Guwahati: The Assam government has distributed the report by the Tewary Commission regarding the 1983 Nellie massacre in the Assam Assembly on the first day of the Winter Session. The five-day winter session of the Assam assembly began on Tuesday. The report was submitted in May 1984, but it has never been made public. This move follows a recent cabinet decision to make the report publicly available. Along with the Tewary Commission report, the Mehta Commission report, which also investigated the Nellie massacre, will be placed in the House during the current session.
The Nellie massacre, one of the most violent episodes in independent India, occurred on February 18, 1983, during the peak of the Assam Agitation. In just six hours, over 2,000 people, primarily Bengali-origin Muslims, were brutally killed across 16 villages. Unofficial estimates place the death toll at over 3,000. Nearly 3 lakh people were displaced. The massacre was a coordinated program carried out amidst anger over the 1983 elections, where many Bengali-speaking Muslims, viewed locally as illegal immigrants, were allowed to vote despite ongoing unrest.
The Tewary Commission, a one-man inquiry panel headed by Tribhuvan Prasad Tewary, a former chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh, was tasked with investigating the Nellie massacre. The commission submitted its report to the then-Congress government in May 1984.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the state cabinet had decided to circulate the report among the members of the legislative assembly, and copies would also be provided to the assembly library. However, the House will not table or hold discussions on the report. Sarma noted that the reports, commissioned by the then Asom Gana Parishad government, were previously unavailable in the public domain. According to Sarma, in 1987, the then chief minister had placed the report in the House, promising printed copies later. However, those were never shared with MLAs or MPs, and the Assembly library does not possess a copy.
Along with the Nellie Massacre reports, 27 new and amendment bills will be tabled on the first day. These include bills aimed at abolishing polygamy and protecting 'satras' (religious institutions). Other major bills include 'The Assam Regulation of Public Religious Structures on Public Places' and the 'Assam Fire and Emergency Bill'. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Assam Amendment) Bill, 2025, will also be introduced, which aims to recognize and permit traditional buffalo fights during the Magh Bihu festival in mid-January.
The winter session will end on November 29. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "Big changes are coming this winter session, from safeguarding families to modernising laws. Assam is gearing up for one of its most transformative legislative sessions".
