South Asia Terrorism Portal
Assam: Balancing Ethnic Antagonisms Giriraj Bhattacharjee Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
On January 30, 2020, at least 1,615 cadres of four factions of the Bodo militant formation, the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), surrendered arms at a ceremony held in Guwahati in Kamrup (Metro) District. Those who surrendered included 836 from the Dhiren Bodo faction of NDFB (NDFB-DB), and the Gobinda Basumatary led Pro-Talks faction (NDFB-PTF); 579 from the Ranjan Daimary faction (NDFB-RD); and 200 from the Saoraigwra faction (NDFB-S). Significantly, the 1,615 surrendered militants deposited just 178 weapons and 4,803 rounds of live ammunition.
Earlier, on January 27, 2020, Union Home Minister (UHM) Amit Shah, after the signing of the 'Bodo Accord' when asked about the prospects of NDFB militant cadres, had clarified,
A Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) between Union Government, the Assam State Government, representatives of the four NDFB factions and civil society groups [the All Bodo Students' Union (ABSU) and United Bodo People's Organization (UBPO)] was signed on January 27, 2020. UHM Amit Shah later observed,
The newly enunciated Government position is clearly contradictory to the stand taken not so long ago, especially with regard to the NDFB-S. On July13, 2018, the then Minister of State (MoS) in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju, when asked about discussions with outfits like NDFB-S, had said that there is no question of talks with NDFB-S, as it was involved in December 2014 Adivasi massacre which had resulted in the death of 69 people.
Meanwhile, an unnamed ABSU leader later said, “It is not mentioned anywhere in the settlement that the ABSU will give up the statehood demand.”
The raison d'être of the accord, according to astute observers of the region, is the ongoing protests against CAA. Protests broke out in Assam, many including violence, since the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 (CAA 2019) on December 12, 2019. During the protests, five civilians were killed in four different incidents in Assam. Indefinite curfew/night curfew was enforced in seven cities/towns/Districts of Assam – Kamrup (Metro), Dibrugarh, Sonitpur Jorhat, Golaghat, Tinsukia and Charaideo. Internet services were also suspended to contain the situation. Though these restrictions were progressively reduced as the situation improved, civil society groups led by the All Assam Student’s Union (AASU) and artists continue their protests, demanding revocation of CAA. Earlier, protests erupted across Assam before and after the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019 (CAB 2019) in the Lok Sabha on January 8, 2019. To mark their disapproval of the Bill, different ethnic and students’ organizations enforced bandhs (shutdown strike), road and rail blockade across different parts of the State. Violence during some of these protests led to loss of property, though no casualty/fatality was reported. This round of protests died down when the Bill lapsed with the term of 16th Lok Sabha, on May 26, 2019.
Protesting groups are agitated that CAA ‘violates’ the Assam Accord of 1985 and nullifies the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise. The Supreme Court-monitored updating of the NRC was completed on August 30, 2019. In the final published NRC list, 1.9 million (1,906,657 in total) persons failed to make it into the register. The first NRC draft had been published on December 31, 2017, and had left out 14 million people. The second list, termed as the ‘complete draft’, was published on July 30, 2018, and included approximately 28 million (28,983,677 in total), leaving out four million (4,043,984) people. Earlier, on June 26, 2019, an additional draft exclusion list, containing the names of 102,462 persons, was announced.
On January 28, 2020, eminent Political Scientist Sanjib Baruah noted, "Managing the opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Act appears to be the primary motive behind the latest Bodo accord." He further observed that the decision might lead to conflict between Bodos and non-Bodos residing in the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC)/ Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) areas,
Predictably, on January 27, 2020, a 12-hour Assam bandh (shutdown strike) called by various non-Bodo organizations in protest against the ‘Bodo Accord’ brought life to a standstill in the four Districts – Kokrajhar, Chirang, Udalguri, and Baksa– under BTC, soon to be BTR.
Further, the Karbi Students’ Association (KSA) and the Dimasa Students’ Union (DSU) have decided to oppose the government’s move to expedite the decision of granting Scheduled Tribes (ST)-Hills status to Bodo tribesman, arguing that it will “infringe upon the rights” enjoyed by the Karbi and Dimasa people of the three Hills Districts of West Karbi Anglong, Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao.
