International Journal of All Research Education and Scientific Methods (IJARESM), ISSN: 2455-6211 Volume 9, Issue 1, January -2021, Impact Factor: 7.429, Available online at: www.ijaresm.com Ethnic Conflict in Kokrajhar, India: History and Consequences Kaveri Khound1, Prof. Utpal Kumar De2 1Research Scholar, Dept. of Economics, NEHU, Shillong, Meghalaya 2Professor, Dept. of Economics, NEHU, Shillong, Meghalaya -----------------------------------------------------------*****************--------------------------------------------------------- ABSTRACT Ethnic conflict has been part of human life since time immemorial. North-Eastern region of India is well-known for being the hotspot for terrorism and ethnic conflict for a long period of time. Assam the gateway to North- East India is severely affected by ethnic violence for several years. Unrest in the region is inherent in the history of political, economic and social issues among the ethnic groups. Bodoland, the most virulent zone of conflict in Assam, have retrogressed economic development of the region. There are scratch reporting of the issues of ethnic conflicts in Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) of Assam, which is susceptible to ethnic conflict. But there is no such concrete study on the socio-economic issues related to the conflict. The objective of this paper is to examine the impact of ethnic conflict on the socio-economic development in BTAD region of Assam as reflected in the changes of several related parameters of development, migration, activity pattern of the people in the region particularly in Kokrajhar district. Keywords: Ethnic conflicts, Kokrajhar, India, History, Socio- Economic, Impact, INTRODUCTION Ethnic conflict in general, refers to disputes or violence directed against a particular group on account of the group’s ethnicity. These conflicts take place to gain supremacy over territorial boundary or available resources of a particular region. Continuous and unabated Ethnic Conflicts in Kokrajhar district of Bodoland Territorial Region in Assam have significantly devastated life and property of the victims and have caused large displacement of population from conflict hit areas. Many of the displaced population who took shelter in relief camps had later migrated to safer regions which have led to spatial segregation of population on ethnic or community line. Conflict destroys economic resources and has caused serious impediments to economic development of Assam. Therefore, the concerned government is forced to overspend on security services, and is left with fewer resources for investment in development-oriented projects. Thus, in a myriad of ways, violent ethnic conflicts have debilitating effect on social and economic development of the region. The widespread occurrence of violent ethnic conflict and its devastating impact on human security and well-being make this problem an important aspect for study. Thus, in this study an attempt has been made to study the history and impact of Ethnic Conflict in Kokrajhar district of Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) of Assam, in North East India. History of Ethnic Conflicts and Socio-Economic Stress in Bodoland Bodo insurgency in Assam started in the 1970’s. Bodo’s, one of the largest tribal groups in Assam held the state government responsible for the neglect, economic underdevelopment and educational backwardness of the Bodos. Thus, Bodos have been trying to form a separate statehood of Bodoland to regain their lost vintage since the nineteen seventies. The eruption of Bodo insurgents also aimed at dispossession of Bengali Muslims and Adivasis (mainly Santhals) from Bodo dominated land. Bodos view the Bengali Muslim peasants and the Adivasis, as encroachers of their ancestral land and other resources. However, physical majority of all the Non-Bodos together in Bodoland, were perceived as having another kind of power and potential threat towards Bodo politics. Thus, ethnic cleansing mainly targeted the Non-Bodos and the first violent assault was observed in 1993-94. During the last two and half decades, Assam has witnessed several ethnic conflicts; between the Bodos and the Santhals in 1996, 1998, 2014; and between Bodos and Muslims in 1993, 2008, 2012. Due to repeated attack on the Non- Bodo’s specifically the Santhals and the Muslims, the Non-Bodo communities have also begun to arm themselves and counter-attack the Bodo’s. Thus, ethnic conflicts have been a reoccurring problem in Bodoland. Data and Methodology: The present study focuses on effects of ethnic conflict on Bodoland Territorial Region, especially in Kokrajhar district. It is based on secondary data collected from various sources like books, research articles, newspapers, Census Reports, Statistical Handbooks, and Reports from Government