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Hmar People's Convention- Democracy
Formation
Hmar
People's Convention- Democracy (HPC-D) is an offshoot of the Hmar People's
Convention (HPC), which came into existence in 1986, as a political
party spearheading a movement for self-government in the north and northeast
of Mizoram. The Hmars, who according to the 1991 census, were 12,535
in number in Mizoram, were disappointed with the contents of the Mizo
Peace Accord of 1986, which failed to address their demand of a
'Greater Mizoram' integrating all areas inhabited by Hmars in Mizoram,
Assam and Manipur under a single administrative unit. Since April 1987,
the HPC waged an armed struggle for autonomy, which touched extreme
levels of violence towards 1991. Hmar cadres abducted tea executives
and triggered off a spate of extortions in the Hmar inhabited areas
of the States of Mizoram, Assam and Manipur.
In
1992, HPC representatives and the Government of Mizoram mutually agreed
to hold ministerial level talks. Consequent to nine rounds of such talks,
a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) was signed at the Mizoram capital Aizawl
on July 27, 1994, for establishing the 'Sinlung Development Council'
and subsequently, 308 HPC militants surrendered along with their arms.
However,
dissatisfied with the implementation process, a section of the cadres
parted ways with the over ground HPC and formed the HPC-D in 1995.
Objective
The
purported objective of the outfit over the years has changed from an
autonomous district covering the north and northeast Mizoram to an independent
Hmar State (Hmar ram) consisting of the Hmar inhabited areas of Mizoram,
Manipur and Assam.
Leadership
The
outfit's 'commander-in-chief' is Lalrupui. Its military wing is headed
by Laltuolien Hmar. While Lalbieknunga functions as its 'deputy commander-in-chief',
Lalrawngbawl Pulamte is the 'information and publicity secretary' of
the outfit. The cadre strength of the outfit is estimated to be between
100 and 150.
In July 2003 during the Hmar-Dimasa conflict in the North Cachar (NC)
Hills district of Assam, the HPC-D formed an armed wing, the Hnam Santu
(Hmar Protection Cell), under the leadership of 'chief commander' Laltuolien
Hmar, to protect the interests of the Hmars from the alleged onslaught
of the DHD. The outfit conducted a successful recruitment drive and
inducted several young Hmar boys and girls from across the NC Hills
and Cachar district into the newly formed cell.
Areas
of Operation
The
outfit is active primarily in Mizoram; the Hmar inhabited areas of Churachandpur
district in Manipur, and the Cachar (with base camps in the Bhuban hill
range) and North Cachar Hills districts of Assam.
Often,
the outfit has used the Bhuban hill range in Cachar district and the
Jinam valley area of the North Cachar hills located at the intersection
of Manipur, Nagaland and Assam to set up base camps and plan operations.
Source
of Funding
The
outfit collects 'protection fees' from the timber mafia in the Cachar
district of Assam. Substantial funds are also reportedly generated in
foreign countries, notably in the United States, by protagonists of
the struggle in the name of protecting Hmar Christians.
There
are also reports that the outfit collects protection money from the
Hmar tribals.
Arms
& Explosives
Over
the years, the HPC-D militants have gained access to sophisticated arms
like rifles of the AK series, assault rifles of the G3 series and explosives.
However,
access to such sophisticated arms is still limited and majority of the
outfit's cadres use SBBL single barrel guns, and ordinary country made
rifles and pistols.
Linkages
with Other Groups
HPC-D,
since its formation, has aligned with several insurgent groups active
in India’s northeast. In its formative years, it maintained a cordial
relationship with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN),
which allegedly provided it with arms and training. It has also carried
out attacks with the support of the Manipur-based outfit, the People's
Liberation Army (PLA).
In
May 2001, the HPC-D joined the Indigenous People's Revolutionary Alliance
(IPRA) - a platform of the five Zo ethnic militant groups: the Zomi
Reunification Organisation (ZRO), two factions of the Kuki National
Front, the KNF-P and KNF-MC, the Kuki National Army (KNA)
and the HPC-D. However, at least two incidents of internecine clashes
were reported between the HPC-D and the ZRA, the armed wing of the ZRO,
during 2004 in the Churachandpur district of Manipur. This finally led
to the signing of a ‘truce agreement’ between both these outfits on
April 7, 2004, at an unspecified location in Manipur.
Over
the years, the HPC-D has also maintained links with other Hmar militant
outfits. In July 1998, the HPC-D joined hands with the Hmar Revolutionary
Force (HRF).
