Multiple memorials for 11 “language martyrs” remind Silchar, the epicentre of southern Assam’s Bengali-dominated Barak Valley, of a massacre on May 19, 1961. Leaders of the Left Front, which briefly called the shots in Barak Valley in the 1970s, were on the same page too. “Barak Valley was untouched by the violence that swept other parts of Assam after the Babri Masjid demolition in December 1992. He adds that the BJP no longer produces strong leaders in Barak Valley who can stand up to Dispur’s (Assam’s seat of power in the Assamese-dominated Brahmaputra Valley) “bulldozing decisions”. Dutta Roy sees in the Assembly seat reduction a long-term plan by people from the Brahmaputra Valley to take over the Barak Valley linguistically.

Source: The Hindu March 26, 2026 05:06 UTC