BODO ACCORD: A RAY OF HOPE OR ROAD TO CONFLICTING FUTURE

The Ministry of Home Affairs, Assam government and Bodo groups including the All Bodo Students’ Union and militant outfits signed an agreement on January 27, this year. This is New Delhi’s third attempt at conflict resolution after the 1993 and 2003 accords with the Bodos. The new deal offers more hope than the earlier accords as National Democratic Front of Boroland that had stayed away from earlier agreements are now on board. Northeast Today reports on the recent development from the ground.

January 27 was a day for which entire Assam was waiting for months and years. It was the day when after years of hectic negotiations, the third Bodo accord was to be signed. None was aware about the contents of the Accord and almost no one had any idea about the possible contents in the accord.

In a much publicized event, the third Bodo accord was signed with the agenda-- to bring peace and stability in the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD) region. The region has witnessed insurgency and violence for over 4 decades, and the issue was compounded by the existence of several militant groups and also the demand for a separate Bodoland state. However this time all the groups came to the table and signed the third Bodo Accord.

After the implementation of the Accord, the BTAD region will be now known as Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR).

This accord was signed between the government and all the fractions of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), All Bodo Students' Union (ABSU) and United Bodo People's Organization (UBPO).

The other faction of the NDFB, led by I K Songbijit, who was expelled from the group, is not a signatory to this pact. The NDFB (S) has been involved in several incidents in Assam, including the December 2014 Assam violence, where 76 people were killed. This was followed by an extension on the ban imposed on the outfit by the government for five years i.e., until 2019.

Over 1,615 cadres of different factions of the NDFB surrendered their arms and joined the mainstream within two days of the signing of the agreement.

Several Bodo groups led by the (ABSU) have been demanding a separate land for the ethnic community since 1972, a movement that has claimed nearly 4,000 lives.