Assam govt wants to arm Muslim villagers against Bodo militants?

Even as the National Investigation Agency took charge of the probe into militant attacks in two districts of Assam that left 34 Muslims dead, the Assam government was reportedly toying with the idea of arming Bengali-speaking Muslims in Bodo areas. The idea, apparently, is not to raise a civil militia but to give villagers the means to defend themselves. [caption id=“attachment_1506775” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] PTI image[/caption] A report in the Times of India said the government even sought applications for weapons licenses from villagers. The report quoted the state’s forest minister Rockybul Hussain as saying Bengali-speaking Muslim villagers should be given licensed arms by the state government. “Since the home department in Bodoland Territorial Council area is under the state government, the government can provide licensed arms if anyone applies for it,” he was quoted as saying. The Bodos, Assam’s biggest tribal group, have had bitter clashes in the past with the Muslim “settlers” (called thus because parts of Assam have seen years of migration from Bangladesh right since the 1950s). The Bodo insurgents, signed a peace accord with the state government through which the Bodoland Territorial Council was formed to govern the Bodoland Territorial Autonomous Districts of Kokrajhar, Baksa, Chirand and Udalguri, have had a long-standing rivalry with the Muslims who are now in a majority in these districts and who are perceived as a powerful votebank. A team from the National Investigation Agency meanwhile is expected to reach Assam soon. On Sunday, security forces shot dead two alleged NDFB militants at the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. The militants were suspected of being involved in the violence. Four other suspected militants have also been arrested in Silchar. Curfew remains in force in the affected districts. Two militants were killed in an exchange of fire after four NDFB(S) activists hurled grenades at an Assam Police patrol.