Behind the indigenous rights argument in Assam: Clause 6 of the Assam Accord and the 67 recommendations of the Biplab Sarma committee

Background

The Gauhati High Court case that freed an indigenous rights activist turns on who counts as indigenous in Assam, and the State's own answer runs through Clause 6 of the Assam Accord. A committee headed by Justice Biplab Sarma was set up to work out how Clause 6 should be implemented, and it made 67 recommendations. The Assam Cabinet decided to implement 80 per cent of them, that is 57 recommendations, and set a deadline of 15 April the following year. What the State says it is after is plain enough: the indigenous people of Assam should not lose their land, their language or their way of living. Clause 6 of the Accord promises constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards for the Assamese people; it is not the clause about detecting or deporting anyone. The committee's report turned that promise into a list of steps a government can act on.