Nellie massacre - Revision history

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← Older revision		Revision as of 09:19, 22 December 2021
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	\| map_caption =		\| map_caption =
	\| location = [[Assam]], [[India]]		\| location = [[Assam]], [[India]]
	\| target = [[~~Bengali~~ Muslims]]{{sfn\|Kimura\|2013\|p=1}}<ref>"There is a sharp difference between Bengal-origin Muslim in Assam and Bengali Muslim. Often I notice people from outside Assam confusing the two, including the national media in articles published outside the state. We identify ourselves as Bengal-origin Assamese Muslims. We are not Bengali. We are not Bengali Muslims. The Muslims in Assam’s Barak Valley often identify themselves as Bengali Muslims, not us. But we have not been able to make people from the outside see the difference." {{harvcol\|Pisharoty\|2019}}</ref>		\| target = [[Miya people\|Bengal-origin Muslims]]{{sfn\|Kimura\|2013\|p=1}}<ref>"There is a sharp difference between Bengal-origin Muslim in Assam and Bengali Muslim. Often I notice people from outside Assam confusing the two, including the national media in articles published outside the state. We identify ourselves as Bengal-origin Assamese Muslims. We are not Bengali. We are not Bengali Muslims. The Muslims in Assam’s Barak Valley often identify themselves as Bengali Muslims, not us. But we have not been able to make people from the outside see the difference." {{harvcol\|Pisharoty\|2019}}</ref>
	\| perps = [[Assamese people\|Assamese]] mobs		\| perps = [[Assamese people\|Assamese]] mobs
	\| coordinates = {{coord\|26.111483\|92.317253\|display=inline}}		\| coordinates = {{coord\|26.111483\|92.317253\|display=inline}}
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	\| archive-date = 11 November 2006		\| archive-date = 11 November 2006
	\| url-status = dead		\| url-status = dead
	}}</ref> The victims were Muslim peasants of East Bengal origin.<ref>{{citation \|first=Makiko \|last=Kimura \|chapter=The Nellie Massacre \|editor1=Meghna Guhathakurta \|editor2=Willem van Schendel \|title=The Bangladesh Reader: History, Culture, Politics \|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=haGORCJRlOUC&pg=PA480 \|year=~~2013~~ \|publisher=Duke University Press \|isbn=0-8223-5318-0 \|page=481}}: "In this incident, the local people, including the Assamese and tribes... attacked the Muslim immigrants from East Bengal."</ref><ref>{{cite news \|last1=Kokrajhar \|last2=Dhubri \|title=Killing for a homeland \|newspaper=The Economist Banyan blog \|date=24 August 2012 \|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2012/08/ethnic-fissures-assam \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825124214/https://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2012/08/ethnic-fissures-assam \|archive-date=25 August 2012 \|url-access=subscription}}: "In one day, 1,800 Muslims of Bengali origin were slaughtered by Lalung tribespeople (also known as Tiwa) at a village called Nellie."</ref><ref>{{cite news \| last =Mander \| first =Harsh \| title =Nellie : India's forgotten massacre \| date =14 December 2008 \| url =http://www.hindu.com/mag/2008/12/14/stories/2008121450100300.htm \| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20081216010719/http://www.hindu.com/mag/2008/12/14/stories/2008121450100300.htm \| url-status =dead \| archive-date =16 December 2008 \| newspaper =[[The Hindu]] \|access-date=9 October 2012}}: "A crowd quickly gathered: the older men with checked lungis and beards could easily be distinguished as people of East Bengali Muslim origin."</ref> Three media personnel — Hemendra Narayan of Indian Express, Bedabrata Lahkar of Assam Tribune and Sharma of ABC — were witnesses to the massacre.<ref>{{cite ~~web~~\|url=https://www.academia.edu/17665743~~/Genesis_of_nellie_massacre_and_assam_agitation~~\|title=Genesis of ~~nellie~~ massacre and ~~assam~~ agitation\|author=Main Uddin\|access-date=5 April 2016}}</ref>		}}</ref> The victims were Muslim peasants of East Bengal origin.<ref>{{citation \|first=Makiko \|last=Kimura \|chapter=The Nellie Massacre \|editor1=Meghna Guhathakurta \|editor2=Willem van Schendel \|title=The Bangladesh Reader: History, Culture, Politics \|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=haGORCJRlOUC&pg=PA480 \|year=2013b \|publisher=Duke University Press \|isbn=978-0-8223-5318-8 \|page=481}}: "In this incident, the local people, including the Assamese and tribes... attacked the Muslim immigrants from East Bengal."</ref><ref>{{cite news \|last1=Kokrajhar \|last2=Dhubri \|title=Killing for a homeland \|newspaper=The Economist Banyan blog \|date=24 August 2012 \|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2012/08/ethnic-fissures-assam \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825124214/https://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2012/08/ethnic-fissures-assam \|archive-date=25 August 2012 \|url-access=subscription}}: "In one day, 1,800 Muslims of Bengali origin were slaughtered by Lalung tribespeople (also known as Tiwa) at a village called Nellie."</ref><ref>{{cite news \| last =Mander \| first =Harsh \| title =Nellie : India's forgotten massacre \| date =14 December 2008 \| url =http://www.hindu.com/mag/2008/12/14/stories/2008121450100300.htm \| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20081216010719/http://www.hindu.com/mag/2008/12/14/stories/2008121450100300.htm \| url-status =dead \| archive-date =16 December 2008 \| newspaper =[[The Hindu]] \|access-date=9 October 2012}}: "A crowd quickly gathered: the older men with checked lungis and beards could easily be distinguished as people of East Bengali Muslim origin."</ref> Three media personnel — Hemendra Narayan of Indian Express, Bedabrata Lahkar of Assam Tribune and Sharma of ABC — were witnesses to the massacre.<ref>{{cite document \|url=https://www.academia.edu/17665743 \|title=Genesis of Nellie massacre and Assam agitation \|author=Main Uddin \|access-date=5 April 2016}}</ref>

