Farewell to arms: Assam no longer has any tribal militant group, says Amit Shah after peace pact with DNLA

168 cadres belonging to the rebel group would surrender and deposit their weapons, said Home Minister Amit Shah

The Centre and Assam government signed an agreement with Dimasa National Liberation Army (DNLA), an insurgent group in order to end militancy in the hilly Dima Hasao district.

Announcing this in New Delhi, Home Minister Amit Shah said 168 cadres belonging to the rebel group would surrender and deposit their weapons before the Assam government soon as per the tripartite agreement signed on Thursday. The outfit will also be disbanded, he said.

Read | A welcome pact in the Northeast

It was decided to set up a Dimasa Welfare Council and grant a special financial package of Rs. 1,000 crores (Rs. 500 crores each by the Centre and Assam government) for rehabilitation of the cadres and for political, cultural and economic welfare of the Dimasa residents living in Dima Hasao and outside. The agreement also provided for appointment of a Commission under Paragraph 14 of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India to examine the demand for inclusion of additional villages contiguous to North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC) with the Council, said an official statement.

"Today's agreement brings an end to tribal militancy in Assam. We had signed similar agreements with other tribal insurgent groups in the state earlier. This will fulfill Prime Minister Narendra Modi's goal of violence-free Northeast and Assam for comprehensive development in the region," Shah told reporters after the agreement was signed. Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, Nandita Gorlosa, a minister from Dima Hasao, beside others attended the programme.

Formed in 2019, DNLA demanded a "sovereign state" for the Dimasas, a major tribe inhabiting Dima Hasao, Karbi Anglong, Cachar and Nagaon districts of Assam and in parts of Nagaland. The outfit was held responsible for several violent incidents including killings, abduction and extortion, particularly in Dima Hasao district. The outfit, however, declared a "unilateral ceasefire" in September 2021 and more than 100 cadres came "overground" in order to begin talks with the government.