HANDOUT 5 - SOCIAL ISSUES REGIONAL AUTONOMY MOVEMENTS

HANDOUT 5 - SOCIAL ISSUES REGIONAL AUTONOMY MOVEMENTS Regional Movements in India can be classified into the following two broad categories: I. Demand for secession from the union II. Demand for greater autonomy within the country. I. Secession from Union 1. Tribal identity movements A. Reorganization of Assam State Taking inspiration from organization of Sena in Maharashtra in 1967 who attacked the Rajasthanis who owned much of the industry in the state, few Assamese attacked the shops and industrial establishment and the shops of the non-assamese. The demand for a separate state of Meghalaya was raised by the people living in the hilly areas of Garo, Khasi, Jainta and North Cachar. They formed the All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) and demanded the creation of a separate hill state. In December 1969, the Assam Reorganization Bill was passed by the Parliament and the Hill State of Meghalaya was created as an autonomous unit with Assam. According to the arrangements envisaged in the Act the state of Meghalaya was provided with its own Legislature and a Council of Ministers. However, this did not fully meet the aspirations of the people of the area and the Meghalaya Assembly unanimously passed a resolution on 30 th September, 1970 requesting the Government of India to accord them the status of a full-fledged State, a demand which was conceded by the Government in January 1972. Meghalaya thus became the eighteen Indian State. B. Nagaland The Nagas formed the Naga National Council under Z. Phizo to carry on an agitation for the grant of independent status. In February 1950, Phizo held a plebiscite on the issue of Naga independence. In 1952, he organized a boycott of the general election and this was a great success. To pressurize the government to concede their demand, the Nagas resorted to large-scale violence and soon the conditions deteriorated so much that the Indian government had to dispatch an army to deal with the situation. The agitators met the Prime Minister Nehru in 1956 and demanded that the Nagas should be united brought under one single administration. In 1960, the Government of India signed an agreement with the Naga People s Convention about the settlement of the problem of the Nagas. In 1962, the Constitution Thirteen Amendment Act was passed and Nagaland was given full fledged statehood, as the sixteenth State of the Indian Union. This arrangement did not satisfy extremist Nagas under the leadership of Phizo, who became more desperate. They became violent and killed Chief Minister Shilu Ao. In November 1975, an agreement was reached between the Government of India and hostile Nagas whereby the former agreed to release all detained Nagas. In June 1977, Prime Minister of India Moraji Desai had a meeting with Phizo in London in a bid to find a solution to the Nagaland problem, but nothing concrete emerged. Naga Peace Accord, 2015 The historic peace accord signed by the government and the NSCN-IM on August 03, 2015 came nearly 40 years after another similar treaty inked in Shillong failed to establish peace and led to breakdown of the Naga rebel movement. 1

HANDOUT 5 - SOCIAL ISSUES On August 03, the two parties the Government of India and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) has been a great landmark signed an agreement called Framework Agreement. The unexpected attention that the Naga peace process has generated is perhaps a recognition of the significant implications-constitutional and security in particular-that will follow once the proposed peace accord is successfully implemented. Modi describes the accord as the Act East Policy which would become the heart of his foreign policy, thereby underscoring the importance of the Naga peace accord for India s wider foreign policy goals in South-East Asia. C. Mizoram The hilly districts of Assam have demanded a separate state of Mizoram outside the Union of India in order to press their demand they organized themselves in a political front known as the Mizo National Front (MNF). The Mizos organized armed agitation and commenced guerrilla warfare. In the wake of the Chinese aggression, the MNF was banned. It is believed that the Mizos got active support from China and Pakistan in men, money and material. Their activities continued and spread to the Cachar Hills of Assam and the Union Territory of Tripura. It was early in 1971 that a three-member delegation of the Nation Mizo Front headed by its President, Chunga, met Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and explained the background of their agitation. The government, keeping their aspirations in view decided to make Mizo Hill area a Union Territory, which was inaugurated by the Prime Minister herself on 21 st January, 1972. It was named Mizoram. There were, however many extremists and hard core Mizos headed by Laldenga who were not yet satisfied with the arrangement. They felt that only a separate Mizo state outside the Union of India could satisfy them. They, therefore, continued their guerrilla activities. The talks between the rebel Mizos and the Government of India held both in 1973 and 1974 failed. In 1975, the rebels killed the Inspector and the Deputy Inspector General of Police and operations commenced in a big way to suppress the rebels. In July 1976, an agreement was signed between the government of India and Laldenga by which it was decided that all disputes and problems between Mizo and the Central Government would be solved without the use of violent means. But in March 1977 this agreement was violated when Laldenga launched a massive drive to enrol his followers and again began to follow violent means. However, later on, Laldenga has again agreed to give up violence and solve every problem by constitutional means. Accordingly, Mizoram has been elevated from the status of a Union Territory to be the 23 rd state of the Indian Union. 2. Cultural identity movements A. Dravida Nadu As early as 1950 the DMK and the Nan Tamil (We Tamils) organized a joint campaign throughout Madras state demanding its secession from India and for making it an independent sovereign state of Tamiland. In 1961, Tamil Arasu Khazhagam launched an agitation for the renaming of Madras state as Tamil Nadu. In 1962, C.N.Annadurai maintained that the people of South India were of different stock from that of the north. The Parliament in early October 1963 adopted the Constitution (Sixteenth Amendment) Bill which enabled it to make laws providing penalties for any integrity of the Indian Union. DMK proposed that the states of Madras, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Mysore should secede from the Indian Union and form an independent Republic of Dravida Nadu. 2