	The violence that took place in Nellie by natives — mostly rural peasants — was seen as a fallout of the decision to hold the controversial state elections in 1983 in the midst of the [[Assam Agitation]], after [[Indira Gandhi]]'s decision to give 4 million immigrants from [[Bangladesh]] the right to vote.<ref name="AT">{{cite web \|url=http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=feb1908/at02 \|title=83 polls were a mistake: KPS Gill \|publisher=Assam Tribune \|date=18 February 2008 \|access-date=2 August 2012 \|url-status=dead \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207000801/http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=feb1908%2Fat02 \|archive-date=7 February 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?clid=14&id=224178&usrsess=1\|title=25 years on...Nellie still haunts\|last=Goel\|first=Rekha\|publisher=The Statesman\|access-date=2011-12-08}}{{Dead link\|date=April 2020 \|bot=InternetArchiveBot \|fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> It has been described as one of the worst [[pogrom]]s since [[World War II]].<ref name=Hussain>{{cite book\|last=Hussain\|first=Monirul\|title=The Fleeing People of South Asia: Selections from Refugee Watch\|date=1 February 2009\|publisher=Anthem\|isbn=978-8190583572\|page=261\|editor=Sibaji Pratim Basu}}</ref>		The violence that took place in Nellie by natives — mostly rural peasants — was seen as a fallout of the decision to hold the controversial state elections in 1983 in the midst of the [[Assam Agitation]], after [[Indira Gandhi]]'s decision to give 4 million immigrants from [[Bangladesh]] the right to vote.<ref name="AT">{{cite web \|url=http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=feb1908/at02 \|title=83 polls were a mistake: KPS Gill \|publisher=Assam Tribune \|date=18 February 2008 \|access-date=2 August 2012 \|url-status=dead \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207000801/http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=feb1908%2Fat02 \|archive-date=7 February 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?clid=14&id=224178&usrsess=1\|title=25 years on...Nellie still haunts\|last=Goel\|first=Rekha\|publisher=The Statesman\|access-date=2011-12-08}}{{Dead link\|date=April 2020 \|bot=InternetArchiveBot \|fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> It has been described as one of the worst [[pogrom]]s since [[World War II]].<ref name=Hussain>{{cite book\|last=Hussain\|first=Monirul\|title=The Fleeing People of South Asia: Selections from Refugee Watch\|date=1 February 2009\|publisher=Anthem\|isbn=978-8190583572\|page=261\|editor=Sibaji Pratim Basu}}</ref>

