Demands for autonomy

At independence, the entire northeastern region — except Manipur and Tripura — was part of a single State called Assam. This large, diverse territory contained many different linguistic and tribal communities. Soon after independence, demands for political autonomy began to surface. The immediate trigger was a feeling among non-Assamese groups that the Assam government was trying to impose the Assamese language on them. This led to widespread opposition and protest riots across the State.

Leaders from the major tribal communities decided to organise for separation from Assam. They first formed the Eastern India Tribal Union, which later evolved into a more comprehensive organisation called the All Party Hill Leaders Conference in 1960. This group demanded that a separate tribal State be carved out of Assam.

However, instead of creating one tribal State, the Central Government ended up creating several new States out of Assam at different points in time. Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh were carved out of Assam. Tripura and Manipur, which had been separate entities, were upgraded to full Statehood. The reorganisation of the North-East was completed by 1972.

But the creation of these States did not end the demands for autonomy in the region. Within Assam itself, communities like the Bodos, Karbis, and Dimasas continued to demand separate States. They pursued this goal through multiple methods: mobilising public opinion, launching popular movements, and even resorting to insurgency. A complicating factor was that often the same area was claimed by more than one community, making it impossible to keep creating smaller and smaller States. …