GUWAHATI: Unlike in the past, an atmosphere of peace prevails in Assam's Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) this election season. Political parties are gearing up for the September 22 elections to the 40-member autonomous Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), billed as the semifinal of Assembly polls in the state due early next year.
The BTR, which witnessed deaths and destruction during three major ethnic riots, went to polls in the past three decades under the shadow of the gun amid an insurgency movement.
Multiple peace accords were signed but peace was temporary. In 2020, a concerted effort for permanent peace led to the signing of "historic" BTR accord among central government, All Bodo Students' Union and four insurgent groups.
The accord has stood the test of time. Over the past nearly five years, there has not been a single major incident of violence in the BTR, which comprises the five districts of Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa, Tamulpur and Udalguri and is administered by the BTC.
The BTR pact ushered in peace but the wounds of violence remained. To heal them and remove mistrust among communities, BTC Chief Executive Member Pramod Boro, considered an architect of the BTR accord, had launched the "Bodoland Happiness Mission" (BHM) in 2022, taking a leaf out of the book of adjoining Bhutan's Gross National Happiness Index.
The initiative aimed to build resilient communities, capable of moving beyond violence, by fostering mental and emotional wellbeing while offering training in mindfulness, emotional intelligence and peace-building.
The BTR is home to 26 communities. The mission encouraged their convergence for dialogues. Soon, an all-language word-book and a museum-cum-research centre for the communities were initiated, reflecting the spirit of inclusivity.
These interventions made people feel better emotionally considering that they grew up in an environment of protracted conflict, witnessing mass internal displacement, friends turning rebels to wage an armed struggle, deaths and destruction.
Tapan Bara, a non-Bodo affected by the scourge of violence, said he had seen houses on fire and people struggling to recover from pain and devastation.
"Time rolled by but I was still searching for happiness. The search took me away from myself. After attending a BHM session, I realised that happiness is within me," Bara, who is in his thirties, said.
Prabhat Chandra Sutradhar, senior advisor to All BTR Sutradhar Sanmilan, said he gained a lot of knowledge in education and spirituality by attending a BHM session. "I want this knowledge to be passed on to villages and towns across the BTR for happiness," he said.