Centre signs Bodo Peace Accord, the third since 1993 in bid to bring peace to Assam: All you need to know about the agreement

The Union government on Monday signed a historic accord with the dreaded insurgent group National Democratic Front of Boroland and two other outfits to end a protracted and bloody struggle for secession from Assam and to bring permanent peace to the Bodo-dominated areas of the state. The signing of the accord officially ended the demand for a separate state or Union Territory for Bodo people since 1972, while granting the Bodo people political and economic benefits while remaining part of the state of Assam. Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, state minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the home ministry’s joint secretary, Satyendra Garg, and the top leadership of all four factions of the NDFB and the All Bodo Students’ Union — which has been spearheading a movement for a Bodoland state since 1972 — and the United Bodo People’s Organisation were also, among others, were present. The first accord was signed with the All Bodo Students’ Union in 1993, leading to the creation of a Bodoland Autonomous Council with limited political powers. After all, Bodo minority villages could turn into Bodo majority villages if the other communities could be ousted.” In 2003, the second accord was signed with the militant group Bodo Liberation Tigers, leading to formation of a Bodoland Territorial Council with four districts of Assam — Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baska and Udalguri — called Bodoland Territorial Area District.