In a major development ensuring peace in Assam, the pro-talk faction of the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) signed a tripartite Memorandum of Settlement with the Union Government and the Assam government in Delhi today, 29th December. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma were present at the event.
A 16-member delegation of the ULFA led by its chairperson Arabinda Rajkhowa participated in the meeting, who were accompanied by 13 members from civil society. The group’s general secretary Anup Chetia and other top leaders were among the delegate who signed the agreement. Today’s agreement came after almost 12 years of peace talks with the leaders of the pro-talk faction of ULFA.
This is a significant pact as the banned ULFA-Independent has been the only major insurgent outfit in the state after the ULFA pro-talks faction signed the agreement with the Centre and Assam government. ULFA (Independent), the other faction of the group led by Commander in Chief Paresh Baruah remains outside the peace agreement. Except for Baruah, all other founding members of ULFA have left armed struggle.
The agreement covered a wide range of subjects, including politics, land rights, NRC and immigration, employment, economy and skill development, flood control, industries, agriculture, education, culture, sports infrastructure, tourism, demands of ST status, Act East Policy, and settlement of ULFA cadres who have returned to the mainstream.
As per provisions of the agreement, the centre will approve an economic package worth over ₹1.5 lakh crore for Assam. The centre promises more National Highways, Railway lines, industries and infrastructure in Assam in the pact. ₹5,000 crore has been provided for special development projects, which include an IIM in Guwahati, a School of Planning and Architecture, and one Indian Institute of Science Education and Research.
The agreement promises investment in a total of 60 projects, including a coach manufacturing plant by Railways. It states that projects worth ₹5,000 crore will be completed in 5 years.
The Memorandum of Settlement says that measures taken for the protection of the indigenous people of Assam will be taken up as per schedule 6 of the Assam Act. A special legal provision to protect the land rights of indigenous people has been promised. The land records will be digitised, and a land bank will be formed for the landless people. It also assures the protection of farmland.
It was decided that the delimitation of constituencies in the state will take place using the same procedure used in the recently concluded delimitation. CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said that around 90-95 seats have been ensured for the indigenous people after the recent delimitation, and therefore the same principle will be used for the next delimitation.
Moreover, the NRC that was updated will be reviewed, as there are complaints of large-scale irregularities. CM Sarma said that there is a demand across Assam to redo the Assam. However, as there is already plea before the Supreme Court to revise the updated ULFA, the agreement didn’t make any promise regarding this.
In another major development, it has been decided that voters won’t be able to change constituencies easily, and a stringent procedure will be implemented to prevent the misuse of this provision to change the demography of constituencies.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has assured the time-bound implementation of the agreement after it was signed in the national capital. “This is a new start of a period of peace for the whole Northeast especially Assam. I want to assure ULFA representatives that with the faith you have kept in the Government of India, from the side of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), a programme will be made in a time-bound manner to fulfil everything, without you asking for it. Under MHA, a committee will be formed, which will work with the Assam government to fulfil this agreement,” the home minister said.
Posting photos of the event on X, Amit Shah said that the insurgent group has agreed to abjure the path of violence, surrender all arms and ammunition, join the peaceful democratic process as established by the law and uphold the integrity of the country.
Notably, Amit Shah also hinted that the demand of 6 communities in Assam for Scheduled Tribe status will be granted soon. The leadership of the communities – Moran, Matak, Tai Ahom, Chutia, Tea Tribes, and Koch Rajbongshi – were present at the meeting. After signing the agreement, Amit Shah went to them and said, next it is your turn, hinting that their demand will be fulfilled soon.
Assam Chief Minister HImanta Biswa Sarma said that the agreement will bring lasting peace in the state. “This is a historic day for Assam. The process for peace has been on in Assam under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the guidance of Home Minister Amit Shah. We did accord with Bodo, Karbi, and Adivasi insurgent group,” Sarma said while talking to the media in Delhi.
He said that over 8,000 people associated with ULFA will return to the mainstream with this agreement, and will be rehabilitated.