	A documentary, ''[[What the Fields Remember]]'', has been produced by Public Service Broadcasting Trust.<ref>http://www.thehindu.com/features/magazine/baradwaj-rangan-on-what-the-fields-remember/article7641365.ece?homepage=true</ref>		A documentary, ''[[What the Fields Remember]]'', has been produced by Public Service Broadcasting Trust.<ref>{{Cite news\|url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/magazine/baradwaj-rangan-on-what-the-fields-remember/article7641365.ece?homepage=true\|title = They remember so we don't forget\|newspaper = The Hindu\|date = 12 September 2015\|last1 = Rangan\|first1 = Baradwaj}}</ref>

	==Context==		==Context==
	{{See also\|Assam agitation}}In 1978, [[Lok Sabha]] member [[Hiralal Patwari]] died, necessitating a by-election in the [[Mangaldoi (Lok Sabha constituency)\|Mangaldoi Lok Sabha Constituency]]. During the process of the election it was noticed that the electorate had grown phenomenally. Investigation revealed that there had been mass inclusion of alleged illegal migrants.<ref>{{citation \|first=Kanchan \|last=Gupta \|title=Beyond the poll rhetoric of ~~BJP’s~~ contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill \|publisher=Observer Research Foundation \|date=2019 \|url=https://www.orfonline.org/research/beyond-poll-rhetoric-bjps-contentious-citizenship-amendment-bill-50499/ \|ref={{sfnref\|Gupta, Beyond the poll rehetoric\|2019}}}} "A close scrutiny of the electoral rolls indicated that there had been mass inclusion of names of illegal immigrants, prompting AASU to demand that the by-election be called off..."</ref><ref>{{cite ~~web~~\|url=https://www.academia.edu/17665743~~/Genesis_of_nellie_massacre_and_assam_agitation~~\|title=Genesis of ~~nellie~~ massacre and ~~assam~~ agitation\|author=Main Uddin\|access-date=5 April 2016}}: "Significantly the Election Commission reviewed the list and found 68.28 percent of the allegations to be true. After Election ~~Commission‟s~~ assessment it came to light that 45 thousand illegal foreigners are listed in the ~~voter‟s~~ list."</ref> The [[All Assam Students Union]] (AASU) demanded that the elections be postponed until the names of "foreign nationals" were deleted from the electoral rolls. The AASU subsequently launched an agitation to compel the government to identify and expel allegedly illegal immigrants.<ref name="SATP">{{cite web \|url=http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/assam/documents/papers/assam_accord_1985.htm\|title=Tripartite talks to review the implementation of the Assam Accord held in New Delhi on 31.05.2000\|publisher=SATP\|access-date=2 August 2012}}</ref>		{{See also\|Assam agitation}}In 1978, [[Lok Sabha]] member [[Hiralal Patwari]] died, necessitating a by-election in the [[Mangaldoi (Lok Sabha constituency)\|Mangaldoi Lok Sabha Constituency]]. During the process of the election it was noticed that the electorate had grown phenomenally. Investigation revealed that there had been mass inclusion of alleged illegal migrants.<ref>{{citation \|first=Kanchan \|last=Gupta \|title=Beyond the poll rhetoric of BJP's contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill \|publisher=Observer Research Foundation \|date=2019 \|url=https://www.orfonline.org/research/beyond-poll-rhetoric-bjps-contentious-citizenship-amendment-bill-50499/ \|ref={{sfnref\|Gupta, Beyond the poll rehetoric\|2019}}}} "A close scrutiny of the electoral rolls indicated that there had been mass inclusion of names of illegal immigrants, prompting AASU to demand that the by-election be called off..."</ref><ref>{{cite document \|url=https://www.academia.edu/17665743 \|title=Genesis of Nellie massacre and Assam agitation \|author=Main Uddin \|access-date=5 April 2016}}: "Significantly the Election Commission reviewed the list and found 68.28 percent of the allegations to be true. After Election Commission's assessment it came to light that 45 thousand illegal foreigners are listed in the voter's list."</ref> The [[All Assam Students Union]] (AASU) demanded that the elections be postponed until the names of "foreign nationals" were deleted from the electoral rolls. The AASU subsequently launched an agitation to compel the government to identify and expel allegedly illegal immigrants.<ref name="SATP">{{cite web \|url=http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/assam/documents/papers/assam_accord_1985.htm\|title=Tripartite talks to review the implementation of the Assam Accord held in New Delhi on 31.05.2000\|publisher=SATP\|access-date=2 August 2012}}</ref>

