What is Clause 6 of Assam Accord? Assam government, AASU agree on 38 points of Central panel report

Addressing a press conference in Guwahati, the Assam CM said there were 52 suggestions in the Clause 6 report and the meeting considered 38 of those.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said that the government and All Assam Students' Union (AASU) have arrived at a consensus on 38 recommendations of the Justice (Retd) Biplab Kumar Sharma Committee report on Assam Accord.

Addressing a press conference in Guwahati, the Assam CM said there were 52 suggestions in the Clause 6 report and the meeting considered 38 of those.

The Assam government and the AASU in September last year for the first time discussed the implementation of Justice Sharma committee's recommendations on Clause 6 of the Assam Accord to protect the interests of the indigenous population.

The Assam Accord, signed in 1985, is a pivotal document aimed at preserving the political, cultural, and economic rights of the Assamese people.

Clause 6 of the Accord states, “Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards, as may be appropriate, shall be provided to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people.”

The Assam government’s actions aim to address the long-standing demand to protect the rights of the indigenous people of Assam, a key issue in the state’s political landscape. The committee’s report also stressed safeguarding land, culture, and language, areas where the state has already made strides.

-Establishment of a Directorate of Language: This new body will function independently instead of being under the Home Department.

-Official Language Publications:Government laws, rules, and regulations will be published in Assamese for the Brahmaputra Valley, Bodo for the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), and Bengali for the Barak Valley, in addition to English and Assamese.

-Compulsory Education on Regional Identity:History and geography will be mandatory subjects in all government and private schools up to Class VIII to promote awareness of Assam’s heritage.

-Translation of Legal Documents:Gauhati University and Dibrugarh University will be tasked with translating old laws, rules, and regulations into Assamese, with state government support.

On February 25, 2020, the Committee had submitted its report on the implementation of the Assam Accord to the then Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal for handing it over to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah as the High-Level Committee (HLC) was formed by the Centre. Before the Assam Assembly polls in 2021, Sarma, who was a senior cabinet minister in the previous BJP government, had said that the government cannot implement the recommendations of the HLC as those are "far from legal reality".

In October 2021, the Assam government had set up an eight-member committee to prepare a framework within three months for implementation of all clauses of the 40-year-old Assam Accord, especially the Clause-6 report prepared by the Justice (Retd) Biplab Kumar Sarma panel. It is yet to submit the report.

The Assam government and AASU will hold another round of discussions on the remaining 14 recommendations. A third meeting in early April will revisit all 52 recommendations to ensure a comprehensive approach to implementing Clause 6 of the Assam Accord.