Guwahati: The All Assam Gorkha Students’ Union (AAGSU) renewed its Gorkha Autonomous Council (GAC) movement with a sit-in demonstration today in Guwahati on the last day of the budget session of the Assam Legislative Assembly on Monday.
About 500 community leaders from Assam protested with ‘No GAC, No Rest’, ‘Gorkhas wants Justice’, and ‘We Want Gorkha Autonomous Council’ slogans.
The Gorkhas have been demanding Gorkha Autonomous Council (GAC) since 2003. The autonomous council demand was made at the annual conference in 1997 at Boginadi Higher Secondary School, North Lakhimpur under the leadership of the then AAGSU president Harka Bahadur Chetry, now Chairman, Gorkha Autonomous Council Demand Committee (GACDC).
“The demand of GAC will complete 25 years in December…the GACDC strongly feels that Government of Assam should immediately create GAC for the indigenous Gorkhas of Assam,” said Harka Bahadur Chetry over the phone when asked to comment on today’s demonstration.
AAGSU will be celebrating its golden jubilee in 2026 and it wants to ensure GAC creation ahead of the 2024 general elections. Arjun Chetry president, of AAGSU, said, “We will take this token protest to administrative district headquarters and then Sub Divisions on the same day across Assam. Several communities like Moran, Mottock, and Koch Rajbongshi have been given Autonomous Council recently, and even the Adivasis are being given autonomous setup with 1000 crores fund. As such, the AAGSU believes that Gorkhas are fully eligible for an autonomous council.”
“The Government of Assam is requested to create the same as soon as possible or the BJP government will face our opposition in next general election since our rebellious group seeking GAC too joined mainstream now,” the AAGSU president added.
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