Several tribal outfits have urged a boycott of BJP’s Dilip Saikia, accusing him of undermining constitutional safeguards that protect tribal lands and culture.
BY PC Bureau
The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Assam unit is facing a wave of tribal outrage after state party president and MP Dilip Saikia suggested that existing constitutional and legal safeguards restricting land ownership in Sixth Schedule autonomous areas and in the state’s Tribal Belts and Blocks could be amended to allow non-tribals to purchase land.
The remarks — reportedly made on August 2, 2025 — have sparked condemnation from a wide spectrum of tribal organizations, student bodies, and community leaders, who accuse the BJP of undermining constitutional protections and stoking ethnic tensions ahead of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) elections.
The Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution grants special autonomous powers to certain tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram, enabling elected Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) to safeguard tribal identity, culture, and land rights. In Assam, these protections are reinforced by the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation Act, 1886 — particularly Chapter X — which restricts land transfer in designated Tribal Belts and Blocks to prevent alienation of indigenous land.
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Saikia’s call for a “uniform land law” — which he reportedly said might require amending these provisions — is seen by tribal stakeholders as a direct threat to this legal framework.
The All Assam Tribal Sangha (AATS) has formally called for a boycott of Saikia, labelling his statements “anti-tribal” and demanding their withdrawal.
BJP State President @DilipSaikia4BJP’s divisive remark on land rights in BTR is a direct insult to the indigenous Bodo community.
State General Secretary Sanjib Mahanta strongly condemned the statement, calling it a direct attack on Assam’s communal harmony and unity.… pic.twitter.com/6HIrfXkOai
— AITC Assam (@AITC4Assam) August 5, 2025
“The remarks have deeply hurt the state’s tribal population and threaten the constitutional safeguards meant to protect land and culture,” the AATS said in a statement.
Other groups, including the Bodoland Janajati Suraksha Mancha (BJSM), Bodoland Jagaran Manch (BJM), All Assam Tribal Students Union (AATSU), Bodo National Students Union (BONSU), and numerous activists, have accused the BJP leadership — including Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma — of pushing “communal politics” designed to weaken the Bodo community’s hold on land and political representation.
BONSU president Bonjit Manjil Basumatary called Saikia’s statement “unconstitutional and dangerously misleading,” warning that such rhetoric “jeopardizes social harmony and democratic processes in tribal regions.”
BTC Politics in the Crosshairs
The controversy comes as the BTC elections draw near, with the BJP seeking to expand its influence in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR). Tribal leaders allege that the BJP is attempting to woo non-Bodo voters in BTC by promising equal land rights for all communities — a move critics say violates the spirit and letter of the Sixth Schedule.
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Activist M. Okhrang Boro accused Saikia and CM Sarma of “sowing seeds of division” between tribal and non-tribal communities.
“Every community in BTC is already respected and given space to showcase their culture,” he said, “but in other parts of Assam, Bodo and other tribal cultures are marginalised. Offering equal land rights here is not about equality — it’s about dismantling protections won through decades of struggle.”
Historical Sensitivities
The remarks have reopened old wounds in BTR, where over 5,000 Bodos are said to have lost their lives in decades-long agitations for autonomy, culminating in the 2020 Bodo Peace Accord. According to author and activist Anamika Basumatary, the region has enjoyed unprecedented peace since the accord, with no major incidents of violence in the past five years.
“The BJP is creating panic by dangling the promise of equal land rights,” she said. “Peace in BTR cannot be dictated from Dispur — it must be nurtured by mutual respect for constitutional guarantees.”
While Saikia has not formally retracted his remarks, BJP leaders are under pressure to reassure tribal constituencies without alienating non-tribal voters. The party faces the delicate task of navigating constitutional constraints, ethnic sensitivities, and electoral strategy in one of Assam’s most politically complex regions.
Whether the controversy will fade or harden into a sustained boycott could be determined in the months ahead, as campaigning for the BTC elections intensifies.
