Nellie Massacre – How Xenophobia, Politics Caused Assam’s Genocide

The state of Assam witnessed the bloodiest, deadliest genocide on 18 February 1983.

(This article was first published on 29 March 2018. It has been reposted from The Quint’s archives on the anniversary of the Nellie massacre.)

This detailed account of the Nellie Massacre of 1983 has been published in the backdrop of the release of Bidyut Kotoky’s award-winning Assamese film, ‘Xhoixobote Dhemalite’ ( or ‘Rainbow Fields’).

Assam witnessed its bloodiest, deadliest genocide on 18 February 1983.

At least 1,800 people (unofficial figures run higher) from 14 villages – including Nellie – of Nowgong district in central Assam were left dead in the six-hour-long massacre that began at 8 in the morning. It came to be known as the Nellie Massacre.

Anti-Foreigner Agitation — How it Began

The All Assam Students Union (AASU) and the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), led by Prafulla Mahanta, had been spearheading Axom Andolan, or the Assam Agitation – an anti-foreigner movement in the state since 1979. Their main demand was that the “illegal immigrants” (Bangladeshis) be taken off the voter list as political parties, they claimed, were winning elections on the basis of illegal electoral rolls.

They also demanded that the “immigrants” be deported from the country.

And that’s how an agitation began that lasted for six years, which culminated in the formation of a state government led by Mahanta in 1985. The movement tended to categorise all Bengalis as “Bangladeshis” – and the groups that felt the direct threat of the movement were the Hindu and Muslim Bengalis.

For the indigenous tribes and the Assamese, the agitation was a way to assert their rights over their land, but it was also the fear of losing jobs to “the other”.

Years later, in an interview to Shekhar Gupta, who was the then Editor of The Indian Express, Mahanta had said:

We were student leaders then, and you know there was a feeling amongst the people of the northeast region, mainly Assam, that we had become a minority in our own home due to infiltration from Bangladesh.

The First Trigger – Death of an MP

Assam was in a state of extreme political turmoil 1979 onwards.

On 20 March 1979, Lok Sabha member from the Janata Party, Hiralal Patwari, died necessitating a by-election in the Mangaldoi Lok Sabha Constituency, which had a heavy concentration of Muslim voters.

In the process of preparing for the by-election, a surge in the electorate was noticed by election officials. In his book India Against Itself: Assam and the Politics of Nationality, Sanjib Baruah said that one of the first addresses on this issue came on 24 October 1978 from the then Chief Election Officer, SL Shakdher, who had said:

“I would like to refer to the alarming situation in some states, especially in the Northeastern region, where from reports are coming regarding large-scale inclusions of foreign nationals in the electoral rolls. In one case, the population in 1971 census recorded an increase as high as 34.98 percent over 1961 census figures, and this figure was attributed to the influx of large number of persons from foreign nationals. The influx has become a regular. I think it may not be a wrong assessment to make that on the basis of the increase of 34.98 percent between two census, the increase would likely to be recorded in the 1971 census would be more than 100 percent over 1961 census. In other words, a stage would be reached when that state may have to reckon with the foreign nationals who may be, in all probability, constitute a sizable percentage if not the majority of population in the state.”

The leaders of the Assam movement often cited these figures demanding for the boycott of the Assembly elections.

Weakened Governments

Other than the Axom Andolan, Assam also saw a consecutive collapse of several governments from 1979.

The Assam government led by Golap Borbora of the Janata Party had collapsed in 1979 as the party was headed for a split. A coalition government was formed by Jogen Hazarika, but that lasted only three months.

In December 1980, Anwara Taimur of Congress (I) formed a government that lasted not more six months, following which the President’s rule was imposed until 1982 when a new Congress (I) government was formed by Keshab Gogoi, only to be in power for two months.

And the President’s rule was imposed yet again. It was concluded that a Congress(I) ministry just could not be formed without a new Assembly.

