ULFA peace accord

Context: The pro-talks faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) on Friday  signed a historic tripartite peace deal with the Government of India and the state government of Assam. 

Background:

Roots in Assamese anxieties

• Assamese people have a unique culture, language, and strong identity.
• In the 19th century, the region's economic growth in tea, coal, and oil attracted migrants, causing insecurity among the indigenous population.
• The Partition and the influx of refugees from former East Pakistan heightened tensions in Assam.
• The competition for Resources led to a six-year-long mass movement.
• In 1985, the Assam Accord was signed to address the issue of foreigners and find a solution for challenges faced by the indigenous population.
• Amidst these developments, radical thinkers, including Bhimakanta Buragohain, Arabinda Rajkhowa, Anup Chetia, Pradip Gogoi, Bhadreshwar Gohain, and Paresh Baruah, formed the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) on April 7, 1979.

Four decades of bloodshed

• The 44-year-long struggle has involved kidnappings, extortion, executions, and bomb blasts, causing tragic loss of life in Assam and beyond.
• The Indian state's response has included Operation Bajrang in 1990, leading to the arrest of 1,221 ULFA insurgents, the declaration of Assam as a 'disturbed area,' imposition of President's rule, and invoking the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).
• Certain factions of ULFA, such as Surrendered ULFA (SULFA), allegedly received government support and engaged in "secret killings" of ULFA insurgents and their families.
• ULFA has survived with external assistance, maintaining camps in Myanmar and previously in Bangladesh and Bhutan, serving as launchpads for cross-border operations, shelters, and training bases for new recruits.
• ULFA has connections to other insurgent groups in the Northeast and Myanmar, as well as Islamic terror outfits like Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami and Al-Qaeda.
• Paresh Baruah, ULFA's self-styled military chief, reportedly met Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.
• ULFA has links to Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and openly supported Pakistan during the Kargil War, as indicated in its newsletter Swadhinata.

Towards peace talks

• In 2005, ULFA formed the 11-member 'People’s Consultative Group' (PCG) with intellectuals, including Indira Raisom Goswami, to mediate talks with the government.
• The PCG conducted three rounds of discussions before ULFA walked out, leading to a new wave of terror.
• Some ULFA commanders, like Arabinda Rajkhowa, sought peace talks from 2008 onwards.
• Paresh Baruah opposed talks, leading to Rajkhowa's expulsion in 2012, resulting in a major split in ULFA.
• Baruah formed ULFA (Independent), while Rajkhowa's faction engaged in peace talks with the government.
• In 2012, the pro-talks faction submitted a 12-point charter of demands to the central government.
• The central government responded to the demands earlier this year, leading to discussions in April.
• A tripartite peace agreement was reached between Rajkhowa's faction and the Centre in the given timeframe.

Significance

• Previously the agreements were signed with various groups, including NLFT in 2019, Bru and Bodo in 2020, Karbi in 2021, Adivasi in 2022, and Assam-Meghalaya, Assam-Arunachal, and UNLF agreements in 2023.The ULFA agreement will usher in a new era of peace for the entire Northeast, especially Assam.
• A time-bound program will be established to fulfill ULFA's demands, with a monitoring committee overseeing the process.
• This will fulfill the vision of a peaceful, prosperous and insurgency-free Northeast and bringing everlasting peace, prosperity and all-round development of Assam. 

ULFA

• United Liberation Front of Assam, is an armed separatist group active in the northeastern state of Assam in India.
• The organization aims to create an independent sovereign nation state of Assam for the indigenous Assamese people, employing armed struggle in the ongoing Assam conflict.
• In 1990, the Government of India proscribed ULFA, labeling it as a terrorist organization. Additionally, the United States