The Bodos are an ethnic community that is concentrated mostly in the north-western parts of Assam in India. They are said to belong to a larger classification of ethnicity called the Bodo-Kachari. The nerve center of the Bodos is the city of Kokrajhar.
After prolonged struggle to promote and develop Bodo culture and identity, the Bodos have today been granted the Bodo Territorial Council, and autonomous administrative body that will have within its jursidiction the present district of Kokrajhar and adjoining areas. The movement for autonomy was headed by the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) and an armed militant group called Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT). Following the establishment of the BTC, the BLT have come overground.
In addition the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) demands secession from India, to form an independent state of Bodoland and is still active in certain regions against the Indian government.
The Bodo People
The Bodo people speak a language that is part of the Tibeto-Burmese family of languages. It has adopted the Devanagari script for its use. They are probably one of the earliest settlers in the region, and the first to cultivate rice and rear silkworms.
Rice is a staple of the Bodos and is often accompanied by a non vegetarian dish such as fish or pork.
Bodo girls are taught to weave from a young age, and no Bodo courtyard is complete without a loom.
The Bodos began their struggle for self-determination in earnest in 1989 under the leadership of Upendra Nath Brahma, who is now regarded as the father of the Bodos (Bodo-Fa).
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