Several ethnic clashes were already being reported around that time, especially with the formation of the All Assam Minorities Students Union (AAMSU), which demanded that all those who came to Assam before 1971 be granted citizenship — effectively finding themselves in opposition to the AASU. Paramilitary forces were brought in and the state security was heightened.

Amidst all this conflict, the Central government, led by Indira Gandhi, was adamant about holding the elections in Assam by March 1983, without revising the electoral rolls. This was, of course, met with great opposition from the AASU.

Days Leading Up to The Election

Senior journalist of The Statesman, Hemendra Narayan, quoted the then Assam Inspector General of Police, KPS Gill, in his book 25 Years On...Nellie, Still Haunts saying that after some speculation it was concluded that there were 63 constituencies in Assam, where the election could be held without any trouble.

But it was impossible to hold any election in 23 constituencies based on the pattern of the ethnic settlements — Nellie was among the 23.

And so, despite clashes between pro-election and anti-election groups, the elections were set to be held in the troubled state. The election dates were announced between 7 January 1983 to 21 February, even as the Intelligence Bureau continued to receive reports of thousands of violent incidents.

Narayan wrote in his book that 400 companies of Central paramilitary force and 11 brigades of Army were deployed for the 1983 election.

As obvious, in the areas with ethnic Assamese and scheduled tribes population elections were boycotted more successfully. The Muslim Bengalis, however, in defiance of the anti-election protests were ready to cast their votes.

The polls opened in Nellie on 14 February. Anti-election groups began holding meetings and decided that Muslims who cast their vote must be socially ostracised, and anybody found trading with them would be fined Rs 500, India Today reported.

Security Before the Election

Five wireless messages sent by the IG (Special Branch) to all district police headquarters on 5, 25 and 29 January, and 12 and 14 February, cautioning about the “anti-social and communal trouble mongers”, desperation among “extremist elements”, possibilities of “large scale violence, “communal situation in the Brahmaputra valley areas”, “clashes between linguistic and religious groups”, urging for effective measures to contain the violence.

Senior journalist Arun Shourie’s report in India Today quotes a wireless message sent by Zahir-ud Din Ahmed, the officer-in-charge of Nowgong Police station, three days before the violence, to Morigaon, which had the 5th Battalion of the Assam Police and a CRPF unit stationed there. The message alerted the forces about information being received on a thousand strong assembly of armed people.

A tense atmosphere shrouded Nellie, and the surrounding villages on 16 February after five Lalung children were found dead in the Lahorigate area near Nellie, India Today reported. The Lalung tribesmen were anti-polls and anti-foreigners.

18 February 1983 – The Day of the Massacre

At around eight in the morning, a huge armed mob had surrounded several Muslim-dominated villages and marched to the sound of drums and slogans like “Long Live Assam”. The mob consisted of Mikir, Boro, Lalung or Tiwa tribes and some Assamese Hindus. They were well armed with machetes and country-made guns.

Houses were razed down to the ground, crops and fields were destroyed. Dead bodies were floating in Kopili river.

A report from India Today stated, “The slaughter and arson occurred mainly in a tiny delta between the small rivers Kopili, Killing and Demal. The land is very marshy, and the fleeing villagers had no chance. The reason why, as it was later estimated, 80 percent of the dead were women and children was because the men ran faster.”

Some people lost as many as 30-40 members of their families. It was estimated that 1,800 people in all were brutally killed, but unofficial figures suggest that the number was as high as 3,000.

The 14 villages that was left utterly decimated in a matter of six hours were Alisingha, Khulapathar, Basundhari, Bugduba Beel, Bugduba Habi, Borjola, Butuni, Indurmari, Mati Parbat, Muladhari, Mati Parbat no 8, Silbheta, Borbori and Nellie.

Subasri Krishnan who made What the Fields Remember — a documentary on the massacre wrote, “The survivors of the massacre lived in a makeshift refugee camp in a government school in Nellie for the first two weeks after the massacre — because of which it is referred to as the Nellie Massacre — before shifting to refugee camps across different villages, where they stayed for a duration of four months to a year.”