	The ethnic clash that took place in Nellie was seen as a fallout of the decision to hold the controversial Assembly elections in 1983 (boycotted by the AASU) despite stiff opposition from several elements in the state.<ref name="AT"/> Police officials had suggested to hold the polls in phases in order to avoid violence. According to then Assam [[Inspector General of Police]], [[Kanwar Pal Singh Gill\|KPS Gill]], there were 63 constituencies, where elections could have been held without any trouble. Among the rest, the Assam police had declared there were 23 constituencies where it was "impossible to hold any election." Nellie was cited as one of the "troubled" spots before the elections.<ref name="AT"/>		The ethnic clash that took place in Nellie was seen as a fallout of the decision to hold the controversial Assembly elections in 1983 (boycotted by the AASU) despite stiff opposition from several elements in the state.<ref name="AT"/> Police officials had suggested to hold the polls in phases in order to avoid violence. According to then Assam [[Inspector General of Police]], [[Kanwar Pal Singh Gill\|KPS Gill]], there were 63 constituencies, where elections could have been held without any trouble. Among the rest, the Assam police had declared there were 23 constituencies where it was "impossible to hold any election." Nellie was cited as one of the "troubled" spots before the elections.<ref name="AT"/>
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	==References==		==References==
	{{Reflist}}		{{Reflist}}

			==Sources==
			*{{cite book\|first1=Makiko\|last1=Kimura\|title=The Nellie Massacre of 1983: Agency of Rioters\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BRf9AAAAQBAJ\|year=2013\|publisher=Sage Publications India\|isbn=9788132111665}}
			* {{cite interview \|last=Pisharoty \|first=Sangeeta Barooah \|url=https://thewire.in/rights/hafiz-ahmed-assam-miyah-poetry \|website=The Wire \|title=There is a Conspiracy to Show Bengal-Origin Muslims as Anti-Assamese: Hafiz Ahmed\|access-date=2021-04-09\|date=2019 }}

	==Further reading==		==Further reading==
	; News sources		===News sources===
	{{refbegin}}		{{refbegin}}
	*{{Citation		*{{Citation
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	\| url-status = dead		\| url-status = dead
	}}		}}
	* {{cite interview \|last=Pisharoty \|first=Sangeeta Barooah \|url=https://thewire.in/rights/hafiz-ahmed-assam-miyah-poetry \|website=The Wire \|title=There is a Conspiracy to Show Bengal-Origin Muslims as Anti-Assamese: Hafiz Ahmed\|access-date=2021-04-09 }}
	~~{{refend}}~~
	~~; Books~~
	~~Tirakhir Sahid lakhi Deka, (2017) Shristi publication.~~
	~~{{refbegin\|Tirakhir}}~~

