The government on Monday signed an accord with one of the dreaded insurgent groups of Assam- The National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB)- providing political and economic bonanza and a move that is expected to boost peace in the Northeast.
The All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU), which has been spearheading a movement for a Bodoland state was also signatory to the accord.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal were present as the Centre signed the tripartite agreement with the representatives of factions of banned organisations.
The tripartite agreement was signed by Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, the top leadership of the four factions of the NDFB, ABSU, and the Centre. The All Bodo Students’ Union, which has been spearheading the statehood movement, was also a signatory.
About 4000 people died in the Bodo movement. This historic agreement will usher in a new dawn of peace, progress and prosperity in the state of Assam.
I congratulate CM @SarbanandSonwal for his pioneering efforts to make North-East the Ashta Lakshmi of PM Modi Ji’s vision. pic.twitter.com/ZoSBmxd3PQ
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) January 27, 2020
Under the agreement, the Centre will take a sympathetic view of those who took up arms for the statehood movement. More than 1,500 militants are expected to surrender on January 30.
“They are not militants now, all are our brothers,” said Amit Shah. Of them, those who have a clean record will be made part of the paramilitary forces. The families of those who died in the Bodo movement will receive Rs 5 lakh as compensation.
According to the agreement, the area called BTAD will be renamed as Bodoland Territorial Region and the Centre would expedite the ‘hills tribe’ status to Bodo people living in the hill districts of Assam.
The Bodo language, with Devnagri script, will become an associate official language for the entire Assam.
The agreement also involves a hefty financial package- the state government would provide Rs 250 crore for 3 years to develop the area. The Centre will also add an equivalent amount, bringing the total to Rs 1500 crore.
The funds would be used to set up industry and employment packages and promote eco-tourism. Under the socio-cultural package, the government will set up a Central University in name of Upendranath and a national sports university.
The other projects also include a regional medical institute, hotel management campus, a Mother Dairy plant, a National Institute of Technology and more Navodaya Vidyalayas.
This is the third Bodo accord to be signed in the last 27 years when the violent movement for a separate Bodoland state claimed hundreds of lives, destruction of public and private properties.
The first Bodo accord was signed with the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) in 1993, leading to the creation of a Bodoland Autonomous Council with limited political powers.
In 2003, the second Bodo accord was signed with the militant group Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT), leading to the formation of a Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) with four districts of Assam — Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baska and Udalguri — called the Bodoland Territorial Area District (BTAD).
