The People
Origin
It is believed that the Bodos descended from
the hilly terrains of Tibet and Burma. There are possibilities of two
migrations of the Bodos into the rich valley of Brahmaputra. One group entered
North-East Bengal and Western Assam through the valley of the Tista, Dharla,
Sonkosh, and founded the powerful kingdom of Kamrup. The other made its way
through the Subansiri, Dibong and Dihong valleys into Eastern Assam and laid
the foundation of Chutiya kingdom.
The Bodo had exercised sovereignty in Assam under different
names at different times. The western section of the old Bodo (Kachans)
occupied the thrones of Koch Behar, Bijni, Darrang and Beltola. An eastern
branch in the name of Chutiya also established a powerful kingdom with its
capital near Sadiya and then a section of eastern Bodos maintained their
kingdom with capitals at Dimapur, Maibong and Khaspur in the face of continuous
invasions of the Ahoms and neighboring powers till the advent of British rule
in Assam. This section of Bodos is known to us as Dimasas or Dimasa kachari
(hill Kacharis).
The last migration of Bodo King from Maibong (N.C Hills) to
Khaspur (North-Cachar) made Cachar Valley the ultimate seat of Bodo royal
power. Eventually, the kingdom disintegrated beyond repair under the regime of
Govinda Chandra Narayan.
With the advent of the Ahoms, there were many battles
fought. But slowly the Bodos began to lose their position of power and settled
down in Assam as the largest ethnic tribe.
Tribes
The Bodos have a lot of mini tribes under
the parent umbrella. Their western tribes include the Cutiya, Plains Kachari,
Garo, Mech, Koch, Dhimal, and Jaijong; while the eastern tribes include the
Dimasa (or Hill Kachārī), Galong (or Gallong), Hojai, Lalung, Tippera, and
Moran.
The regional aspiration of the 1980s for an identity of their own resulted in a set of
demands ranging from demand for autonomy and opposition to 'outsiders' to
movements for secession. After two peace accords of 1993 and 2003, the 2020 peace
agreement gave the Bodos national recognition when it recognised its
Devanagari script as an associate language of Assam. Bodoland is also to have
the right to be represented at national level sports and cultural events such
as the National Games of India and the Khelo India Youth Games.
Politically, the Bodoland Territorial Region was formed with
enhanced executive and legislative powers. The Bodoland Territorial Council
will have competency over almost all areas defined by the Sixth Schedule of the
Constitution of India and its membership will be increased to 60.
Education
As far as education is concerned, the
statics reveal the true state. So far the literacy rate of the Bodoland
Territorial Areas District (BTAD) of Assam is concerned, it is considerably
lower (66.25 per cent) than the corresponding state average (72.19 per cent)
and national average (72.98 per cent). It is even more discouraging among the
females (58.89 per cent) as compared to males (73.39 per cent).
However, some promising Bodo writers have managed to win
awards for their literary works.
Some eminent Bodo writers are...
Brajendra Kumar Brahma is an author who was honored
with the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2015 for editing a poetry anthology, Baydi
Denkho Baydi Gaab.
Katindra Swargiary, a recipient of the Sahitya
Akademi Award for his novel "Sanmwkhangari Lamajwng" in 2006, has won
a lot of accolades.