			===Books===
			* Deka, Lakhi, (2107) ''Tirakhir Sahid'' (in Assamese) Shristi Publication.
	* Chadha, Vivek, ''Low Intensity Conflicts in India.'' Sage Publications, 2005.		* Chadha, Vivek, ''Low Intensity Conflicts in India.'' Sage Publications, 2005.
	*{{cite book\|first1=Makiko\|last1=Kimura\|title=The Nellie Massacre of 1983: Agency of Rioters\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BRf9AAAAQBAJ\|year=2013\|publisher=Sage Publications India\|isbn=9788132111665}}
	* Saksena, N.S. "Police and Politicians" in Alexander, P.J. (ed.) ''Policing India in the New Millennium.'' Allied Publishers, 2002.		* Saksena, N.S. "Police and Politicians" in Alexander, P.J. (ed.) ''Policing India in the New Millennium.'' Allied Publishers, 2002.
	{{refend}}		{{refend}}

imported>Tizen03: No need to make it so complicated

2021-08-06T07:59:21Z

No need to make it so complicated

New page

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2018}}
{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Nellie Massacre
| partof =
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| map= {{Location map|India|width = 300|float = right|label = Assam |marksize = 8 |lat_deg = 26.111483 |lon_deg = 92.317253}}
| map_size =
| map_alt =
| map_caption =
| location = [[Assam]], [[India]]
| target = [[Bengali Muslims]]{{sfn|Kimura|2013|p=1}}<ref>"There is a sharp difference between Bengal-origin Muslim in Assam and Bengali Muslim. Often I notice people from outside Assam confusing the two, including the national media in articles published outside the state. We identify ourselves as Bengal-origin Assamese Muslims. We are not Bengali. We are not Bengali Muslims. The Muslims in Assam’s Barak Valley often identify themselves as Bengali Muslims, not us. But we have not been able to make people from the outside see the difference." {{harvcol|Pisharoty|2019}}</ref>
| perps = [[Assamese people|Assamese]] mobs
| coordinates = {{coord|26.111483|92.317253|display=inline}}
| date = 18 February 1983
| type = [[Deportation]], [[mass murder]]
| fatalities = 2,191+ 
| injuries =
| victims = 
| perpetrators= 
| susperps = 
| weapons =
| numparts = 
| dfens = 
| motive = }}
{{Violence against Muslims in India}}
The '''Nellie massacre''' took place in central [[Assam]] during a six-hour period in the morning of 18 February 1983.<ref>"...the majority of the participants were rural peasants belonging to mainstream communities, or from the lower strata of the caste system categorized as Scheduled Castes or Other Backward Classes." {{harv|Kimura|2013|p=5}}</ref><ref name="Austin">{{Cite book | last = Austin | first = Granville | title = Working a Democratic Constitution - A History of the Indian Experience | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 1999 | location = New Delhi | page = 541 | isbn = 019565610-5 }}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite news |last1=Kokrajhar |last2=Dhubri |title=Killing for a homeland |newspaper=The Economist Banyan blog |date=24 August 2012 |url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2012/08/ethnic-fissures-assam |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825124214/https://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2012/08/ethnic-fissures-assam |archive-date=25 August 2012 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> The massacre claimed the lives of 2,191 people (unofficial figures run at more than 10,000)<ref>[http://www.slideshare.net/umain30/genesis-of-nellie-massacre-and-assam-agitation Genesis of nellie massacre and assam agitation], Indilens news team, Retrieved 10 November 2015.</ref> from 14 villages—Alisingha, Khulapathar, Basundhari, Bugduba Beel, Bugduba Habi, Borjola, Butuni, Dongabori, Indurmari, Mati Parbat, Muladhari, Mati Parbat no. 8, Silbheta, Borburi and Nellie—of [[Nagaon district]].<ref name="AT"/><ref>{{Citation
| last = Rehman
| first = Teresa
| title = Nellie Revisited: The Horror's Nagging Shadow
| newspaper = Tehelka
| date = 2006-09-30
| url = http://www.tehelka.com/story_main19.asp?filename=Ne093006the_horrors.asp
| access-date = 2008-02-19
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061111192753/http://www.tehelka.com/story_main19.asp?filename=Ne093006the_horrors.asp
| archive-date = 11 November 2006
| url-status = dead
}}</ref> The victims were Muslim peasants of East Bengal origin.<ref>{{citation |first=Makiko |last=Kimura |chapter=The Nellie Massacre |editor1=Meghna Guhathakurta |editor2=Willem van Schendel |title=The Bangladesh Reader: History, Culture, Politics |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=haGORCJRlOUC&pg=PA480 |year=2013 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=0-8223-5318-0 |page=481}}: "In this incident, the local people, including the Assamese and tribes... attacked the Muslim immigrants from East Bengal."</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Kokrajhar |last2=Dhubri |title=Killing for a homeland |newspaper=The Economist Banyan blog |date=24 August 2012 |url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2012/08/ethnic-fissures-assam |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825124214/https://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2012/08/ethnic-fissures-assam |archive-date=25 August 2012 |url-access=subscription}}: "In one day, 1,800 Muslims of Bengali origin were slaughtered by Lalung tribespeople (also known as Tiwa) at a village called Nellie."</ref><ref>{{cite news | last =Mander | first =Harsh | title =Nellie : India's forgotten massacre | date =14 December 2008 | url =http://www.hindu.com/mag/2008/12/14/stories/2008121450100300.htm | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20081216010719/http://www.hindu.com/mag/2008/12/14/stories/2008121450100300.htm | url-status =dead | archive-date =16 December 2008 | newspaper =[[The Hindu]] |access-date=9 October 2012}}: "A crowd quickly gathered: the older men with checked lungis and beards could easily be distinguished as people of East Bengali Muslim origin."</ref> Three media personnel — Hemendra Narayan of Indian Express, Bedabrata Lahkar of Assam Tribune and Sharma of ABC — were witnesses to the massacre.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/17665743/Genesis_of_nellie_massacre_and_assam_agitation|title=Genesis of nellie massacre and assam agitation|author=Main Uddin|access-date=5 April 2016}}</ref>