HANDOUT 5 - SOCIAL ISSUES In September 1970, the DMK convened a state autonomy conference in Madras. In April 1971, Chief Minister Karunanidhi threatened that separation of Tamil Nadu from the Indian Union would become unavoidable if the demand for state autonomy continued to be neglected for long. At one stage, he even demanded a separate flag for Tamil Nadu. In May 1974, the Tamil Protection Organisation took out a procession in Madras city and the demonstrators shouted slogans against Malayalis and gave slogans like drive out Malayalis and give employment to Tamilians alone. Karunanidhi even declared that his government favoured reserving 80 per cent of the jobs in the government and private sectors for local people. II. SEPARATIST STATE DEMAND 1. Tribal identity movements A. Bodoland The Bodo agitation by the Assam Bodo students union (ABSU), which is demanding a separate state and has resorted to wide scale violence and a series of crippling bandhs. The Bodos are the largest single tribal community in the north-east. On February 10, 2002, Centre and the Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) have reached an agreement to settle the over a decade-old Bodoland issue. A tripartite Memorandum of Settlement (MOs) was signed which envisages the creation of Bodoland as an autonomous self-governing unit within Assam. Under the provisions of the settlement, a 46-member autonomous Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), recognized under the sixth schedule of the Constitution, will be set up. 40 members of the Council would be elected, with 30 seats being set aside for tribals, five for non-tribals and five for other groups. Six members would be nominated by the Governor from communities not otherwise represented. The existing Bodoland Automous Council would be abolished. Elections to the new Council would be held soon after its formation. The BTC, covering some 8,000 sq kilometres, would comprise some 3,082 villages and a population of some 23 lakhs. The status of an additional 95 villages would be considered by a three-member committee. The status of the Bodo Kacharis. Under the Settlement the Government has said that it will sympathetically consider the demand of Bodo Kacharis living in the jurisdiction of Karbi Anglong district for ST (Hill) status. The Centre would also make a Rs.100 crore a year allocation for infrastructure development over the next five years. B. Jharkhand It took place in the then Bihar from the year 1972, led by Shibu Soren Causes: The Jharkhand region has much economic importance as it contributes to 75 per cent of the revenue of Bihar. The government began acquiring the lands of the tribals, which left the tribals with very less compensation, etc Mode of protest: Agitation Result: The state Jharkhand was formed in November 2000 3

HANDOUT 5 - SOCIAL ISSUES C. Mithilanchal Movement Movement started in Bihar and Jharkhand in 1995 and was led by Govindacharya and others Causes: People of Mithila are fighting for their own identity and rights Mode of protest: Agitation Result: The demand for a separate state is still there 2. Language based movements A. Bifurcation of Bombay State The States Reorganization Commission had recommended that Bombay should remain a bilingual state and suggested the creation of a separate state of Vidharbha, by adding some areas of Madhya Pradesh. There was violence in the State and two separate organizations, viz., the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti and the Maha Gujarat Janata Parishad, were founded. They sought the creation of two separate states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. Both these organizations got sufficient support from the masses and in May 1960, these states came into being. B. Gorkhaland The Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) under the leadership of Subhash Ghishing has steered a demand for separate Gorkhaland. It spear headed a violent agitation for 28 months in the Darjeeling hills. They have also demanded the status of official language for Nepalese in their area. C. Sikhistan The demand for a separate Sikh state was made as early as 1949 by the Sikhs under Master Thar Singh. He demanded a Sikh State consisting of the Gurgaon district of Punjab and Patiala and the East Punjab States Union (PEPSU). The Sikhs under the Akali Dal leader Sant Fateh Singh announced his plan to burn himself alive if the demand of Punjabi Suba was not conceded by 25 September, 1966. In view of the serious repercussion of this treat being implemented, the Government of India conceded the demand for a Punjabi speaking State. The creation of separate Punjabi Suba did not satisfy all Punjabi leaders. Certain Sikh leaders continued the agitation for the establishment of a Socialist Democratic Sikh State ; Dr. Jagjit Singh, former General Secretary of the Akali Dal, undertook a tour of a number of foreign countries to mobilise world opinion in favour of this demand. During this tour he tried to enlist the support of the members of the Sikhs community living abroad for this purpose. He also prepared a plan for the setting up a Rebel Sikh Government, at Nankana Sahib, the birth place of Guru Nanak, in West Pakistan. D. Harit Pradesh Movement The movement commenced in Uttar Pradesh in the year 1972 against the government and was led by Ajit Singh. Causes: There is linguistic difference between the people from the same state. The western region feels that they have less political advantage compared to the eastern region The mode of protest was agitation 4

