Unearthing Assam's Darkest Chapter: The Nellie Massacre Revisited

The Assam Assembly revisits the Nellie massacre reports, a horrific incident of communal violence in 1983 that killed over 2,000 people, mainly immigrant Bengali Muslims. Two commissions detailed the events, which occurred amid political upheaval and alleged demographic tensions, yet no prosecutions followed due to the 1985 Assam Accord.

The dark scars of the Nellie massacre, Assam's worst communal violence episode, resurfaced as the state assembly tabled reports on Tuesday—42 years after the grim event. On February 18, 1983, over 2,000 lives, primarily immigrant Bengali-speaking Muslims, were lost to violence in the small town of Nellie.

The reports from the T P Tewary Commission by the government and the T U Mehta Commission by civil society highlight the tensions during the polls of 1983, which were controversially held amid widespread opposition. The violence occurred against a backdrop of unrest surrounding the Assam Agitation against alleged illegal immigration.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma described the presentation of these reports as an 'academic exercise' that rekindles a 'big chapter in Assam's history,' emphasizing the demographic documentation and tensions noted by the Tewary Commission. Still, justice remains elusive, as the Assam Accord halted prosecutions.

(With inputs from agencies.)