Will NE be free of insurgents by next year?
Subhashis Mittra-WIDE ANGLE
The tripartite Memorandum of Settlement just signed by the Union government, the Assam government and the Dimasa National Liberation Army/Dimasa Peoples' Supreme Council (DNLA/DPSC) is a significant milestone towards making the Northeast insurgency-free by next year.
Except for the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), all the problems have been solved till now.
The Dimasa agreement, inked in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, envisages that over 168 cadres of DNLA will join the mainstream by laying down arms. The pact proposes to end the insurgency in the Dima Hasao district of Assam.
Further, as part of the agreement, Dimasa Welfare Council will be set up by the Government of Assam to protect, preserve and promote a social, cultural, and linguistic identity to meet political, economic and educational aspirations and will ensure speedy and focused development of the Dimasa people residing outside the jurisdiction of the Autonomous Council.
Along with this, the agreement also provides for the appointment of a Commission under Paragraph 14 of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution to examine the demand for the inclusion of additional villages contiguous to the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC) with the Council.
The agreement provides for necessary measures to be taken by the Centre and the Assam government to rehabilitate the surrendered armed cadres of DNLA. To this effect, a Special Development package of Rs 500 crore each, will also be provided by the two governments over a period of five years, for the all-round development of NCHAC as well as Dimasa people residing in other parts of the State.
After the signing of the historic pact, Assam Chief Minister Hemanta Biswa Sarma said that the agreement will bring peace in the state. "This agreement will bring peace to the state. DNLA representatives have agreed to abjure violence, surrender all arms and ammunition, disband their armed organisation, vacate all camps and join the peaceful democratic process as established by the law," he said.
"Slowly-slowly all the problems in all northeastern states will be solved," he said.
A 12-year dialogue with the pro-talks faction of ULFA has culminated in the Centre sending the draft of a peace agreement to the outfit in preparation for a possible final settlement, may be as early as next month.
The government is also trying to get the Paresh Barua-led ULFA(I) on board.
ULFA was formed in 1979 to seek “restoration of Assam’s sovereignty”, a topic that now remains just on ULFA(I)'s agenda.
The original outfit split after the top leadership, led by Arabinda Rajkhowa, was arrested in Bangladesh and handed over to India in 2008. Three years later, Rajkhowa and his group decided to join the peace talks. The faction submitted a 12-point charter of demands, excluding “sovereignty”.
In this context, the home minister noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has put forward the vision of a terror-free, violence-free and developed Northeast before the country and the Ministry of Home Affairs is moving forward in this direction under the guidance of PM Modi.