The federal and Assam governments, along with the pro-talks section of the ULFA, signed a peace accord on Friday, December 29, pledging to abstain from violence, hand over all weapons, dissolve the organization, and participate in democratic processes.
It was a “golden day for the people of Assam,” according to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was present at the peace accord signing in the nation’s capital with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
10,000 people have died as a result of ULFA violence in Assam since 1979, he claimed. The state has suffered greatly from this violence for a long time.
Peace accord between the Government and ULFA
The oldest rebel group in Assam, the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), according to Shah, has pledged to forgo violence, give up weaponry, dissolve the group, evacuate its camps, and participate in the democratic process.
As part of the agreement, Assam would receive a sizable development package. He declared that every word of the agreement would be carried out in full.
He stated that the peace accord agreement will be implemented in a time-bound manner and that it is a significant milestone towards realizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a peaceful, prosperous, and insurgency-free Northeast as well as bringing lasting peace, prosperity, and all-around development to Assam.
According to Shah, the prime minister directed the home ministry, which operated to create a violent, conflict-free Northeast devoid of extremism.
According to him, nine border and peace-related agreements have been struck in the past five years with various rebel groups and states in the Northeast, bringing about calm in a sizable portion of the region. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) has been abolished across 85% of Assam and more than 9,000 cadres have turned themselves in.
Amit Shah stated that violent occurrences in Assam were reduced by 87%, killings by 90%, and kidnappings by 84% when the Modi government was formed in 2014.
In Assam alone, 7,500 cadres have turned themselves in thus far; following the signing of the agreement, 750 more will follow. According to him, this means that 8,200 cadres in Assam alone will have surrendered, marking the start of a new age of peace.
According to the home minister, the Modi administration inked agreements with the NLFT, an insurgent organization based in Tripura, in 2019, with groups from the Bru and Bodo populations in 2020, with a group of Assamese Karbi tribals in 2021, and with an Adivasi group in 2022.
He said that in 2023, agreements were struck on the border between Assam and Meghalaya and Assam and Arunachal, as well as with the rebel group UNLF, which is based in Manipur.
Shah declared that the Northeast as a whole, and Assam in particular, would enter a new age of peace with this accord with the ULFA.
The home minister also stated that the ministry will create a time-bound plan to address the demands of the ULFA and that a committee will be established to oversee it.
He said that the Modi government is ahead of schedule and has made efforts to meet all requirements in all agreements inked after 2019. Without the more comprehensive vision of Prime Minister Modi of a Northeast free of insurgencies, this would not have been achievable.
Chief Minister Sarma referred to the agreement as “historic” and stated that Modi and Shah’s leadership and direction were key to its success.
Approximately 400 to 500 security officers were among the 10,000 people slain in ULFA violence, according to Sarma, with the remaining victims being Assamese natives.
The peace accord agreement states that several development projects in Assam will receive investments totaling roughly Rs 1.5 lakh crore. Additionally, he stated that the same policy will be followed in Assam during future delimitation efforts to safeguard the rights of the state’s indigenous population.
“With delimitation and land rights, the accord will give political security and constitutional safeguards to the indigenous people of Assam,” Sarma stated, adding that 726 more cadres will now integrate into society.
While expressing gratitude to Modi, Shah, and Sarma, ULFA leader Sashadhar Choudhary expressed the hope that the peace accord agreement will bring long-lasting peace and stability to Assam.
Some long-standing political, economic, and social challenges in Assam, in addition to measures for cultural preservation and indigenous people’s land rights, were mentioned by officials.
Officials noted that in addition to measures for cultural protection and land rights for the indigenous people, the pact incorporates several long-standing political, economic, and social issues about Assam.
In addition to the 16-member delegation headed by Arabinda Rajkhowa, the “Chairman” of ULFA, there were representatives from 13 civil society organizations in attendance. According to the officials, the agreement resulted from 12 years of unconditional talks between the government and the Rajkhowa-led ULFA faction.
Assam’s decades-long insurgency is predicted to come to an end with the peace accord.
The peace accord deal does not, however, include Paresh Baruah’s hardline section within the ULFA. It is thought that Baruah resides somewhere near the border between China and Myanmar.
Sarma stated that Baruah is expected to join the peace accord process at this time and that he is being contacted by state government agents.
In 1979, the ULFA was established to establish a “sovereign Assam.” Its subsequent subversive actions resulted in the central government designating it as a prohibited group in 1990.
On September 3, 2011, following the signing of a suspension of operations agreement between the ULFA and the federal and state administrations, the Rajkhowa-led faction began peace accord negotiations with the government.
