All Assam Students Union

All Assam Students' Union or AASU is a students' organisation in Assam, India. It is best known for leading the six-year Assam Movement against illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. The leadership, after the historic Assam Accord of 1985, formed a political party Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), which formed government in Assam twice from 1985 to 1989 and from 1996 to 2001.

In 1940, a student union named Asom Chattra Sanmilani (Assam Students' Association) divided into the All Assam Student Federation and the All Assam Students' Congress. A decade later the two recombined as the All Assam Student' Association, which was later renamed All Assam Students Union in January 1967. In August 1967, the Union "established itself as a formal organisation and adopted its Constitution".

AASU began intensifying the agitational programme against inclusion of illegal immigrants in the voter list and started facilitating the participation of all section of people. As part of the preparations for the Lok Sabha election, the CEC had asked the Chief Electoral Officer, Assam to include all names from the earlier voter list in the draft electoral roll. AASU warned the political parties not to take part in the election unless the electoral rolls were revised and the names of illegal immigrants removed.

AASU formed the All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad in August 1979 consisting of AASU, Assam Sahitya Sabha, Purbanchaliya Lok Parishad. The Jatiyatabadi Dal, Asom Yubak Samaj and Young Lawyers’ Forum also joined the Gana Parisha later on. AASU started observing massive satyagraha on the lines of India freedom struggle. Thousands courted arrest daily. The movement continued for six years. It became violent at some point of time, massive in almost all the times during the six years. The most important part of the movement was that the movement got massive mass support from almost all segments of the society except from the ruling government and a few others who would benefit from illegal Bangladeshis' votes. AASU clearified at different times that the agitation was against all illegal foreigners irrespective of religion or community. AASU continuously had been informing the central government with direct communication to the Prime Minister that the influx from Bangladesh had posed serious threat to the existence of the indigenous people of the state of Assam and the entire North Eastern region and changed the demography of the region.

Finally the central government signed the historic Assam Accord in 1985 to resolve the matter. The agitation ended and AGP won the election to the state Legislative Assembly and its leader became the chief minister of the state. However, the central government never implemented many clauses of the accord.

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