The Nepali/Gorkha community in the North Eastern states of Assam and Meghalaya were branded as ‘foreigners’, ‘aliens’, and ‘outsiders’ due to ethnic clashes that occurred between the majority local population and the minority Nepali/Gorkha in the mid-1970s. Although the initial focus of the Assam movement, which was led by the AASU (All Assam Students’ Union) between 1979 and 1985 on the issue of ‘foreigners,’ was on Bangladeshis, the Nepali/Gorkha were also forced to flee their homes and undergo the ordeal of being stateless due to the AASU’s strict interpretation of citizenship laws. Consequently, thousands of Nepalese names were summarily removed from electoral rolls during intensive revisions prior to the 1985 General Elections in Assam. As a result, the Nepali/Gorkha population in the area experienced a decline in their ‘degree of citizenship’ and an increase in their ‘degree of statelessness’. The horrific events and trauma suffered by the Nepali/Gorkha in Assam were also experienced by the Bodo people during their uprising. The All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU), similar to the AASU, began an ethnic cleansing operation against the Nepali/Gorkha in the interior of the districts of Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Nalbari, and Darrang in order to prove the majority of the Bodos.