Tribal Insurgency in Assam [UPSC Notes]

In April 2023, the government signed a tripartite peace agreement with Dimasa National Liberation Army (DNLA), an insurgent group in Assam. In this context, we discuss the peace agreements that have been signed with various groups in Assam and the challenges in ensuring peace in the region. This topic is relevant for the IAS exam internal security segment.

Peace Agreement Signed in Assam

• After signing the peace settlement, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that tribal insurgency in Assam ended with the peace settlement.
• Assam has been witnessing insurgency since the 1980s even after the creation of separate states such as Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Arunachal Pradesh from Assam.
• The important demands of the insurgent groups are greater political autonomy, primarily through separate statehood demands.
• The autonomous districts of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills consist of 15 recognized tribes and the remaining parts of the state consist of 14 recognized tribes.
• The major tribes in Assam and their composition are:
  • Bodo (35%)        
  • Mishing (17.52%)
  • Karbi (11.1%) 
  • Rabha (7.6%)
  • Sonowal Kachari (6.5%) 
  • Lalung (5.2%)
  • Garo (4.2%) 
  • Dimasa (3.2%)
• Though the Karbi and Dimasa groups were involved in militancy for decades, the most violent insurgency was carried out by the Bodo group.
• The peace process has been going on for a long time and the series of peace agreements with different groups in recent years is expected to put an end to the insurgency.          

Read more about the Bodo Accord in the linked article.

Dimasa Peace Agreement

• The recent peace settlement was signed with the DNLA group which is the newest group to take up arms in Dima Hasao district.
• The agreement with DNLA consists of similar provisions in the peace settlement signed with five Karbi Anflong groups two years ago.
• After signing the peace agreements over the decades, several former militants gave up militancy and joined mainstream politics. Some important former militants who joined politics are Hagrama Mohilary from the BLT, Horen Singh Bey from the USDP, and Jewel Garlosa, Debolal Gorlosa, and Niranjan Hojai from the DHD (J).

Know more about the Karbi Anglong Agreement in the linked article.

Challenges with Peace Settlements:

• There is a history of breakaway factions and new groups emerging after peace settlements with a given group or a section of the leadership of a group.
• Thus according to experts, the government needs to be cautious of the emergence of new groups or breakaway factions which can disturb the peace in the state. 
• Also, potential insurgents may utilize the magnanimity of the government to take up arms and benefit from peace settlements.
• The Union government must set up the North East Security Council to comprehend and administer the region holistically.

Peace Agreement with Bodo and Karbi:

• The government signed three peace accords with Bodo in 1993, 2003, and recently in 2020.
• The first Bodo accord was signed in 1993 with the All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU) after the demand for a separate Bodo state led to intensified movement through the All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU). The first accord led to the formation of the Bodoland Autonomous Council.
• But the first peace accord fell through after ABSU withdrew from the agreement and the second accord was signed in 2003 with the Bodo Liberation Tigers which resulted in the formation of the Bodo Territorial Council (BTC), with jurisdiction over the Bodo Territorial Autonomous District (BTAD).
• The third accord in 2020 was signed with four factions of the militant National Democratic Front of Bodoland which resulted in providing more legislative, administrative, executive, and financial powers to the BTC, the power to alter the area of the BTAD and the notification of the Bodo language as an associate official language in the state.
• With regard to Karbi, in 2021 an agreement was signed with five militant groups which ended the Karbi militancy. The five groups are 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 2021 agreement provided for greater autonomy and a special development package worth 1000 crores over five years.
• The tripartite settlement signed in 2011 with the Union government and the Assam government provided for:
  • Greater autonomy and special packages for the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council.

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