Tewary Commission Report on Nellie Massacre | 29 Nov 2025

Source: IE

The 1983 Nellie Massacre, during the Assam Agitation (1979–1985), has returned to public focus after the Assam government released the Tewary Commission Report, shedding new light on the tragedy. 

• The commission found that the tragedy was avoidable, but delayed action, ignored intelligence, and poor coordination allowed the violence to spiral out of control.

Assam Agitation (Assam Movement)

• About: The Assam Agitation, driven by fears of losing indigenous Assamese cultural, linguistic, and political identity, focused on identifying and expelling illegal immigrants, mainly from Bangladesh. 
  • It was led by the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) and focused on the Three Ds: detecting immigrants who arrived after 1951, deleting their names from voter rolls, and deporting them from India. 
• Outcome: The unrest eventually led to the Assam Accord of 1985, signed by the Centre, the state government, and movement leaders. The key clauses of the Assam Accord were: 
  • It officially set 25th March, 1971, as the cut-off date for detecting illegal foreigners. 
  • Anyone who entered Assam between 1st January, 1966, and 24th March, 1971, would be detected as a foreigner and would have their name deleted from the voter list for 10 years, after which their citizenship rights would be restored. 
  • Anyone who entered on or after 25th March, 1971, would be detected and deported.