GUWAHATI :  Normal life came to a standstill in Dhubri district, Assam on Thursday, September 11 as the All Assam Koch Rajbongshi Students’ Union (AARKSU) enforced a 12-hour bandh to press for its long-standing demands.

Reports from across the district confirmed that the shutdown was near total and passed off peacefully. One of the most striking impacts was seen in the education sector, with schools and colleges remaining shut. At Agomani Higher Secondary School, AARKSU supporters prevented teachers and students from entering the premises, sending them back home in the morning hours.

“We regret the inconvenience caused to students and parents, but this bandh is essential to make our voices heard,” a union member told reporters.

The bandh also disrupted transportation, with both public and private vehicles staying off the roads. National and state highways passing through Dhubri wore a deserted look, affecting daily commuters and small traders alike.

AARKSU has been spearheading agitations for several years, demanding Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for the Koch Rajbongshi community and the creation of a separate Kamatapur state. Thursday’s bandh was the latest in a series of protests aimed at intensifying pressure on the government to address these demands.

The suspension of two police officers following alleged excesses on demonstrators in Assam’s Dhubri district has sparked outrage, prompting the All Koch-Rajbongshi Students’ Union (AKRSU) to call a 12-hour bandh on Thursday.

The bandh disrupted normal life in parts of Dhubri as the AKRSU protested against alleged police actions on a group of people who had taken out a rally in Golakganj on Wednesday evening, demanding Scheduled Tribe (ST) status and a separate state for the Koch-Rajbongshi community.

After the incident, the government suspended the officer-in-charge of Golakganj police station and “reserve-closed” the officer-in-charge of Gauripur police station.Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah, who rushed to Dhubri on the direction of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, expressed regret over the episode.

“I am here at the direction of the chief minister to find out what exactly happened. I met the injured in the hospital. They are all stable. The incident occurred due to misunderstanding,” Baruah told the media on Thursday.

He added, “The police officer-in-charge of Golakganj was reserve-closed and then suspended, while an order has been issued to reserve-close the police officer-in-charge of Gauripur. We also received complaints against three other officers – the district senior superintendent of police and two deputy superintendents of police. The DIG is here and we have directed him to conduct a probe and submit a report within five days.”

The demonstrators, who were taking out a torch rally from Chilarai College towards Golakganj Bazaar, were stopped by police and paramilitary personnel. A scuffle ensued, leading to a lathicharge. Locals claimed that over 100 people, including women, were injured.

The AKRSU expressed regret for the bandh but said the step was necessary to make the voices of the Koch-Rajbongshi community heard. 

Six communities in Assam – Koch-Rajbongshi, Tai-Ahom, Chutia, Matak, Moran, and Tea Tribes – have long been demanding ST status. In addition, the AKRSU is pressing for the creation of a separate “Kamatapur” state.

On 6 September, thousands of people from the Moran community staged demonstrations in upper Assam’s Margherita, demanding ST status and autonomy under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

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