Elsewhere, major communities such as the Adivasis (tribal communities originally drawn from outside the State, principally as labour for tea plantations, also referred to as 'tea tribals') and Koch Rajbongshis are also agitated by apprehensions relating to CAA, BTR and the failure to grant ST status to them. On January 13, 2020, the All Koch Rajbongshi Students' Union (AKRSU) issued a statement asserting,
On January 2, 2020, the Doomdooma unit (Tinsukia District) of the Assam Tea Tribes Students' Association (ATTSA) Secretary, Irot Tanti, stated:
The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill 2019 that will enlist Adivasis and Koch Rajbongshis into the ST list, is yet to be introduced in Lok Sabha (lower House of Parliament); it was introduced in Rajya Sabha on January 8,2019. The bill when passed will provide ST status to Tai Ahom, Chutia, Moran and Muttock apart from Adivasis and Koch Rajbongshis. Against the backdrop of anti-CAA agitation, State Government on December 21, 2019, announced the creation of three new autonomous councils for Moran, Muttock and Koch-Rajbongshi (of undivided Goalpara District) communities and to accord constitutional status to the six existing tribal Autonomous Councils (AC). The six Autonomous Councils are Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council (RHAC), Mising Autonomous Council (MAC), Tiwa Autonomous Council (TAC), Deori Autonomous Council (DAC), Thengal Kachari Autonomous Council (TKAC) and Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Council (SKAC). Presently, Moran, Muttock and Koch-Rajbongshi are also part of community centric-Development Councils.
The existing ST groups (divided into ST-Plains and ST-Hills), however, remain opposed to any further inclusion of these six communities into the existing list fearing loss of 'limited rights' and 'privileges'. The existing 14 ST-Plains groups include the Bodo, Rabha, Tiwa, Karbi, Dimasa, Mising, Sonowal, Hajong, Garo and Deori tribes have always viewed such move as "a conspiracy to destroy/exterminate the existing STs of Assam". On December 28, 2019, Coordination Committee of Tribal Organisations, Assam (CCTOA), group representing existing ST (plains), 'convener' Aditya Khaklary said,
Another contentious issue is the definition of Assamese to implement the Clause 6 of the 1985 Assam Accord. In July 2019, UMHA had setup a high-level committee under the chairmanship of Justice (Retd.) Biplab Kumar Sarma to look into the issue; the committee is expected to submit its findings to the Ministry by February 17, 2020. In the vital clause 6 of Assam Accord, Government had promised appropriate level of reservations in employment in the government for the Assamese people. Notably, there is a lack of consensus of various groups on who is an ‘indigenous’ resident of the State? For instance, according to the All Assam Kochari Samaj (AAKS), an organization representing ‘real sons-of-the-soil’ asserts, “The constitutional safeguard should ideally be for the Kachari people of Assam, not the Assamese, and we have made this clear to the Centre.” Kochari Samaj largely represents the Bodo-Kachari ethnic groups inhabiting the State. On the other hand, Assam Public Work (APW), a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), that spearheaded several legal struggles to identify ‘foreigners’ in the State maintains, “…Nepali, Bangladeshi, European and Chinese origin living in Assam prior to July 19, 1948, and their descendants are Assamese...
Other measures announced by the State Government like urging Union Government to pass an amendment to Article 345 of the Constitution to declare Assamese language as the state language for eternity (except in BTR and Barak valley), state government jobs only for those with Assamese language skills and legislation ensuring “land of the indigenous people remain with the indigenous population”. The Bodo accord also assures protection of land belonging to Tribal even outside the Tribal Belts and Blocks. Further, crucial questions regarding the fate of those citizens excluded due to the spate of measures announced has largely slipped into the background.
These issues of illegal immigration and CAA/CAB kept the State on edge through the year, though the level of insurgency-linked violence came down dramatically. According to partial data compiled by South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), through 2019, the State accounted for a total of three fatalities (one civilian and two militants) as against 22 fatalities (eight civilians, one trooper and 11 militants) recorded in 2018, registering a decline of 86.3 per cent in total fatalities as compared to 2018. Two fatalities (both militants) have been recorded in the State, so far, in 2020.
Significantly, in 2019, the State registered the lowest ever total insurgency-related fatalities since 1992 [the year from which SATP data is available] on year on year basis. The previous low of 22 fatalities was recorded in 2018.Fatalities were at peak in 1998 when it stood at 783 (531 civilians, 72 Security Force, SF, personnel, and 180 militants).
Remarkably, for the first time since 1992, not a single trooper was killed in the state in insurgency related violence. The lowest recorded fatality under this category was in 2015 and 2018 when one SF fatality each was recorded in both these years. The maximum number of SF fatality, 87, was recorded in 1996.Civilian fatality again at was at its lowest at one in 2019. The previous low of six fatalities was recorded in this category in 2017. Maximum number of 302 civilian fatalities was recorded in 1996.
Other indicators also demonstrate a decline in violence. No major incident (resulting in three or more fatalities) was reported in 2019, as against one incident in 2018, resulting in five fatalities (all civilians). There were a maximum of 30 major incidents resulting in 224 fatalities 146 civilians, 13 SF and 65 militants) in 2008.
Continuing the pressure, the SFs arrested 176 militants in 2018 in addition to 173 arrested in 2018. Moreover, 304 militants surrendered before the authorities in 2019 as compared to 13 militants in 2018. On December 29, 2019, 220 militants of Bru Revolutionary Army of Union (BRAU) surrendered before the Police and 29th battalion of Assam Rifles in Medlicherra area under Karimganj District.
