india

Updated: Feb 04, 2020 05:57 IST

Having sealed the Bodo Accord in Assam, the Union government is keen to use the same template to resolve other thorny agitations in other areas, three officials with direct knowledge of the matter said on condition of anonymity.

In an address in Assam’s Kokrajhar on February 7, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to indicate that his government is looking to resolving other issues – such as the years-long armed conflict with Naga groups in the North-east or Gorkha demonstrators in northern Bengal – using a road map similar to the successful negotiations with all four factions of the banned National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), one of the people cited above said.

“In order to convey this message, the PM is expected to visit Kokrajhar on February 7 and participate in the celebrations of the Bodo Accord,” one of the officials said.

“The Bodo settlement does sketch out a road map on the government’s thinking and how it wants to proceed with militants groups of the North-east. Security agencies and other arms of the government are engaging groups with the aim of bringing them to the negotiating table. There is multipronged effort to engage militant groups and those amenable to negotiations will have our ears,” he added.

Assam finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted on February 1 that the Assam government had invited Modi for celebrations of the accord in Kokrajhar on February 7. The accord is expected to end a decades-long conflict for a separate homeland for the Bodos, the largest plains tribe in Assam.

A second official indicated that the government is also working on signing peace deals with insurgent groups such as Manipur’s United National Liberation (UNLF) Front – the oldest Meitei group agitating for a separate independent socialist state – and its armed outfit Manipur People’s Army, a second person said.

The UNLF, which has an estimated cadre strength of 3,000, is active in Jiribam in Manipur and the Cachar district of Assam.

In addition, security agencies are also engaging with outfits such as the Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL), another Meitei militant organisation, the second official added.

In Assam and neighbouring Nagaland, efforts are also on to convince United Liberation Front of Assam (Independence), the last remaining ULFA faction, to join the talks.

“Efforts are being made to convince them too, however, we cannot reveal the details,” said a third senior official in the security establishment who did not want to be named. And, in Nagaland, with leaders such as Y Wangtin Naga breaking away from the Myanmar based NSCN (Khaplang) group and joining talks along with the NSCN (Reformation) the situation is much “easier,” he added.

“The government has decided that it will not engage the Myanmar based NSCN (Khaplang) faction. On the contrary, the centre believes that bettering ties with Myanmar is a more fruitful way of dealing with threats,” he added.

Last year, the Union government came close to sealing a peace accord with Naga groups. Often described as the old surviving insurgency of the world, the Naga insurgents had demanded a separate homeland for the Nagas loosely bound to the Constitution. Several factions of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland insurgent group are said to be on board with the Centre’s plan.

The Naga insurgency began in the 1950s with sovereignty as a key demand. But over the years, the rebel outfits have given up on that demand seeking more autonomy and integration of Naga inhabited areas in Nagaland, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.

The Gorkha demand for a separate homeland – called Gorkhaland -- has also raged on for several decades. It last flared up in 2017, when a months-long shutdown paralysed the Darjeeling hills in West Bengal.

“It is a great initiative, if all miltant organization come to the table. Those like Paresh Baruah - ULFA (Independence) have little leverage left. Their is a different. Kind of politics in Assam.. I hope, this is a new beginning, “ Major General Ajay Das (retd), who served many years in the Northeast, said.