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New Delhi: The Assam Cabinet has given its nod on Thursday to table the Tewary Commission report, which was prepared on the 1983 Nellie massacre. The move is a significant one in the context of the state's politics as the Nellie massacre remains a gruesome blot on its history.
The report of Tribhuvan Prasad Tewary, which is 600 pages long, was submitted in January 1984 to then-Chief Minister Hiteswar Saikia of the Congress party. For over 40 years, the report was not tabled in the assembly and remained classified.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “The cabinet has decided that the Tewary Commission report will be formally tabled in the assembly on Nov 25.” According to officials of the Assam government, it is a significant step in the political and historical arena of the state, with the public having every right to know the truth behind the horrible massacre.
Sarma said the report did not have Tewary’s signature and hence could not be published earlier as there were doubts over its validity. He clarified, “No govt before us made it public due to concerns over its validity. We took the initiative to verify it, consulting clerks and officials involved in its preparation and conducting forensic tests. We are now confident that the report is genuine.”
CM Sarma further said, “This is a part of Assam’s history. The truth must come out so future generations understand the situation in Assam at that time.”
The Nellie massacre is one of the darkest chapters in the history of Assam. It took place on the morning of February 18, 1983. Around 16 to 14 villages with Bengali Muslim population were attacked. The massacre claimed the lives of 2000 to 3000 people, including numerous women and children. According to reports, most of the victims were called Bangladeshis, despite the fact that the majority of them had been living there since the 1930s. The massacre is widely regarded as one of the worst pogroms since World War II and one of the deadliest pogroms against a minority community in India after the 1947 Partition.