The violence that took place in Nellie by natives — mostly rural peasants — was seen as a fallout of the decision to hold the controversial state elections in 1983 in the midst of the [[Assam Agitation]], after [[Indira Gandhi]]'s decision to give 4 million immigrants from [[Bangladesh]] the right to vote.<ref name="AT">{{cite web |url=http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=feb1908/at02 |title=83 polls were a mistake: KPS Gill |publisher=Assam Tribune |date=18 February 2008 |access-date=2 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207000801/http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=feb1908%2Fat02 |archive-date=7 February 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?clid=14&id=224178&usrsess=1|title=25 years on...Nellie still haunts|last=Goel|first=Rekha|publisher=The Statesman|access-date=2011-12-08}}{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> It has been described as one of the worst [[pogrom]]s since [[World War II]].<ref name=Hussain>{{cite book|last=Hussain|first=Monirul|title=The Fleeing People of South Asia: Selections from Refugee Watch|date=1 February 2009|publisher=Anthem|isbn=978-8190583572|page=261|editor=Sibaji Pratim Basu}}</ref>

A documentary, ''[[What the Fields Remember]]'', has been produced by Public Service Broadcasting Trust.<ref>http://www.thehindu.com/features/magazine/baradwaj-rangan-on-what-the-fields-remember/article7641365.ece?homepage=true</ref>