offices. Ethnic conflict in Bodoland started since 1993, so impact IJARESM Publication, India >>>> www.ijaresm.com Page 1410 International Journal of All Research Education and Scientific Methods (IJARESM), ISSN: 2455-6211 Volume 9, Issue 1, January -2021, Impact Factor: 7.429, Available online at: www.ijaresm.com of Ethnic conflict in Kokrajhar district is analyzed with the help of secondary data collected from three census reports i.e., 1990, 2001 and 2011 and Statistical Handbook of BTAD which is available since 2009. In the analysis, tabular presentation of data is made to check the proportional changes in loss of life, resources, migration etc across ethnic groups. Also, changes in occupational pattern has been compared with that of the state as a whole, which gave an idea of differences in state as a whole and that in Kokrajhar and a significant difference in it may be attributed to the conflict and peace prevailing in the study area and other areas of the state. It thus helps in understanding the major differences in changes of demographic pattern and developmental outcomes in the Kokrajhar region. Chi-square test is also applied to check the significance of changing occupational pattern of Main and Marginal Workers over time in the area. Impact of Ethnic Conflict in Kokrajhar Kokrajhar became an individual district of Assam in 1983. Later, in 2003 Bodoland Territorial Area District (BTAD) consisting of four districts namely Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa and Udalguri was formed for having a so-called better administration with devolution of power for faster development. Recently, in January 27, 2020, a New Bodo Peace Accord has been signed and BTAD has been renamed as Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR). There has been repeated ethnic conflicts in BTR since 1993. Table 2 provides the details of the violent conflicts that took place in and around Kokrajhar district since 1993 between Bodo’s and other Ethnic communities and its direct impacts on life and properties, particularly on shelter. Table 1 highlights that, out of the six marked years of vigorous infighting since 1993, three times each it occurred between Bodo community and ethnic Muslims and between Bodo communities with Santhals. Number of population displaced and casualties of Non-Bodo communities has always been recorded as several times higher than that of Bodo communities. More or less, both the Muslims and Santhals have been in the receiving end in identical manner. In the earlier years, frequency of occurrence of conflict was more though the quantum of damage in all terms, especially burning of houses and displacement of population were relatively less. However, in the later part due to several controlling measures, frequency of occurrence of conflicts has declined, but the devastation has been increased by several times as reflected by the quantum jump of houses burnt and population displaced. With increased monitoring measures the situations appear to be more in the hands of Bodo communities, who are relatively well off and politically sound especially with the protection of Boro Accord 1993 whereas Muslims are mostly farmers and daily laborer, while the Santhals are daily wage labourers in agriculture or tea garden. Table 1: Chronology of Ethnic Violence in Kokrajhar since 1993 and its Direct Impacts Community Casualties Total Houses Burnt Population Displaced Year Involved Bodo Others Total Bodo Others Total Bodo Other Total 38 103 141 527 973 1500 7020 10980 18000 1993 Bodo Muslim (27) (73) (100) (35.1) (64.8) (100) (39) (61) (100) 9 46 55 412 2088 2500 22200 37800 60000 1994 Bodo Muslim (16.4) (83.7) (100) (16.5) (83.5) (100) (37) (63) (100) 25 147 172 887 2346 3233 58778 143906 202684 1996 Bodo Santhal (14.5) (85.5) (100) (27.4) (72.6) (100) (29) (71) (100) 40 146 186 126 150 276 135167 179175 314342 1998 Bodo Santhal (21.5) (78.5) (100) (45.7) (54.3) (100) (43) (57) (100) 20 96 116 1136 18414 19550 142889 223493 366382 2012 Bodo Muslim (17.2) (82.8) (100) (5.8) (94.2) (100) (39) (61) (100) 5 31 36 375 1948 2323 37662 197723 235385 2014 Bodo Santhal (13.9) (86.1) (100) (15.4) (83.9) (100) (16) (84) (100) Source: Data collected from the Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Kokrajhar, Govt. of Assam. Note: Figures in the parentheses represent percentage to total. Prolonged ethnic conflicts have led to serious impacts on demographic composition and also the economic growth and development of the region. Some of those possible impacts are examined below. a) Change in Demographic Pattern Ethnic conflicts have led to population displacement among the affected villages in Kokrajhar district. Displaced people had to take shelter in relief camps for months. Even after returning back from relief camps, affected villagers increasingly preferred to