Assam separatist movements

Assam separatist movements refers to a series of multiple insurgent and separatist movements that had been operated the in Northeast Indian state of Assam.^[8] The conflict started in the 1970s^[8] following tension between the native indigenous Assamese people and the Indian government over alleged neglect, political, social, cultural, economic issues and increased levels of illegal immigration from Bangladesh.^[9][10] The conflict has resulted in the deaths of 12,000 United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) militants and 18,000 others.^[11][12]

Assam separatist conflict
Part of the Insurgency in Northeast India
State of Assam
Date 27 November 1990 – present ^[3] (33 years, 4 months and 2 weeks) Location Assam, India Status Ongoing , most rebel groubs disbanded or signed peace agreement
Belligerents
India Border conflicts:  Bangladesh  Bhutan	ULFA (1979-present) KLO (1995-present) KLNLF (1990–18) NDFB (1990–20) DHD (1990–13) UPDS (1990–14)	ACF (1996–12)Minor factions:Adivasi Cobra Militants of Assam (ACMA)^[1] Adivasi National Liberation Army (ANLA)^[2]	MULTA (1996-present)
Commanders and leaders
Droupadi Murmu (President) Jagdeep Dhankhar (Vice President) Narendra Modi (Prime Minister) Amit Shah (Minister of Home Affairs) Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (Ministry of External Affairs) Anish Dayal Singh (Director General) Anil Chauhan (Chief of Defence Staff) Manoj Pande (Chief of the Army Staff) M. V. Suchindra Kumar (Vice Chief of the Army Staff) R. Hari Kumar (Chief of the Naval Staff) Dinesh K Tripathi (Vice Chief of the Naval Staff) Vivek Ram Chaudhari (Chief of the Air Staff) Amar Preet Singh (Vice Chief of the Air Staff) Nitin Agarwal (Director general of police) Rajnath Singh (Minister of Defence) Giridhar Aramane (Defence Secretary) Shahabuddin Chuppu (President) Sheikh Hasina (Prime Minister) Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck (King) Tshering Tobgay (Prime Minister) Former Ramaswamy Venkataraman Shankar Dayal Sharma Kocheril Raman Narayanan Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam Pratibha Patil Pranab Mukherjee † Ram Nath Kovind Krishan Kant Bhairon Singh Shekhawat Mohammad Hamid Ansari Venkaiah Naidu Chandra Shekhar Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao Atal Bihari Vajpayee Haradanahalli Doddegowda Deve Gowda Inder Kumar Gujral Manmohan Singh Shankarrao Chavan Murli Manohar Joshi Indrajit Gupta L. K. Advani Shivraj Patil P. Chidambaram Sushilkumar Shinde M. C. Chagla Dinesh Singh Swaran Singh Shyam Nandan Prasad Mishra Bali Ram Bhagat P. Shiv Shankar N. D. Tiwari Vidya Charan Shukla Madhav Singh Solanki Dinesh Singh Sikander Bakht Jaswant Singh Yashwant Sinha Natwar Singh S. M. Krishna Salman Khurshid Sushma Swaraj Kanwar Pal Singh Gill S Subramanian D P N Singh S V M Tripathi M B Kaushal M N Sabharwal Trinath Mishra S C Chaube Jyoti Kumar Sinha S I S Ahmed V K Joshi A S Gill Vikram Srivastava K. Vijay Kumar Pranay Sahay Dilip Trivedi Prakash Mishra K. Durga Prasad R. R. Bhatnagar Anand Prakash Maheshwari Kuldiep Singh Bipin Rawat † Sunith Francis Rodrigues Bipin Chandra Joshi Shankar Roychowdhury Ved Prakash Malik Sundararajan Padmanabhan Nirmal Chander Vij J. J. Singh Deepak Kapoor V. K. Singh Bikram Singh Dalbir Singh Suhag Bipin Rawat † Manoj Mukund Naravane V. K. Sood Vijai Singh Surinder Nath M. L. Dar Ved Prakash Malik Chandra Shekhar Vijay Oberoi Nirmal Chander Vij Shantonu Choudhry Bhupinder Singh Thakur S. Pattabhiraman Deepak Kapoor Milan Lalitkumar Naidu Noble Thamburaj Prabodh Chandra Bhardwaj Arvinder Singh Lamba S. K. Singh Dalbir Singh Suhag Philip Campose Man Mohan Singh Rai Bipin Rawat Sarath Chand Devraj Anbu Manoj Mukund Naravane Satinder Kumar Saini Chandi Prasad Mohanty Manoj Pande B. S. Raju Jayant Ganpat Nadkarni Laxminarayan Ramdas