Guwahati: In a move described as politically significant and a legislative first, the Assam government, led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, announced on November 23 that it will present the findings of a non-government commission to the state assembly. The decision, which received approval from the state cabinet on Sunday, centers on the Justice (Retd.) T U Mehta Commission report. This commission was established by civil society groups to investigate instances of violence that occurred during the historic anti-infiltration Assam Agitation. This report is slated to be tabled during the five-day assembly session scheduled to commence on Tuesday.
Chief Minister Sarma stated that this unprecedented step—placing a document generated outside of formal government structures before the assembly—is in response to sustained demands from the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU). The student body has advocated for the document’s public release, asserting that it would allow the public to “get to know all sides” of the historical events. The cabinet’s resolution also sanctioned the comprehensive distribution of copies of the 1983 Tewary Commission report, which was tasked with investigating violence that marked a particular phase of the agitation in that year. Sarma pointed out that while the Tewary report was technically tabled in 1987, it was limited to “only one copy to the Speaker was laid,” rendering it practically inaccessible for decades.
Both documents are directly connected to the six-year Assam Agitation, a movement that concluded with the signing of the 1985 Assam Accord but left persistent, unresolved tensions regarding undocumented migration. Sarma commented that the Tewary report, despite being commissioned under a Congress administration, was compiled through considerable difficulty and was “generally neutral.” Addressing concerns that the reports might contain politically sensitive content, the Chief Minister dismissed such suggestions. He rebutted the notion that “Congress thinks there are provocative things, that the BJP will gain politically,” stressing instead, “But there is nothing of the kind. It is just a historic piece that will be lost to time if the copies are not made public.” He further criticized the present leadership of the Congress party as being “hollow and immature” for their opposition to the wider circulation of a report originally prepared under their own government.
The Chief Minister highlighted that even though the Tewary report contains “some negative things on AASU,” the student organization itself has fully supported its immediate release, believing that newer generations must be informed about the context and circumstances of that period. Emphasizing the importance of transparency, Sarma remarked, “It is a crime against humanity to hide history.” Beyond the historical reports, the cabinet meeting also gave its clearance for the introduction of approximately 27 Bills in the forthcoming session. Among the key legislative proposals are measures concerning land allotments for tea garden workers, the regulation of fees within minority-run private educational institutions, and the necessary enabling legislation for a new philanthropic university supported by the Azim Premji Foundation.
