Centre set to sign a tripartite ‘Karbi Peace Accord’

The Centre is set to sign a tripartite “Karbi Peace Accord” on September 4, 2021.

• This accord is significant because insurgency by Karbi group has a long history in Assam which is marked by killings, ethnic violence, abductions and taxations since 1980s.
• Karbi is a major ethnic community in Assam and are dotted by several factions and splinters.
• About 200 Karbi terrorists will be present while signing of the agreement. These 200 Karbi terrorists are part of 1,040 terrorists who surrendered before the Assam government in February 2021.

Around 1,040 terrorists from five insurgent groups of Karbi Anglong district ceremonially put down their arms at an event in Guwahati in February, in the presence of then Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. This development further bolstered the ‘terrorism-free Assam’ image of present BJP-led government. Surrendered terrorists belong to Karbi Longri NC Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF), United People’s Liberation Army (UPLA), People’s Democratic Council of Karbi Longri (PDCK) and Kuki Liberation Front (KLF). They had come to surrender their weapons a year after signing of Bodo Peace Accord to end the long-run violence in Bodoland.

Bodoland region is an autonomous territorial region, administered by the Bodoland Territorial Council, which is an elected body. Bodo Accord was first signed in 2003 in a bid to maintain peace in the region. In 2020, it was extended by central government.

These outfits were originated from the core demand of establishing a separate state. Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) is an autonomous district council, which is protected under Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. Karbi National Volunteers and Karbi People’s Force joined together to form United People’s Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) in 1990s. UPDS put down arms and signed a tripartite memorandum of settlement, in November 2011, with Centre and Government of Assam in return of enhanced autonomy and special packages for the KAAC.