The then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and President Zail Singh visited the refugee camps a couple of weeks later. The next of the kin of the deceased were given compensation of Rs 5,000 and those injured got Rs 3,000. Along with the monetary compensation, two bundles of tin sheets were also given to the survivors to rebuild their homes.

Aftermath – The Tewary Commission

As per a report in The Caravan, 688 FIRs were registered, but only 299 were chargesheeted by the police. Moreover, none of those chargesheeted were prosecuted.

The state government formed an enquiry commission headed by TP Tewary, an IAS officer, to look into the circumstances that led to the violence and to scrutinise the measures taken to prevent it.

In May 1984, the commission produced a 547-page long report after interviewing officials and witnesses. It was never tabled in the state Assembly, and the contents of the report was only made public after an RTI was filed by the Centre of Equity Studies, Scroll.in reported.

According to Scroll.in, the commission report noted that the 14 villages weren’t the only affected area, but that in some parts of Assam, Muslims were found to be the aggressors, in other parts Bengalis had colluded together, while in some other areas, tribal groups clashed with ethnic Assamese as well.

All in all, the report concluded, “It is entirely unwarranted to give a communal colour to the incidents under enquiry.”

Having said all that, the commission also traced the fault to the wireless message sent on 15 February.

Lapses in the Tewary Commission Report

The commission noted that the wireless message that Zahir-ud Din Ahmed, the officer-in-charge of Nowgong Police station, had sent, wasn’t received by the deputy commissioner and the superintendent of police.

The report holds three officers accountable – the commandant of the 5th Assam Police Battalion stationed at Morigaon, the sub-divisional police officer of Morigaon, and the officer in charge of the Jagiroad police station – all of whom denied receiving the wireless message.

In 2013, Arun Shourie in his report claimed that Zahir-ud Din who was still in possession of the wireless message said that it bore the receipt signature of the officers in charge of the wireless transmission. The message reportedly reached Morigaon at 15:30 hours and Jagiroad at 15:50 hours.

Moreover, as per the report the officer-in-charge of Morigaon had passed on the message to his colleague in Jagirod.

Scroll.in reported that IG KPS Gill had asked the Jagirod officer-in-charge to patrol the volatile areas on 17 February, and when the residents asked for reinforcements fearing an attack, he had declined the request stating that he did not have enough men. But the Tewary report states that the reinforcement had arrived on time.

Disciplinary action was taken against only two — the officer-in-charge at Jagirod and the sub-divisional police officer from Morigaon.

Shourie also hinted at deliberate negligence, noting that Nellie was accessible by road as it was right next to the national highway. He also said that the police patrol post of Amsoi was only a kilometre from Borbori, the village which saw the most brutal genocide.

Two decades later, in an interview with The Hindu in 2013, KPS Gill said,“There is a concrete bridge on River Kopili in Nellie. It is a choking point for Nellie. I was constantly on the move that day, but placed a CRPF platoon on that bridge. But the then SP of Nagaon, thought he was a wiser man, moved it from there. That was a blunder.”

The Assam Accord, 1985

On 15 August 1985, the Rajiv Gandhi government was able to sign an accord with the leaders of the Assam movement.

• All those who had come to Assam between 1951 and 1961 were to be given full citizenship, including the right to vote.
• Those who came after 1971 were to be deported.
• Those who came between 1961 and 1971 were to be denied voting rights for ten years, but would enjoy all other rights of citizenship.

Other than that, several initiatives were taken for the economic and technological development of Assam. The Central government also promised to provide “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 existing assembly was dissolved and fresh elections were held in December 1985. A new government was formed by a new party the Assam Gana Parishad which was a part of the anti-foreigners agitation. Prafulla Mahanta became the youngest Chief Minister of independent Indian at the age of 32.

Although that brought a period of relative peacefulness, it wasn’t going to last too long as the state would soon drown in fresh spate of violence from secessionist groups.