The
outfit is also believed to have maintained strategic links with the
Bru National Liberation Front (BNLF), a Mizoram-based
group.
In
Assam, the HPC-D is known to have some linkages with certain Islamist
terrorist outfits.
Major incidents involving
HPC-D
2008
2007
-
September 8: A militant of the Hmar National Army
outfit, identified as Lalsaun, is shot dead by suspected militants
belonging to the rival HPC-D at Saiden in the Churachandpur district
of Manipur. His dead body is recovered from the incident site a
day later.
-
September 7: The 'information secretary' of the
HPC-D, Lalrawngbawla Pulamte, surrenders before the Mizoram government.
He was reportedly brought by police personnel from Silchar in the
Cachar district of Assam to capital Aizawl in Mizoram.
-
January 11: The HPC-D asks for involvement of the
Union Government in peace talks between the outfit and the Mizoram
Government. "If there is any negotiation to discuss the fulfillment
of the provisions of the 1994 accord signed between the Mizoram
government and the HPC, the Centre must intervene," a note by the
outfit said.
-
January 5: Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga delegates
Charlton Lien Amo, a legislator from Manipur, as the representative
to negotiate with the HPC-D. Amo, belonging to the Hmar community,
was elected from Tipaimukh Assembly constituency in Manipur twice.
-
January 2: The Mizoram Government initiates negotiations
with the HPC-D. The Government is to send representatives to the
outfit, which operates in Mizoram, Manipur and Assam's Cachar and
North Cachar Hills districts, to evaluate its demands.
2006
-
March 13: The HPC-D refutes the accusation
made by the UNLF of its involvement in the displacement of Hmar
people from Manipur.
-
March 11: The HPC-D accuses the KCP
of its involvement along with the UNLF in the assault on Hmar women
and extortion of money from the Hmar civilians in Churachandpur
district of Manipur.
-
February 2: Hmar and Paite tribesmen,
who were forced out by militants along the Assam-Mizoram border,
are reported to have returned to their homes at Thanlon and Parbung
in the Churachandpur district. Nearly 1,000 villagers had reportedly
fled their homes following a clash between the UNLF and HPC-D in
January 2006.
-
January 27: The ‘information and publicity
secretary’ of HPC-D, R. Pulamte, while rejecting the ‘accusation’
of UNLF that his outfit is responsible for the 'torture' of villagers
of Parbung and Tipaimukh subdivisions in the Churachandpur district,
says that the Barak river region has been the main source of income
and means of livelihood for the people of Tipaimukh, "but since
UNLF’s ‘occupation’ of the region, heavy ‘taxes’ on all items/commodities
pertaining to the Hmars without the ‘consent’ of the HPC-D had paved
way for the deteriorating relationship between the UNLF and the
Hmar outfit."
-
January 23: UNLF ‘accuses’ the HPC-D,
of ‘conniving’ with the SFs and ‘harassing’ the villagers of Parbung
and Tipaimukh sub-divisions in Churachandpur district, forcing them
to flee to the neighbouring State of Mizoram.
-
January 7: Two suspected HPC-D cadres
are killed in an encounter with UNLF militants at Damdei under Parbung
police station in the Churachandpur district.
2005
-
November 4: HPC-D serves extortion
notes on several persons in Mizoram’s Vairangte village demanding
a portion of their salaries. The notes, written in Hmar dialect,
say that five per cent of the salary for October is to be paid to
the outfit by November 15.
-
March 2: A HPC-D cadre is killed by
security force personnel during a counter insurgency operation in
the Churachandpur district of Manipur.
2004
-
July 26: Suspected HPC-D militants attack a security outpost at
Sonai block in the Cachar district of Assam.
-
June 12: Six
persons including officials, employees and two guards of a cement
manufacturing company, are abducted by a group of suspected HPC-D
cadres in the North Cachar Hills district.
-
April 7: The
HPC-D and the Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA) sign a ‘truce agreement’
during a meeting held at the residence of L B Sona, chairman of
the Zomi Council, at an unspecified location in Manipur.
-
March 31: Two
HPC-D cadres are killed during an internecine clash between the
HPC-D and ZRA at Rengkai village in the Churachandpur district of
Manipur.
-
March 28: A
HPC-D militant is killed in an internecine clash with ZRA militants
at Renki in the Churachandpur district of Manipur.
-
January 16:
An unidentified terrorist is killed during an encounter between
the Army and suspected HPC-D and Naga terrorists at Moulin in the
North Cachar Hills district of Assam.