==Context==
{{See also|Assam agitation}}In 1978, [[Lok Sabha]] member [[Hiralal Patwari]] died, necessitating a by-election in the [[Mangaldoi (Lok Sabha constituency)|Mangaldoi Lok Sabha Constituency]]. During the process of the election it was noticed that the electorate had grown phenomenally. Investigation revealed that there had been mass inclusion of alleged illegal migrants.<ref>{{citation |first=Kanchan |last=Gupta |title=Beyond the poll rhetoric of BJP’s contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill |publisher=Observer Research Foundation |date=2019 |url=https://www.orfonline.org/research/beyond-poll-rhetoric-bjps-contentious-citizenship-amendment-bill-50499/ |ref={{sfnref|Gupta, Beyond the poll rehetoric|2019}}}} "A close scrutiny of the electoral rolls indicated that there had been mass inclusion of names of illegal immigrants, prompting AASU to demand that the by-election be called off..."</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/17665743/Genesis_of_nellie_massacre_and_assam_agitation|title=Genesis of nellie massacre and assam agitation|author=Main Uddin|access-date=5 April 2016}}: "Significantly the Election Commission reviewed the list and found 68.28 percent of the allegations to be true. After Election Commission‟s assessment it came to light that 45 thousand illegal foreigners are listed in the voter‟s list."</ref> The [[All Assam Students Union]] (AASU) demanded that the elections be postponed until the names of "foreign nationals" were deleted from the electoral rolls. The AASU subsequently launched an agitation to compel the government to identify and expel allegedly illegal immigrants.<ref name="SATP">{{cite web |url=http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/assam/documents/papers/assam_accord_1985.htm|title=Tripartite talks to review the implementation of the Assam Accord held in New Delhi on 31.05.2000|publisher=SATP|access-date=2 August 2012}}</ref>

The ethnic clash that took place in Nellie was seen as a fallout of the decision to hold the controversial Assembly elections in 1983 (boycotted by the AASU) despite stiff opposition from several elements in the state.<ref name="AT"/> Police officials had suggested to hold the polls in phases in order to avoid violence. According to then Assam [[Inspector General of Police]], [[Kanwar Pal Singh Gill|KPS Gill]], there were 63 constituencies, where elections could have been held without any trouble. Among the rest, the Assam police had declared there were 23 constituencies where it was "impossible to hold any election." Nellie was cited as one of the "troubled" spots before the elections.<ref name="AT"/>

400 companies of Central paramilitary force and 11 brigades of the [[Indian Army]] were deployed to guard Assam while the polls were scheduled to take place in phases.<ref name="AT"/>

==Result==
[[File:Nellie massacre - UPI press report dated Feb 23 1983.png|thumb|left|Press clips from 1983]]

The official '''Tiwari Commission''' report on the Nellie massacre is still a closely guarded secret (only three copies exist).<ref name="AT"/> The 600-page report was submitted to the Assam Government in 1984 and the Congress Government (headed by [[Hiteswar Saikia]]) decided not to make it public, and subsequent Governments followed suit.<ref name="Tehelka">{{cite web|url=http://www.tehelka.com/story_main19.asp?filename=Ne093006the_horrors.asp|title=An Untold Shame|last=Rehman|first=Teresa|publisher=Tehelka Magazine|access-date=2011-12-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061111192753/http://www.tehelka.com/story_main19.asp?filename=Ne093006the_horrors.asp|archive-date=11 November 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Assam United Democratic Front]] and others are making legal efforts to make Tiwari Commission report public, so that reasonable justice is delivered to victims, at least after 25 years after the incident.<ref>{{cite news | author =Staff Reporter | title =Flashback to Nellie Horror:AUDF to move court for probe report | newspaper =The Telegraph | date =19 February 2008 | url =http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080219/jsp/guwahati/story_8920369.jsp |access-date=10 October 2012}}</ref>

