"Indian Constitution does not guarantee a separate homeland on ground of racial ethnicity but Bodoland seems to be an exception to this."Do you agree with this view? Discuss.

Model Answer:
The Bodos are an ethnic and linguistic community centered on the Udalguri and Kokrajhar of Assam. The demand of Bodoland state is based on the racial ethnicity but the Indian Constitution does not guarantee a separate state based on racial ethnicity. But, the Bodo community points out their fight for identity over land, territory and natural resources. The Bodo areas have been encroached and settled upon by others. Though their demand to create separate state was not accepted but, realizing the need to address the grievances of bodos; in 2003, under the NDA Government, a second tripartite Bodo Accord was signed between the Bodo Liberation Tiger (BLT), a militant outfit, the Central Government and the Assam Government, which gave birth to Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), within the State of Assam under sixth schedule. The area under BTC comprises of 4 contiguous districts of Kokrajhar, Chirang, Udalguri and Baksa and all the 3082 villages. The objective of BTC was to fulfill economic, educational and linguistic aspirations and the preservation of land-rights, socio-cultural and ethnic identity of the Bodos; and speed up the infrastructure development in BTC area.

Topics: GS-II: Mechanisms Laws for Protection of Vulnerable Sections