2003
-
November 21:
HPC-D in a press release refutes news reports regarding its involvement
in the abduction of three candidates for the State Legislative Assembly
Elections from Suangpuilawn constituency in Mizoram.
-
October 14:
Two suspected HPC-D cadres are arrested from the Hmarculin area
in Cachar district of Assam.
-
September 8:
Four HPC-D terrorists are killed and another is injured during an
encounter in the Jinam Valley area of North Cachar Hills district
of Assam.
- August 6: Remaining
two officials of the Government’s Public Welfare Department (PWD),
held captive by the anti-talks faction of the UPDS since July 8 are
set free.
- August 5: Alleged
plot of the HPC-D to set up a training camp in the jungles near Nagadum
village in Cachar district unearthed.
- August 2: Suspected
HPC-D terrorists blow up a bus that was being used in the Khuga dam
project at Senveg village in Manipur’s Churachandpur district by triggering
an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).
- July 17: Media
reports indicate formation of Hmar Hunam Santo (HHS) with links to
the HPC-D as counter outfit of the DHD in Assam.
-
July 4: A girl
is killed and a school and 25 Dimasa (tribe) dwellings are
set ablaze by suspected HPC-D terrorists in Berelang village, North
Cachar Hills district
-
July 1: Assam
Government appoints Justice P C Phukan of the Guwahati High Court
to probe into the inter-tribal clashes between Hmars and the Dimasas
in the North Cachar Hills and Cachar districts.
-
June 29: Four
HPC-D terrorists are arrested from the Marshakhal Punji area in
Cachar district of Assam.
-
June 20: Six
HPC-D terrorists are killed in an encounter with the security forces
at Phyleh village in Cachar district.
-
June 18: Suspected
HPC-D terrorists fire a Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) on a clubhouse
at Kumocheera under Lakhipur police station limits in Cachar district
where some members of the Dimasa community had gathered for a meeting.
-
June 17: Dimasa
Students’ Community at Guwahati demands that the Government should
flush out HPC-D terrorists from the State who are alleged to be
operating from the neighbouring States of Manipur and Mizoram.
-
June 16: An
estimated 70 HPC-D cadres set ablaze 50 houses in Dipucherra Dimasa
village in Cachar district. In an ensuing encounter with the police,
one militant is killed.
-
June 12: Police
recover 10 pipe-guns and two kilograms of gunpowder from a house
in Maiserpunji, a Hmar village in Cachar district, following an
attack on Dihankru, a Dimasa village in North Cachar Hills district,
by suspected HPC-D terrorists who set ablaze approximately 40 houses.
Visiting Ministerial team led by State Health Minister Bhumidhar
Barman recommends an immediate operation to flush out the HPC-D
terrorists from the North Cachar Hills district district.
HPC-D terrorists set ablaze approximately 15 Dimasa dwellings in
the Daudung and Duiyungkhro villages in North Cachar hills district.
-
June 10: Five
persons are killed and three others injured in a clash between suspected
HPC-D militants and security forces near Mahur in the North Cachar
Hills district.
-
June 9: Ten
HPC-D militants are arrested from Bitheipunji in the Cachar district
for their involvement in the killing of Dimasa tribals.
-
June 8: Two
women are killed and a dozen others injured in an attack by HPC-D
militants in Kalinagar village of Cachar district.
-
June 6: HPC-D
terrorists attack Lodi Basti, a Dimasa populated village, which
straddles Cachar and North Cachar Hills districts and kill three
tribals, including two women. The terrorists also set ablaze approximately
50 dwellings.
Three Dimasa youths are killed by suspected Hmar militants in the
North Cachar Hills district.
-
May 31: Suspected
HPC-D terrorists attack a village of the Dimasa tribes, Longreng
under Haflong police station limits in Assam’s North Cachar Hills
district, and kill two of them. Ten tribal dwellings are also set
ablaze.
-
May 7: Two Dima
Halim Daogah (DHD)
terrorists are killed in an encounter with HPC-D cadres at Retzol
in the Haflong town of North Cachar Hills district.
-
April 11: Six
HPC-D militants are arrested from the Sonai police station area
in Cachar district.
-
April 7: An
army personnel is killed in an encounter with suspected HPC-D militants
at Didkokcherra in the North Cachar Hills district.
-
March 31: 26
Dimasa villagers are killed by suspected HPC-D militants in Chekerchand
village of Cachar district.
-
February 24:
Three DHD cadres are abducted by HPC-D militants in the Cachar district.
1999
1998
- November: Three
HPC-D militants are arrested along with some arms in the North Cachar
hills district.
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