NEW DELHI: Ten years after a peace process began with eight Assam rebel Adivasi groups, the Centre signed a tripartite agreement with the outfits, including the Birsa Commando Force (BCF), Adivasi People’s Army (APA) and All Adivasi National Liberation Army (AANLA), here on Thursday in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The pact was signed “to end the decades-old crisis of Adivasi and tea garden workers in Assam”, the ministry said. The accord was followed by the laying down of arms by 1,182 cadres of the tribal groups who will now join the mainstream. The Adivasi Cobra Military of Assam (AMA), the Santhal Tiger Force and the other three outfits are splinter groups of the BCF, AANLA and the ACMA.
Pointing out that 8,000 militants in the northeast have laid down their weapons since 2014, Shah said that the Centre aimed to end “disputes related to armed groups” in the region before 2024. Thursday’s agreement entailed a responsibility on the part of the Centre and the Assam government to “fulfill the political, economic and educational aspirations of the adivasi groups”.
The pact not only provides for the establishment of an Adivasi Welfare and Development Council that will “ensure speedy and focused development of tea gardens” but also work to rehabilitate and resettle the armed cadre and tea plantation workers.
The Centre also announced a Rs 1,000-crore development package — Rs 500 crore each by the Centre and the Assam government — for infrastructure development in the villages and areas where the adivasi population live.