Can a peace pact with a faction of an extremist organisation do what six years of agitation to drive out ‘Bangladeshis’ and a follow-up exercise to update the National Register of Citizens (NRC) could not? Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma believes it can while conveying a narrowing gap between the Assamese and Bengali communities through a formula to determine who qualifies to be labelled indigenous.
On December 29, 2023, the pro-talks faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) signed a tripartite peace deal with the Centre and the Assam government. Unlike similar pacts with other Assam-based outfits, the formal agreement with the ULFA faction did not signal the end of extremism in Assam. This is because the hardline ULFA (Independent) faction headed by Paresh Baruah continues to wage war against the “Indian occupational forces” from its hideouts in Myanmar.
The Chief Minister, however, has claimed the accord with the 1979-born ULFA has paved the way to ensure legislative and land rights for the Assamese people. He said the pact has two major clauses – a commitment to following the principles applied for the 2023 delimitation exercise for future delimitation exercises in Assam and checking demographic changes by preventing people of one constituency from being registered as voters in another.
