Bodo and Karbi to Dimasa, the push to end tribal insurgencies in Assam

• Recently, the Dimasa National Liberation Army (DNLA) signed a peace agreement with the government.
• It an insurgent group operating mostly in Assam's Dima Hasao district
• Both the Union Home Minister and Assam Chief Minister declared that this peace settlement marked the end of the tribal insurgency in Assam.

Insurgency in Assam

• Assam has seen insurgency by various tribal militant groups, particularly from the 1980s onwards.
  • This was even after Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Arunachal Pradesh were carved out of Assam.
• The core demand of most of these groups has been greater political autonomy, primarily through separate statehood demands.

Reasons behind the insurgency in Assam

• Ethnic minefield
  • The Assam region has a long history of tensions between the indigenous ethnic groups.
  • There are 15 recognised tribes in the autonomous districts of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills and 14 recognised tribes in the rest of the state.
  • Of these, the major tribes are Bodo (35% of the state’s tribal population), Mishing (17.52%), Karbi (11.1%), Rabha (7.6%), Sonowal Kachari (6.5%), Lalung (5.2%), Garo (4.2%), and Dimasa (3.2%).
  • Of these, the most sustained and violent movement for autonomy has been carried out by Bodo groups.
  • However, there have also been Karbi and Dimasa groups that waged militant operations over the decades.
• Immigration
  • The large-scale immigration of Bengali-speaking Muslims from the neighbouring country of Bangladesh has been a major source of tension in the region.
  • The Assamese people see this immigration as a threat to their identity, culture, and economic well-being.
• Political factors
  • This region saw movements which ask for recognition of sub-regional aspirations.
  • These movements often came in direct conflict with the State Governments or even the Autonomous Councils.
    • E.g., All Bodo Students' Union (ABSU) stepped up the movement in 1987 for a separate state of Bodoland on the North Bank of the Brahmaputra.
• Economic factors
  • The isolation of the region after partition was a big blow to the economy of the region.
  • The perception of exploitation of NE resources by the government in Delhi boosted insurgency.

The Insurgent Groups

• United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA)
  • Formed in April 1979, ULFA was founded on the ideology of Assamese nationalism.
  • It pledged to liberate Assam and establish a Swadin Asom (Independent Assam) comprising the ethnic Assamese speaking people.
• Bodo Movement in Assam
  • The demand for the creation of a homeland for the Assam plains tribal communities in the shape of Udyachal was a significant plank of the Bodo political movement in the 1960s.
  • The All-Bodo Students Union (ABSU) was formed in 1967 to represent the Bodo cause.
    • The movement for separate Bodoland was revived through the ABSU after the signing of the Assam Accord in 1985.
    • It soon came to be backed by Bodo armed groups with the formation of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB).
    • This led to the emergence of an insurgency situation in the region.
  • Three accords were signed with Bodo militant groups in 1993, 2003, and 2020.
    • The first Bodo Accord was signed with the ABSU in 1993 and paved the way for the Bodoland Autonomous Council.
    • The second Accord in 2003 with the Bodo Liberation Tigers subsequently led to the formation of the Bodo Territorial Council (BTC), with jurisdiction over the Bodo Territorial Autonomous District (BTAD).
    • The third Bodo Accord of 2020 was essentially a truce with four factions of the militant NDFB.
    • The third accord extended provisions already in effect through the previous accords by providing more legislative, administrative, executive and financial powers to the BTC.
    • It also gave the power to alter the area of the BTAD and notified the Bodo language as an associate official language in the state.
• Karbi
  • There were five major militant groups of Karbi Anglong:
    • Karbi People’s Liberation Tiger,
    • People’s Democratic Council of Karbi Longri (PDCK),
    • Karbi Longri NC Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF),
    • Kuki Liberation Front (KLF), and
    • United People’s Liberation Army (UPLA).
  • The insurgency by these groups revolved around the demand for an autonomous state and had taken off in the 1980s.
  • In 2021, a settlement was arrived at with the above-mentioned five militant groups of Karbi Anglong.
    • The settlement provided for greater autonomy and special packages for the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council.
    • It also provided a special development package of Rs 1,000 crore over five years.
• Dimasa
  • The DNLA, with which a tripartite agreement was reached recently, was the newest group to take up arms in Dima Hasao district.
  • The settlement signed with the DNLA now has similar provisions along the lines of the settlement arrived at with the five Karbi Anglong groups two years ago.

Way forward

• Caution is the key
  • While settlements with all active tribal militant groups have been arrived at in recent years, history has seen breakaway factions.
  • Hence, caution should be exercised as the possibility of other groups coming to the fore remains open
• Establish North East Security Council
  • New Delhi must set up a North East Security Council to both comprehend and administer the region holistically.
• Challenge in the form of Paresh Baruah-led ULFA (I)
  • While talks with these tribal militant groups have been carried out, the biggest challenge for the government remains the Paresh Baruah-led ULFA (I), which continues to hold fast to the demand for sovereignty.

Prelims take away

• Major tribes of Assam
• Insurgent groups of North east