From Our Kokrajhar Bureau
Kokrajhar (Assam),Jan 27: With the signing of historic Bodo accord in New Delhi on Monday, militancy has come to an end in the Bodoland Territorial areas as four factions of the National Democratic Front of Boroland and All Bodo Students Union are signatories in the accord.
With the sole purpose of ushering in of peace in Bodo-dominated areas here , the government on Monday signed an accord with the dreaded insurgent group National Democratic Front of Boroland.
Celebrations have started in different parts of the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD) here after the centre and the Assam government on Monday signed an accord with Bodo insurgent groups.
The Bodo community here celebrated the occasion by dancing, bursting of crackers in Kokrajhar and other parts of the BTAD area.
The existing Bodoland Territorial Council(BTC) will be renamed as Bodoland Territorial Region(BTR) after signing of the tripartite political agreement in New Delhi in presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah,chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal,BTC chief Hagrama Mohilary,leaders from All Bodo Students Union(ABSU) and leaders from four factions of National Democratic Front of Boroland(NDFB).
January 27 will regarded as the historic day as the third Bodo accord was signed to pave way for more development and welfare in the the region after all the four factions of the NDFB have signed the accord to bring unity and tranquility amongst the society.
The Bodo accord materialised due to the bold initiative taken by the BJP led NDA government to solve the Bodo as well as NDFB issues through the political dialogue.
The Bodo accord will ensure the political rights of the Bodo community as well as ensure protection of the non- Bodos in the region.
Bodos from all walks of life welcomed and have started their celebration to welcome the newly signed accord with traditional Kham,Sifung and danced away to glory .
ABSU president Pramod Boro has welcomed the accord and termed it as historic for the Bodo community .
Several higher educational institutions including central university,NERIMS,cancer hospital,medical colleges etc are going to be set up in the region as per the accord.
“The newly signed Bodo accord will ensure an arms free society in Bodo belts”,said noted educationist Krishna Gopal Basumatary.
While welcoming the Bodo accord he added that it would pave the way more integrity and welfare among the common masses in the region.
“I wholeheartedly welcome and hail the signatories for scripting new chapter in the history of the Bodo political arena”,he said .
Noted social activist and retired principal of Kokrajhar Govt College,Surath Narzary welcomed the accord through which would usher in development in the region .
Assam Social welfare minister Pramila Rani Brahma said that the newly signed Bodo accord will halt all kinds of militant activities in the region.She extended her sincere thanks to the BJP led NDA government,Union Home Minister Amit Shah,chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal,BTC chief Hagrama Mohilary and Bodo leaders who have ensured the signing of the accord.
Various organisations and parties including , ABSU,Bodo Sahitya Sabha,BTC region All Assam Bengali Youth Student’s Federation have greeted the Bodo leaders and welcomed the Bodo accord.
Soon after the agreement was signed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it would usher in a new dawn of peace, harmony and togetherness.
“Today is a very special day for India. The Accord with Bodo groups, which has been inked today will lead to transformative results for the Bodo people.
“Bodo Accord inked today stands out for many reasons. It successfully brings together the leading stakeholders under one framework. Those who were previously associated with armed resistance groups will now be entering the mainstream and contributing to our nation’s progress,” Modi said in a series of tweets.
Assam cabinet minister and NEDA Chief Himanta Biswa Sarma said as per the accord, 1,550 militants belonging to the NDFB lay down their arms on January 30, an economic programme of Rs 1,500 crore will be implemented in the next three years with contribution of Rs 750 crore each from the central and state governments.
A total of 1,550 cadres of NDFB(P), NDFB(RD) and NDFB(S) will be rehabilitated by the central and state governments.
Sarma said the existing structure of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) will be strengthened with more powers and its seats will be expanded from 40 to 60.
A commission will be set up for inclusion of Bodo-dominated villages in the BTC and exclusion of those where Bodos are not in majority.
This is the third Bodo accord to be signed in 27 years.
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.
In 2003, the second accord was signed with the militant group Bodo Liberation Tigers, leading to formation of a Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) with four districts of Assam — Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baska and Udalguri — called Bodoland Territorial Area District (BTAD).
As per the accord, the name of BTAD will be changed to Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) and it will have more executive, administrative, legislative and financial powers.
The BTC currently has control over 30 subjects such as education, forests, horticulture but no jurisdiction over the police, revenue and general administration departments, which are controlled by the Assam government.
( With additional inputs from our Delhi Bureau )
