Truth Behind Nellie Massacre Must Be Revealed, Says PPFA

Guwahati: The Patriotic People’s Front Assam (PPFA) has welcomed the Assam government’s decision to table the long-suppressed Tewari Commission report on the 1983 Nellie massacre, urging full transparency to uncover what it called “the real story” behind one of India’s darkest chapters.

The nationalist citizens’ forum said the long-standing silence and selective narratives surrounding the tragedy have unfairly branded the Assamese people as anti-Muslim, and insisted that the truth — supported by verified facts — must replace decades of “malicious propaganda.”

The Nellie massacre, which occurred on 18 February 1983, left over 2,000 Bangladesh-origin Muslim settlers dead during the height of the anti-foreigners agitation in Assam. International media outlets have often described it as one of the worst communal killings in modern history, with reports claiming that most victims were women and children.

However, the PPFA pointed out that few have investigated the full context — including accounts suggesting that hundreds of local Assamese and tribal residents also died in retaliatory violence.

In a strongly worded statement, the PPFA questioned the prevailing narrative:

“What weapons were used in the killings? Without modern arms, how could villagers eliminate so many people in just a few hours? If the victims were Muslims, where were they buried, and are there any traces of mass graves in Nellie?”

The forum argued that making the Tewari Commission report public would not only shed light on unanswered questions but also correct historical distortions that have long fueled communal mistrust.

“The attempt to malign Assamese society must end,” the statement said. “The report’s release will help expose whether the massacre was purely communal or part of a larger political conspiracy.”