Police filed 688 criminal cases, of which 378 cases were closed due to "lack of evidence" and 310 cases were slated to be charged. However, all these cases were dropped by the [[Government of India]] as a part of the 1985 [[Assam Accord]]; and, as a result, not a single person received punishment.<ref name=Harsh>{{cite news | last =Mander | first =Harsh | title =Nellie : India's forgotten massacre | date =14 December 2008 | url =http://www.hindu.com/mag/2008/12/14/stories/2008121450100300.htm | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20081216010719/http://www.hindu.com/mag/2008/12/14/stories/2008121450100300.htm | url-status =dead | archive-date =16 December 2008 | newspaper =[[The Hindu]] |access-date=9 October 2012}}</ref>

Prime Minister [[Rajiv Gandhi]] signed the [[Assam Accord]] with the leaders of the [[All Assam Students Union|AASU]] to formally end the [[Assam Agitation]] in 1985.<ref name="SATP"/>

==See also==
*[[Nellie, 1983]]
*[[List of massacres in India]]
*[[1984 anti-Sikh riots]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
; News sources
{{refbegin}}
*{{Citation
| last = Lahkar
| first = Bedabrata
| title = Recounting a Nightmare
| newspaper = The Assam Tribune
| date = 2008-02-18
| access-date = 2008-03-24
| url = http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=feb1808\edit3
}}
*{{Citation
| last = Gokhale
| first = Nitin
| title = The Simple Safety of Numbers
| newspaper = Tehelka
| date = 2005-07-02
| access-date = 2008-03-24
| url = http://www.tehelka.com/story_main13.asp?filename=Ne070205The_simple.asp
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061201051328/http://www.tehelka.com/story_main13.asp?filename=Ne070205The_simple.asp
| archive-date = 1 December 2006
| url-status = dead
}}
*{{Citation
| last = Gokhale
| first = Nitin
| title = Vote banks pay dividends
| newspaper = Tehelka
| date = 2005-07-16
| access-date = 2008-02-19
| url = http://www.tehelka.com/story_main13.asp?filename=Ne071605Vote_banks.asp
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080903024917/http://www.tehelka.com/story_main13.asp?filename=Ne071605Vote_banks.asp
| archive-date = 3 September 2008
| url-status = dead
}}
* {{cite interview |last=Pisharoty |first=Sangeeta Barooah |url=https://thewire.in/rights/hafiz-ahmed-assam-miyah-poetry |website=The Wire |title=There is a Conspiracy to Show Bengal-Origin Muslims as Anti-Assamese: Hafiz Ahmed|access-date=2021-04-09 }}
{{refend}}
; Books
Tirakhir Sahid lakhi Deka, (2017) Shristi publication.
{{refbegin|Tirakhir}}

* Chadha, Vivek, ''Low Intensity Conflicts in India.'' Sage Publications, 2005.
*{{cite book|first1=Makiko|last1=Kimura|title=The Nellie Massacre of 1983: Agency of Rioters|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BRf9AAAAQBAJ|year=2013|publisher=Sage Publications India|isbn=9788132111665}}
* Saksena, N.S. "Police and Politicians" in Alexander, P.J. (ed.) ''Policing India in the New Millennium.'' Allied Publishers, 2002.
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=UGvgSOm8R94C 25 years on..Nellie Still haunts...], Hemendra Narayan. (Contains an eyewitness account.)

{{Riots in India}}

[[Category:1983 in India]]
[[Category:Massacres in the 1980s]]
[[Category:1980s in Assam]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1983]]
[[Category:Nagaon]]
[[Category:Mass murder in 1983]]
[[Category:Religiously motivated violence in India]]
[[Category:Massacres in India]]
[[Category:Ethnic cleansing in Asia]]
[[Category:Anti-Muslim violence in India]]
[[Category:Pogroms]]
[[Category:February 1983 events in Asia]]
[[Category:Asom Gana Parishad]]
[[Category:1983 crimes in India]]
[[Category:1983 murders in Asia]]
[[Category:1980s murders in India]]