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In Bodoland we burn

  • A group of Bodo women walks through the empty streets of Kokrajhar town on August 5, 2013 following a 72-hour strike called by the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU). The strike is part of an on going agitation for a separate state of Bodoland to be carved out of western Assam.
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    A group of Bodo women walks through the empty streets of Kokrajhar town on August 5, 2013 following a 72-hour strike called by the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU). The strike is part of an on going agitation for a separate state of Bodoland to be carved out of western Assam.
  • Reflection of a security man on the empty streets of Kokrajhar town on August 5, 2013, the first day of the 72-hour strike called by the ABSU.
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    Reflection of a security man on the empty streets of Kokrajhar town on August 5, 2013, the first day of the 72-hour strike called by the ABSU.
  • A security person guards the empty streets of Kokrajhar town on August 5, 2013 in the midst of a 72-hour strike called by the ABSU.
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    A security person guards the empty streets of Kokrajhar town on August 5, 2013 in the midst of a 72-hour strike called by the ABSU.
  • Supporters of the ABSU during a Bodoland agitation on August 1, 2013. ABSU members had called for a 12-hour rail blockade at Kokrajhar, thereby blocking all rail networks connecting northeast India to rest of the country.
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    Supporters of the ABSU during a Bodoland agitation on August 1, 2013. ABSU members had called for a 12-hour rail blockade at Kokrajhar, thereby blocking all rail networks connecting northeast India to rest of the country.
  • A Bodo villager pulls a cart of firewood through a Bengali Muslim neighbourhood at Dhongshiya para village of Chirang district of the Bodo Territorial Administrative Districts (BTAD), Assam in July 2013. A deep sense of mistrust still prevails between the communities a year after the terrible 2012 ethnic riots.
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    A Bodo villager pulls a cart of firewood through a Bengali Muslim neighbourhood at Dhongshiya para village of Chirang district of the Bodo Territorial Administrative Districts (BTAD), Assam in July 2013. A deep sense of mistrust still prevails between the communities a year after the terrible 2012 ethnic riots.
  • Eshob Jan Biwi, a Bengali Muslim woman, inside her makeshift tent at Dotma relief camp, a short drive away from Kokrajhar town, BTAD.
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    Eshob Jan Biwi, a Bengali Muslim woman, inside her makeshift tent at Dotma relief camp, a short drive away from Kokrajhar town, BTAD.
  • An elderly Bodo man poses for a portrait inside his house that was torched during the July 2012 ethnic riots in western Assam.
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    An elderly Bodo man poses for a portrait inside his house that was torched during the July 2012 ethnic riots in western Assam.
  • A Bodo child plays inside a makeshift shelter used to house those who haven’t returned home after the 2012 riots because they fear reprisal attacks.
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    A Bodo child plays inside a makeshift shelter used to house those who haven’t returned home after the 2012 riots because they fear reprisal attacks.
  • Atul Brahma, 64, shows his scars. Atul, belonging to the Bodo tribe, was attacked and stabbed multiple times during the 2012 riots.
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    Atul Brahma, 64, shows his scars. Atul, belonging to the Bodo tribe, was attacked and stabbed multiple times during the 2012 riots.
  • This was once a school building in Dotma village of Kokrajhar district, Assam, in January 2013.
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    This was once a school building in Dotma village of Kokrajhar district, Assam, in January 2013.
A group of Bodo women walks through the empty streets of Kokrajhar town on August 5, 2013 following a 72-hour strike called by the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU). The strike is part of an on going agitation for a separate state of Bodoland to be carved out of western Assam.
Reflection of a security man on the empty streets of Kokrajhar town on August 5, 2013, the first day of the 72-hour strike called by the ABSU.
A security person guards the empty streets of Kokrajhar town on August 5, 2013 in the midst of a 72-hour strike called by the ABSU.
Supporters of the ABSU during a Bodoland agitation on August 1, 2013. ABSU members had called for a 12-hour rail blockade at Kokrajhar, thereby blocking all rail networks connecting northeast India to rest of the country.
A Bodo villager pulls a cart of firewood through a Bengali Muslim neighbourhood at Dhongshiya para village of Chirang district of the Bodo Territorial Administrative Districts (BTAD), Assam in July 2013. A deep sense of mistrust still prevails between the communities a year after the terrible 2012 ethnic riots.
Eshob Jan Biwi, a Bengali Muslim woman, inside her makeshift tent at Dotma relief camp, a short drive away from Kokrajhar town, BTAD.
An elderly Bodo man poses for a portrait inside his house that was torched during the July 2012 ethnic riots in western Assam.
A Bodo child plays inside a makeshift shelter used to house those who haven’t returned home after the 2012 riots because they fear reprisal attacks.
Atul Brahma, 64, shows his scars. Atul, belonging to the Bodo tribe, was attacked and stabbed multiple times during the 2012 riots.
This was once a school building in Dotma village of Kokrajhar district, Assam, in January 2013.

Arkadripta Chakraborty’s memories of seven months in troubled Lower Assam that has seen bloodshed and multiple rounds of ethnic violence over the last year.