The region has witnessed a lot of change since 1947. Tripura, Manipur, and Khasi Hills of Meghalaya were the erstwhile Princely States which merged with India after Independence. The entire region of the Northeast has undergone considerable political reorganization. The Partition of India in 1947 reduced the Northeast to a landlocked region and affected its economy. Cut off from the rest of India, the region suffered neglect in developmental terms.

Name the student group not affiliated with any party which led an anti-foreigner movement in Assam.

All Assam Students’ Union (AASU)

In 1979 the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), a students’ group not affiliated with any party, led an anti-foreigner movement. The movement was against illegal migrations, against domination of Bengalis and other outsiders, and against faulty voters’ register that included the names of lakhs of immigrants. The movement demanded that all outsiders who had entered the State after 1951 should be sent back. The agitation followed many novel methods and mobilised all sections of Assamese people, drawing support across the State. It also involved many tragic and violent incidents leading to the loss of property and human lives. The movement also tried to blockade the movement of trains and the supply of oil from Assam to refineries in Bihar.