Nellie still waits for a closure

NELLIE (Morigaon): Borburi village in central Assam's Morigaon district looks different. Almost every corner displays political festoons and posters.
Abdul Halim, 38, has just finished his prayers when he meets a cluster of political workers campaigning for Monday's voting. “Halim bhai don't forget to vote on Monday even if it rains,“ a worker says. “I will.If life can continue despite what happened 33 years ago, what can hold us back from voting,“ he adds.
Halim's response gives the impression people here and in adjoining villages have come to terms with one of the worst pogroms in post-Independence India. Memories of the Nellie massacre, as the pogrom is popularly known, are still fresh. A deep sense of injustice is entrenched in survivors' minds, but they've taught themselves to look ahead. “You can't forget what happened in Nellie. Survivors have been denied justice. But people want to look ahead.The massacre will remain a blot in our history,“ social activist Mazedur Rahman says.
On February 18, 1983, at Nellie and nearby villages some 3,000 Bengali-speaking Muslims were massacred in a single day by a mob. This was during the height of the anti-foreigner movement led by the All Assam Students Union (AASU). That day , the killing began around 9 am and continued till evening. The government launched a probe, but the report submitted to the then CM Hiteswar Saikia was never made public.