“This agreement will fulfil many of the aspirations of the people of Assam. In general, PM Modi’s outreach towards Assam and other parts of the northeast has made this possible,” the CM added. He assured that the points mentioned in the tripartite agreement will be 100 per cent implemented by the Centre and the State government.
Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted that this Agreement draws the curtains on Assam’s oldest armed resistance pursued by ULFA, protects the interests of our people & paves the way for spurring growth in the region. He added, “Those who were once associated with violence will become partners in the nation’s progress”.
The CM further said, “For an entire generation, insurgency had stymied the potential of Assam. The single minded pursuit of inclusive development by Hon’ble PM since 2014 has resulted in today’s transformative achievement which marks a new dawn of harmony & togetherness.”
Addressing a press conference after signing the agreement, the ULFA leadership expressed happiness over it. They said that most of their demands have been agreed upon by the government.
They announced that ULFA will be disbanded in two months, and a two-member committee will be formed to pursue the implementation of the agreement. They also appealed Paresh Baruah to give up arms and talk with the govt. They said that Baruah can extract more for the state by signing another agreement with the govt.
ULFA and the peace talks
The insurgent group ULFA came into being in April 1979 in the aftermath of the agitation against undocumented immigrants from Bangladesh (erstwhile East Pakistan) led by All Assam Students Union. The illegal influx in Assam has been on, though with varying degrees, ever since India’s independence. ULFA continued an armed struggle demanding an independent state of Assam for over two decades, marking a violent history in the state.
However, ULFA was split into two factions in 2011 when the pro-talk faction led by Arabinda Rajkhowa decided to return to Assam from abroad and participate in peace talks. Anup Chetia, another top ULFA functionary, later joined the pro-talks group. Most of the ULFA leaders were based in neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Myanmar and Bhutan. The other group ULFA (Independent), led by its commander Paresh Barua, opposed any talks unless the ‘sovereignty’ clause was a topic of the discussions, which was not acceptable to the government.
The pro-talk faction gave up violence and agreed to unconditional talks with the government. In 2011, they submitted a 12-point charter of demands to then-home minister P Chidambaram which includes constitutional and political arrangements and reforms, protection of the identity and material resources of the local indigenous population of Assam, which has since been under discussion at various levels.
After over a decade of talks, the Union government in April sent it a draft agreement. A series of talks with officials concerned in the Central government has taken place since the delegation arrived in Delhi before the signing of the peace pact.
The Union government has signed peace deals with rebel Bodo, Dimasa, Karbi, and Adivasi outfits in Assam over the last three years. The banned ULFA-Independent led by Paresh Baruah would be the only major insurgent outfit in the state once the deal with the ULFA pro-talks faction is inked.
Since Himanta Biswa Sarma became chief minister in May 2021, over 7,000 insurgents from various rebel groups have shelved their guns to join the mainstream. The state government has been running various rehabilitation programs to accommodate these former insurgents to live a respectable life.
Himanta Biswa Sarma has on various occasions since becoming the chief minister appealed to ULFA(I) leader Paresh Baruah to return to the mainstream and join the massive development process that has taken place in the state. He reiterated the appeal to Paresh Baruah today. CM Sarma also emphasised the need to resolve all the outstanding issues through dialogue.
Assam has witnessed decades-long insurgency, necessitating operations from the central paramilitary and Armed forces. The most prominent operations against ULFA were Operation Bajrang and Operation Rhino.
The insurgency in Assam led to the loss of lives of civilians, personnel of armed forces, state police personnel, and of course the members of insurgents. Over the past decades, an estimated 10,000 have died in Assam due to insurgency, the chief minister said today.
Due to the insurgency activities, the Disturbed Areas Act and Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) had to be brought in in Assam in 1980. However, now it is just limited to a few districts in Upper Assam with about 15 per cent land mass. These areas still see sporadic acts like grenade blasts, kidnappings etc by ULFA(I).