The demand for a separate state is still there HANDOUT 5 - SOCIAL ISSUES 3. Underdevelopment related movements A. Vidarbha State When in 1960 a proposal for the bifurcation of Bombay was under consideration, a demand for the creation of a separate State of Vidarbha was revived. Some Congress MLAs from the Nagpur area strongly demanded the formation of Vidarbha. In order to forcefully and effectively press their demand, the people of the region organized Nag Vidarbha Andolan Samiti, which also organized violent demonstrations near Nagpur city. That the Vidarbha area would be given special representation and finance for its development, did not satisfy them. With the lapse of time the movement for Vidarbha subsided although casual demands continued to be made. B. Telangana state The income generated by the capital city of erstwhile AP was not used for the development of Telangana regions. Injustice in distribution of water, budget allocations and job strengthened the movement. Proponents of separate Telangana state feel that the agreements, plans and assurances from the legislature and Lok Sabha over last fifty years have not been honoured and as a consequence Telangana has remained neglected, exploited and backward. They alleged that the experiment to remain as one state has proven to be a futile exercise and that separation is the best solution. All these led to severity of the movement. Mass people participation in the movement forced the central government to intervene in the issue. Finally the union cabinet on 7 th February 2014 unilaterally cleared the bill for the Telangana. The appointed day for creation of Telangana was 2 nd June 2014. C. Saurashtra Movement The movement commenced in Gujarat from the year 1972 against the Government It was led by Ratilal Tanna Causes: The region remained under-developed whereas the rest of the state of Gujarat prospered. Mode of protest: Agitation Result: The demand for a separate state is still there D. Karbi Anglong Movement The movement commenced in Assam in the year 1940s and was led by Semson Sing Ingti Causes: The people feel there is no government development work or activity Mode of protest: Violent protests Result: The Prime Minister had given them his assurance to discuss the matter. Separate statehood demands in other parts: The hill areas of U.P. have been demanding a separate state to be carved out of the present state of U.P. In Haryana there was and continues a demand, for the creation of a Vishal Haryana which it is claimed should include some districts of Western U.P. and Rajasthan in addition to the present State of Haryana. The people of the former Princely State of Mysore demanded separation from Karnataka. 5

HANDOUT 5 - SOCIAL ISSUES The tribal people in South Gujarat asked for a tribal state as a home for the Dangs and the Dublas. The Buddhists of Ladakh agitated for grant of Union Territory status to the Ladakh region. Ladakh has for years complained of neglect and of inadequate grants for the region s development. Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir comprises three social and political regions: Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. The Kashmir issue involves the issue of Kashmiri identity known as Kashmiriyat and the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir for political autonomy. Before 1947, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) was a Princely State. Its Hindu ruler, Hari Singh, did not want to merge with India and tried to negotiate with India and Pakistan to have an independent status for his state. The Pakistan leaders thought the Kashmir region belonged to Pakistan, since majority population of the State was Muslim. But this is not how the people themselves saw it- they thought of themselves as Kashmiris above all. The popular movement in the State, led by Sheikh Abdullah of the National Conference, wanted to get rid of the Maharaja, but was against joining Pakistan. In October 1947, Pakistan sent tribal infiltrators from its side to capture Kashmir. This forced the Maharaja to ask for Indian military help. India extended the military support and drove back the infiltrators from Kashmir valley, but only after the Maharaja had signed an Instrument of Accession with the Government of India. It was also agreed that once the situation normalized, the views of the people of J&K will be ascertained about their future. Sheikh Abdullah took over as the Prime Minister of the State of J&K (the head of the government in the state was then called Prime Minister) in March 1948. India agreed to maintain the authority of Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan sponsored a tribal invasion of the State in 1947, as a consequence of which one part of the State came under Pakistan control. India claims that this area is under illegal occupation. Pakistan describes this area as Azad Kashmir. Ever since 1947, Kashmir has remained a major issue of conflict between India and Pakistan. Kashmir was given a special status by Article 370 in our Constitution and special provisions under Articles 370 and 371 in Indian Constitution. Laws passed by the Parliament apply to J&K only if the State agrees. Due to the economic integration of J&K with rest of India separatist movement across the Kashmir valley declined. 6