Bringing peace in Bodoland issue, Amit Shah signs historic peace accord between Assam, Centre and Bodo tribe
New Delhi, January 28: Ending the 22-year-old Bru refugee crisis, Union Minister Amit Shah met chief ministers of Mizoram and Tripura, along with representatives of the Bru tribes as he signed the pact. Not only this, the Union government on Monday signed tripartite agreement with representatives of all factions of banned organisation National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), assuring political and economic rights to the people of the Bodo tribe.
As per the agreement, the Bodo region is now going to be named as Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), gaining more administrative powers. In addition, the centre has also granted a special package of Rs 900 crore for the overall development of the region. Calling the signing of the peace accord an important agreement, Union Home Minister said, “Today Centre, Assam Govt and Bodo representatives have signed an important agreement. This agreement will ensure a golden future for Assam and for the Bodo people.” He also said that the movement, that began in the early 1970s and later turned armed, had claimed over 4000 lives across the state
On Thursday, 1,550 cadres of NDFB’s factions along with 130 weapons will surrender and give up the armed rebellion, the Home Minister said. “As the Home Minister, I want to assure all representatives that all promises will be fulfilled in a time-bound manner,” Amit Shah was quoted as saying. The peace pact is also to be seen as a resolution to Bodo groups’ long-standing demand of a separate state named ‘Bodoland’.
Speaking on the matter after signing the pact, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal termed the move to be reaffirming territorial integrity of his state. “All stakeholders of Bodo society has signed this agreement, reaffirming the territorial integrity of Assam.”
Along with the NDFB factions, All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) was also a signatory to the pact. The NDFB groups were represented by Ranjan Daimari, Govinda Basumatary, Dhiren Boro, and B Saoraigra, while ABSU was led by president Pramod Boro. As promised in the agreement, the central and Assam government will also have to safeguard the Bodo language and culture. Bodo language will also be made an associate official language of the state.
Earlier this month, The Amit Shah led Home Ministry also inked an agreement to end the 22-year-old Bru refugee crisis by facilitating their resettlement in Tripura. The refugees numbering over 34,000 belong to 5,300 families. They were forced to migrate from Mizoram following tribal unrest, back in 1997. This pact was signed by Chief Secretaries of Mizoram, Tripura and representatives of Bru tribes in the Ministry of Home Affairs' North Block office in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.