• The ULFA’s pro-talks faction signed a peace accord with the Centre and the Assam government on December 29.

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah was present along with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma at the signing of the accord in New Delhi.

• The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), the oldest insurgent group of Assam, agreed to abjure violence, surrender arms, disband the organisation, vacate their camps and join the democratic process.

• The ULFA was formed in 1979 with the demand for a “sovereign Assam”. Since then, it has been involved in subversive activities that led to the central government declaring it a banned outfit in 1990.

• Assam has suffered for a long time due to the violence of the ULFA and 10,000 people lost their lives in this violence since 1979.

• The peace pact is expected to end the decades-old insurgency in Assam.

• A big development package will be given to Assam as part of the accord. 

• According to the accord, about Rs 1.5 lakh crore will be invested in Assam in various development projects. 

• Besides, in future delimitation exercises, the existing principle will be applied in Assam so that the interests of the indigenous people of the state are protected, he said.

• In the last five years, nine peace and border-related agreements have been signed with several insurgent groups and among different states in the northeast.

• The Modi government signed an agreement with the Tripura-based insurgent group NLFT in 2019, groups belonging to the Bru and the Bodo communities in 2020, a group of the Karbi tribals of Assam in 2021 and with an Adivasi group in 2022.

• More than 9,000 cadres have surrendered and the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) has been lifted from 85 per cent area of Assam.

• So far, 7,500 cadres have surrendered in Assam alone, which will have additional 750 after the accord’s signing. Thus, the surrender of a total 8,200 cadres in Assam alone will be completed and it will be the beginning of a new era of peace.

• The Assam-Meghalaya and the Assam-Arunachal border agreements and the agreement with the Manipur-based insurgent group UNLF were signed in 2023.

Insurgency in Northeast Region

• India’s Northeast Region stretches from the foothills of the Himalayas in the eastern range and is surrounded by countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Nepal and Myanmar. 

• It includes Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim. 

• The region is rich in natural resources, covered with dense forests, has the highest rainfall in the country, with large and small river systems nesting the land and is a treasure house of flora and fauna.

• The quest for ethnic and regional identity, nationalism, and ideological motivations have fomented a climate of insurgency in several parts of the Northeast Region, which has led to political fragmentation of the region. The climate has been further fuelled by the slow pace of development. The difficult terrain, dense forest cover and open borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh have provided a congenial environment for this.

• Insurgency has taken a heavy toll on economic progress in the region. 

Initiatives for peace process

The government has shown its willingness to enter into dialogue with any group, which is willing to abjure the path of violence and place its demand within the framework of the Constitution of India. 

Pursuant to the above policy of the government, a number of outfits have come for talks with the government for resolution to their grievances and a number of cadres of insurgents have surrendered with weapons.

1) Scheme for Surrender-cum-Rehabilitation of militants in North East

The ministry of home affairs has been implementing a scheme for Surrender-cum-Rehabilitation of militants in Northeast to wean away the misguided youth and hardcore militants who stray into the fold of militancy and later find themselves trapped into that net.

The scheme also seeks to ensure that the militants, who have surrendered, do not find it attractive to join militancy again.

The scheme provides for:

• An immediate grant of Rs 1.5 lakh to each surrenderee.

• Payment of stipend of Rs 3,500 per month to each surrenderee for a period of one year.

• Vocational training to the surrenderees for self-employment.

2) Reimbursement of Security Related Expenditure (SRE)

The central government has been implementing a non-plan scheme for reimbursement of Security Related Expenditure (SRE) for the states seriously affected by militancy/insurgency.

The scheme is being implemented in all states of the region except Mizoram and Sikkim. 

Under it, the expenditure incurred by them on various items, is being reimbursed. It includes:

• Raising of India Reserve Battalions.

• Logistics provided to the CAPFs/Army deployed in the state.

• Ex-gratia grant and gratuitous relief to the victims of extremist violence.

• About 75 per cent of the expenditure incurred on POL (petrol, oil and lubricants) in operations and honorarium.

• Payment to Village Guards/Village Defence Committees/Home Guards deployed for security purposes,

• Expenditure incurred on maintenance of designated camps set up for groups with whom the central government/state governments have entered into agreement for suspension of operations.

3) Civic Action Programme in the North Eastern States

In order to take the local populace in confidence and boost the image of armed forces among the common people, Army and Central Armed Police Forces conduct Civic Action Programme.

Under this programme, various welfare/developmental activities are undertaken like holding of medical camps, sanitation drives, sports meets, distribution of study material to children, minor repairs of school buildings, roads, bridges and running adult education centers, etc.

4) Advertisement and Publicity

Keeping in view of the issues like militancy, infiltration and perceived feeling of alienation, ministry of home affairs implements a scheme of Advertisement and Publicity in North Eastern States with a view to highlight the activities being undertaken by the government for peace in the region and also with a view to convey that “peace pays”.

5) Modernisation of Police Force

The home ministry is implementing a non-plan scheme, namely Scheme for Modernisation of State Police Forces (MPF) towards modernisation of the state police forces, especially for meeting the emerging challenges to internal security in the form of terrorism, naxalism etc. All major items of Police infrastructure have been included under the scheme like construction of secure police stations, outposts, police lines, mobility, modern weaponry, security, surveillance, communication, forensic equipment, upgradation of training infrastructure, police housing, computerisation, etc.

6) Helicopter Services in North Eastern States

At present, the helicopter services are in operation in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura with subsidy from the ministry of home affairs. The subsidy portion is limited to 75 per cent cost of operation of helicopter service minus recovery from passengers. The balance cost of operation of the helicopter service is met by concerned state governments.

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