Vijai Singh Shekhawat Vishnu Bhagwat Sushil Kumar Madhvendra Singh Arun Prakash Sureesh Mehta Nirmal Kumar Verma Devendra Kumar Joshi Robin K. Dhowan Sunil Lanba Karambir Singh H. Johnson Suren P. Govil Vijai Singh Shekhawat S. K. Chand Kailash K. Kohli Sushil Kumar P. J. Jacob Madhvendra Singh John Colin De Silva Arun Prakash Yashwant Prasad Venkat Bharathan Nirmal Kumar Verma R. P. Suthan D. K. Dewan Robin K. Dhowan Sunil Lanba Parasurama Naidu Murugesan Karambir Singh Ajit Kumar P G. Ashok Kumar Satishkumar Namdeo Ghormade Sanjay Jasjit Singh Surinder Mehra Nirmal Chandra Suri S. K. Kaul Satish Sareen Anil Yashwant Tipnis Srinivasapuram Krishnaswamy Shashindra Pal Tyagi Fali Homi Major Pradeep Vasant Naik Norman Anil Kumar Browne Arup Raha Birender Singh Dhanoa R. K. S. Bhadauria Nirmal Chandra Suri Palamadai Muthuswamy Ramachandran Pondicherry Jayarao Jayakumar Pratap Rao Satish Sareen Satish Sareen Trevor Raymond Joseph Osman Anil Yashwant Tipnis Prithvi Singh Brar Vinod Patney Srinivasapuram Krishnaswamy Satish Govind Inamdar Michael McMahon Sunil Kumar Malik Ajit Bhavnani B. N. Gokhale Pradeep Vasant Naik Pranab Kumar Barbora Norman Anil Kumar Browne Krishan Kumar Nohwar Dinesh Chandra Kumaria Arup Raha Ravi Kant Sharma Birender Singh Dhanoa Shirish Baban Deo Anil Khosla R. K. S. Bhadauria Harjit Singh Arora Vivek Ram Chaudhari Sandeep Singh T. Ananthachary Prakash Singh D.K. Arya Arun Bhagat A.K. Tandon E. N. Rammohan Gurbachan Singh Jagat Ajay Raj Sharma Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary A.K. Mitra M.L. Kumawat Raman Srivastava U.K. Bansal Subhash Joshi D.K. Pathak K.K. Sharma Rajni Kant Mishra V.K. Johri Surjeet Singh Deswal Rakesh Asthana Pankaj Kumar Singh Sujoy Lal Thaosen Swaran Singh Jagjivan Ram Bansi Lal Chidambaram Subramaniam Shankarrao Chavan K. C. Pant Sharad Pawar Pramod Mahajan Mulayam Singh Yadav George Fernandes Jaswant Singh A. K. Antony Arun Jaitley Manohar Parrikar Nirmala Sitharaman Narinder Nath Vohra K. A. Nambiar T. K. Banerjee Ajit Kumar T. R. Prasad Yogendra Narain Subir Dutta Ajay Prasad Ajai Vikram Singh Shekhar Dutt Vijay Singh Pradeep Kumar Shashi Kant Sharma R. K. Mathur G. Mohan Kumar Sanjay Mitra Ajay Kumar Hussain Muhammad Ershad Shahabuddin Ahmed Abdur Rahman Biswas Badruddoza Chowdhury Muhammad Jamiruddin Sircar Iajuddin Ahmed Zillur Rahman Muhammed Abdul Hamid Kazi Zafar Ahmed Muhammad Habibur Rahman Khaleda Zia Latifur Rahman Fazlul Haque Fakhruddin Ahmed Jigme Singye Wangchuck Jigme Palden Dorji Lhendup Dorji Jigme Thinley Sangay Ngedup Yeshey Zimba Khandu Wangchuk Kinzang Dorji Sonam Tobgye Tshering Wangchuk Lotay Tshering Chogyal Dago Rigdzin	Paresh Baruah Arabinda Rajkhowa (POW) Pradip Gogoi (POW) Anup Chetia (POW) Raju Baruah (POW) Chitrabon Hazarika (POW) Ashanta Bagh Phukan (MIA) Ramu Mech (POW) Sashadhar Choudhury (POW) Bhimkanta Buragohain (POW) Mithinga Daimary (POW) Pranati Deka (POW) Drishti Rajkhowa (POW) Sabin Boro, (POW) Men Sing Takbi (POW) Pradip Terang (POW)	Unknown	Unknown
Strength
1,325,000	3,000–6,000 (1996)^[4] 3,500 (2005)^[5] 225 (2008)^[6]	100	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Since 2000: 340 killed	Since 2000: 2,358 killed
12,000 killed^[7]

Several organisations contribute to the insurgency including the ULFA, the Adivasi National Liberation Army, Karbi Longri N.C. Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF) and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) with ULFA perhaps the largest of these groups,^[12] and one of the oldest, having been founded in 1979.^[13] The ULFA has attacked Hindi-speaking migrant workers^[14] and a movement exists favouring secession from the Republic of India.^[15] The alleged neglect and economic, social, cultural and political exploitation by the Indian state are the main reasons behind the growth of this secessionist movement.

