Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that there has not been a single incident of violence in Bodoland in the past three years and the region is on the path of progress.

Addressing the 13th Triennial Bathou Mahasabha Conference in Tezpur, Assam, Shah said there has been a 73 per cent reduction in incidents of violence in the northeast under PM Modi’s tenure.

He added that there has been a 71% reduction in deaths of security forces personnel and 86% reduction in civilian deaths in the northeast. “The Modi government has signed nine peace agreements in the last 10 years and about 9,000 youth have given up arms and joined the mainstream. Due to the agreement finalized by the Modi government on January 27, 2020, more than 1600 youth have joined the mainstream of the society,” the government statement quoted Shah as saying.

The minister said the Dularai Bathou Gouthum was established in Guwahati in 1962 and since then it has been working for the Bodo community and Bathou religion.

“This Mahasabha has worked to reflect the Bathou religion in the lifestyle of the Bodo community with practical and scientific analysis. He said that the Assam government has declared the second Tuesday of the month of Magh as a holiday for Bathou Puja,” Shah added.

Shah added that he prays for the peace of the entire world including the northeast through the ‘spiritual vision of Bathou Mahasabha i.e. Dharma, Non-Violence, Peace, Forgiveness and Compassion’.

“He said that only those who know the meaning of Bathou religion can know about Bathou community. He said that Ba means five and Thou means deep, that is, the science of the five elements and the process of understanding their deep secrets,” the minister added.

Shah said that the policy of the previous governments was to enjoy power by diverting attention from the fundamental issues and due to this policy thousands of people lost their lives.