Cachar from Assam and join these with Bengal - a consummation to which the Assamese people are looking forward to. Bordoloi was adsmant about handing over Sylhet to Eastern Bengal (East Pakistan). A year later, under the changed circumstances, it was no longer possible for the APCC to say this so openly. However, the Congress control of the Assam administration was so 'correctly' exercised that it hardly provided any advantage to the local Congress during its campaign in Sylhet to win the referendum.  In fact the Congress party did not at all campaign in Sylhet - a lifetime's opportunity for the Assamese leadership to get rid of Sylhet and Bengalees and carve out a linguistically more homogenous Assamese province. When the results of the referendum were declared, there was a huge feeling of relief in the Brahmaputra Valley. It was widely suggested there that the Bengali-speaking plains portion of Cachar district, at the least its Hailakandi subdivision should have been transferred to Pakistan. The Sylhet leaders were discouraged when they tried to salvage a portion of the district through an effective representation to the Boundary Commission.

Why is there a demand for a separate state of Barakland? Ans: The demand for a separate state of Barakland is for a number of reasons. The main reasons are:

1.	The Assam government was not at all interested to have Barak Valley with the state as Gopinath Bordoloi, father of the Assamese cult  who was Assam’s first Chief Minister, was hell bent on getting rid of Cachar to have a Assamese majority province.

2.	The Barak Valley people are a distinct race compared to the majority population of the state of Assam and have an entirely distinctive history, language, culture, tradition, way of life, and of course live in a different topographical region with an entirely different mindset. As a result of this, there is a natural divide between the BV people and the majority community in Assam. It is because of this natural divide that tensions rise high.

3.	As neighbouring Bangladesh has people of similar race who share similar history, language, culture, tradition, way of life and mindset, the people of Barak Valley are labelled as ‘foreigners’ and face a severe ‘Identity Crisis’ though they are Indian citizens like any other Indian.

4.	 Ever since, Cachar (lately districts of Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi) have become a part of Assam state, there have been deprivation, neglect and exploitation of it’s people in the hands of successive state governments.

5.	The people no longer trust the Assam State Government with regards to its sincerity and commitment towards the welfare of Barak Valley people.

The Barak Gana Parishad urged upon the Government of India to bring about a permanent solution to the long pending demand for Barakland and to preserve national integrity of the country. "Creation of Barakland neither violates any provision of the Indian Constitution nor contravenes the spirit of national integrity. On the contrary, it resembles the socio–cultural diversity of the country" said BGP president Rati Ranjan Roy. He also said that the movement for separate state of Barakland was initiated quite some time back and was the result of continuous socio–cultural, economic and political discriminations of the region by the Government of India as well as the Government of Assam.

The mass movement of BARAK GANA PARISHAD for the separate state of Barakland continues in different vigorous but democratic forms, until and unless, Rati Ranjan Roy said: "there was a permanent solution to the problem which is a separate Barakland state", and "a society free from exploitation, suppression, oppression is established."

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Demand-for-Separate-Barakland-State/400309773413778