The ULFA seeks to establish a sovereign Assam via armed struggle. MULTA (Muslim United Liberation Tigers of Assam), on the other hand, seeks to establish an Islamic state in India via the jihadist struggle of Muslims of both indigenous and migrant origin. The Government of India banned the ULFA in 1990 and classifies it as a terrorist group, while the US State Department lists it under "other groups of concern".

Founded at Rang Ghar, a historic structure dating to the Ahom kingdom on April 7, 1979, the ULFA has been the subject of military operations by the Indian Army since 1990, which have continued into the present.^[16] In the past two decades some 30,000 people have died^[17] in the clash between the rebels and the government. Though separatist sentiment is considered strong, it is disputed if the secessionist movement continues to enjoy popular support. Conversely, assertions of Assamese nationalism are found in Assamese literature and culture. The neglect and exploitation by the Indian state are common refrains in the Assamese-language media^[18] with some reports casting the ULFA leaders as saviors.^[19]

Internationally acclaimed Assamese novelist Indira Goswami has tried to broker peace^[20][21][22] for several years between the rebels and the government.^[23] In a recent development Hiren Gohain,^[24][25] a public intellectual, has stepped in to expedite the process.

Notable incidents

In June 7 in 2007, Dilip Agarwal, an Indian businessman (grocer) and his son, Rajat Agarwal were kidnapped by four suspected Adivasi National Liberation Army (ANLA).^[26] In December of the same year, an improvised explosive device planted in a train compartment on its way from Dibrugarh to Delhi, India, blast killing 5 civilians and wounded five more. The ANLA claimed the attack to the media asking for more rights and recognition for the community in the state.^[27][28][29]

In December 23, 2008, armed militants of the ANLA shot dead the Deputy Manager Gautom Kotoky a senior tea executive in Carramore tea estate (owned by McLeod & Russell Group) along the India-Bhutan border under Harisinga Police Station in Odalguri, Assam.^[30][31] In the next day, a bomb blasts on railway tracks between Khatkhati and Bokajan. The attack left only material damage, and were attributed to the ANLA.^[32][33]

In July 10 of 2011, an explosion was registered in the Guwahati-Puri Express train. Four of the train's coaches were derailed and over 100 people were wounded, and the attack caused an unknown amount of property damage to the tracks and train. Authorities said the bomb was placed on the track with wires and other trigger materials, which were found after the bombing. The Adivasi People's Army (APA)^[34] claimed responsibility for the attack through an email, and the police suspected that National Democratic Front of Bodoland for the bombing.^[35] Suspected APA militants attacked and wound Zakir Hussain, leader in the Assam Minorities Students' Union (AMSU); he held the position of Kamandanga unit assistant secretary. The attack took place in Kokrajhar district, Assam.^[36][37] The APA carried out other similar attacks in train tracks.^[38]

In December 21, the businessman Ratan Saha was kidnapped by members of the Adivasi Cobra Militants of Assam (ACMA) in Kokrajhar, Assam. In response, locals violently protested the kidnapping and demanded that Saha be released in one day. There were no reports of the outcome of the kidnapping.^[39][40]

During 2012, all Adivasi militants including those of Adivasi Cobra Force surrendered. In December of the same year, armed militants of the ANLA kidnapped Gobin Goswami, the headmaster of Kuwoni Lower Primary School in Golaghat, the motive of the abduction and the outcome of the kidnapping is unknown.^[41][42]

Suspect members of the ANLA abducted a grocery store owner and his employee in Majuli area, Sonitpur. The attackes claimed the kidnapping because they had failed to make ransom payments.^[43][44][45]

On 15 May 2019, twelve people were injured after a grenade exploded in front of a shopping mall in Guwahati. Days later the United Liberation Front of Assam claimed responsibility for the attack, and the authorities arrested the main suspects.^[46][47][48]

In 2020 and 2021, all Bodo, Karbi, Kuki and Dimasa militants surrendered to the government of India.^{[citation needed]}

In 2022, Gorkha and Tiwa Militants also surrendered.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Operation All Clear
• 2008 Assam bombings
• Bhimajuli Massacre
• 2009 Guwahati bombings
• 2009 Assam serial blasts
• Insurgency in North-East India
• Separatist movements of India

References

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