Nellie Massacre Survivors Assert Democratic Rights Through Voting as Defiant Statement
In the village of Borbori in Nellie, Assam, where the horrific 1983 massacre remains an unhealed wound, survivors and their descendants continue to assert their democratic rights through active voting and civic participation. For this community of Bangladesh-origin Muslims, casting a ballot represents both an act of belonging to the nation and a powerful statement of survival against historical persecution.
Voting as Personal Choice and Political Paradox
"We will vote, it's our personal choice," declared one witness to the massacre, noting that some community members even lean towards supporting the BJP. This creates a striking paradox—a community once violently targeted over questions of identity and citizenship now insists on its rightful place in India's democratic process. Their participation underscores how voting becomes a reclamation of dignity and agency, even amid contested narratives of origin and belonging that have shadowed them for decades.
Borbori village lies approximately 80 kilometers east of Guwahati, situated in what is now Morigaon district. The massacre on February 18, 1983, claimed the lives of more than 2,000 Bangladesh-origin Muslim settlers, predominantly women and children, in Nellie and surrounding villages.
Citizenship Battles and Unanswered Questions
Abdul Karim, 72, who lost 10 of his 14 family members in the violence, explained the ongoing struggle: "Many say our names are on the voters' list. We live under the shadow of being branded foreigners. But we have our names on the voters' list and these accusations of foreigners have never been legally established."
Karim described how residents of Borbori and nearby villages faced years of intense scrutiny over their citizenship status. Hundreds received D-voter notices and were forced to fight cases in Foreigners' Tribunals. "Judgment in around 98% of FT cases came in favor of the people after their Indian citizenship was proved, and remaining cases are still pending in tribunals," he added.
Decades-Old Commission Report Brings Little Closure
The issue returned to public attention after the Assam government made public the Tribhuvan Prasad Tewary Commission report during the winter session of the assembly in November last year. This report, originally submitted in 1984 to then Congress Chief Minister Hiteswar Saikia and tabled by the AGP government in 1987, had remained classified for over four decades.
However, survivors in Borbori said they still know little about the report's contents and have seen no meaningful follow-up after its tabling. "The commission came here and took statements from every survivor. The report was brought by the government in the assembly last November, but no discussion took place over it in the House," Karim lamented.
"We have learnt to co-exist with injustice we have been facing since 1983 since no former government till date has done anything to ensure justice to the families," he added, expressing the community's profound disappointment with successive administrations.
Personal Tragedies and Historical Documentation
Recalling the massacre with painful clarity, Karim shared that his father, Abdur Rahman—who had participated in India's freedom movement—was killed at the age of 108 during the violence. The family still possesses land documents dating back to 1930, which Karim cites as evidence of their longstanding roots. "How could anyone be termed an illegal foreigner?" he questioned rhetorically.
Abdul Adud, now 55, was just 12 years old during the massacre. He witnessed his mother Nurjahan Begum and brothers Abdul Habez (10) and Nur Uddin (7) being killed before his eyes. "Seeing that, I took my two-year-old sister Monowara and fled from Borbori village towards Kopili river. However, the attackers chased and snatched my sister from me and killed her in front of me. I somehow escaped," Adud recounted with visible emotion.
He described how the attack began between 9 and 10 AM on February 18, 1983, when armed groups surrounded villages, set houses ablaze, and attacked residents with sharp weapons. "I become emotional whenever I remember those killings. But we are waiting for justice even after 43 years, keeping trust in the almighty. The almighty will definitely ensure justice," Adud expressed with a mixture of hope and resignation.
Political Cycles and Unfulfilled Promises
Both Karim and Adud noted that election seasons bring a familiar pattern of political visits and assurances from various parties, but little substantive change follows afterward. "We have fought since 1983 for our existence. We have tolerated and we will tolerate every difficulty; but we would be happy to get justice," Karim stated, capturing the community's enduring resilience.
Borbori now comprises approximately 250 families. Residents estimate that at least 200 of these families belong to households that lost relatives in the massacre, while the remainder either settled there later or branched out from existing families. This demographic reality makes the village a living memorial to the tragedy, where the past remains palpably present in daily life and political consciousness.
The community's continued participation in elections—despite the trauma and ongoing citizenship challenges—stands as a powerful testament to their determination to claim their rightful place in India's democratic fabric while awaiting the justice that has eluded them for more than four decades.
