We want a legal definition of Assamese in the context of Clause 6 of Assam Accord, says CM Assam

March 30: Emotionally, those who regard Assam as its own state or own mother are all Assamese. But the problem lies in the fact that we want a legal definition of Assamese in the context of Clause 6 of Assam Accord. This was stated by Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma in the Legislative Assembly during the ongoing Budget Session on Wednesday.

He further added that there is no problem in defining an Assamese from the emotional view point, but we need the definition from the legal view point. “Many might say that they have been residents of Assam from 3 generations, so are they not Assamese? If any army man after retirement wants to stay back in Assam is also an Assamese. There has been many debates as to whether the definition of Assamese be based on a cut-off year or on an anthropological basis. We will definitely try to arrive at a logical conclusion of this debate.”

The Chief Minister also stated, “There seems to be no debate on the fact that emotionally we all are Assamese. But what we now want is that who are the people that should be incorporated in the legal definition of Assamese in the backdrop of Clause 6 of Assam Accord”?