Assam has recovered from long drawn militancy, and politicizing the sensitive ‘foreigners’ issue for electoral benefits has led to the resurrection of old ghosts that in the first place were responsible for decades of ethnic turmoil. The situation in the State remains volatile due to CAA agitation and needs deft handling to address identity issues of various communities inhabiting the multi-ethnic state many a times in conflict to one another.
Stalled Justice S. Binodkumar Singh Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
On January 23, 2020, the newly appointed office bearers of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIEDP) took oath of office and secrecy in a programme organised at the Supreme Court in Kathmandu. Soon after, the newly sworn-in office-bearers of both the Commissions held a meeting with the Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal. Minister Dhakal urged the newly appointed members to fulfil their responsibilities in line with the essence of transitional justice and take the ongoing peace process of the country to its logical conclusion. He also assured the newly appointed members of the Government’s full support.
However, unconvinced by the Government's approach to the Transitional Justice (TJ) process, the conflict victims, on January 27, 2020, threatened to invite the international community, including the United Nations, to intervene in the 'botched' justice process. Bhagiram Chaudhary, Chairperson of the Conflict Victims' Common Platform (CVCP), an umbrella body of 13 organizations advocating justice for war-era victims, noted
The conflict victims have been demanding reforms in the existing TRC and CIEDP. On November 21, 2018, the CVCP adopted a 23-point Charter of Conflict Victims calling for meaningful participation of the victims themselves in the overall transitional justice process and related mechanisms.
The nominations of the office bearers had been submitted on January 18, 2020, by the five-member Recommendation Committee led by former Chief Justice Om Prakash Mishra. The Recommendation Committee had been formed on March 25, 2019, to nominate candidates for the chairpersons and members of the two TJ bodies. The Recommendation Committee recommended Ganesh Dutta Bhatta as chairperson of TRC and Yubraj Subedi as chairperson of CIEDP. Members of the TRC, include Prachanda Raj Pradhan, Mana Dahal, Bishnu Pokharel and Govinda Gautam. Similarly, members of the CIEDP include Gangadhar Adhikari, Sunil Ranjan Singh, Sarita Thapa and Bishnu Bhandari.
At the time of nomination as well, strong objections had been voiced regarding the process, with CVCP issuing a press release on January 19, 2020. The CVCP alleged that the recommendation committee had simply endorsed the names recommended by political parties that were indifferent to the pain and suffering of conflict victims. Arguing that the lack of initiative to amend the TJ Act was one of the major causes behind the failure of the two transitional justice bodies, CVCP asserted that the Recommendation Committee was ignoring the concerns of the conflict victims. CVCP further stated that the Committee had recommended party loyalists in the two TJ bodies without reviewing the causes of past failures of the two TJ bodies in addressing the concerns of the victims, and in investigating cases of human rights violations in an impartial and independent manner.
Earlier, presenting a memorandum to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Pradeep Gyawali on January 6, 2020, CVCP demanded that the TJ Act be amended on the basis of the Supreme Court's verdict of January 2, 2013, which states any amendment or new act should be drafted by a drafting task force including victims, experts and human rights activists. CVCP demanded that the process of appointment of members to the two TJ Commissions should start only after amendment of the Act. The conflict victims also dismissed the Government's consultations, held simultaneously in all seven provincial headquarters - Biratnagar, Janakpur, Hetauda, Pokhara, Butwal, Surkhet and Dhangadion January 13, 2020, as a sham. The consultations were held in two sessions - three hours with victims and another three hours with human rights defenders, civil society members, security forces and the media. Conflict victims and human rights defenders described the entire process as a farce. Badri KC, a conflict victim who was present at the consultation in Pokhara city of Kaski District, asserted,
Similarly, Shree Kumari Budha, whose father was killed by the Maoists in Thawang village of Rolpa District and who was present at the consultation in Butwal city of Rupandehi District, rued, “The discussion was just a formality. I am not at all hopeful about our concerns being incorporated in the Act”.
TRC and CIEDP were constituted on February 10, 2015, in accordance with the Commission on Investigation of Disappeared Persons, Truth and Reconciliation Act 2014 (TRC Act) , to probe instances of serious violations of human rights and to determine the status of those who disappeared, during the course of the armed conflict between the State and the then Communist Party of Nepal–Maoist (CPN-Maoist), between February 13, 1996, and November 21, 2006, the day of the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement 2006.The TRC and the CIEDP were vacant since April 13, 2019, as their members were retired. Earlier, despite the tenures of the TRC and CIEDP having been extended twice, the TRC has barely completed preliminary investigations into some 2,800 among the 63,000 cases filed, and is yet to complete a detailed probe into a single case. CIEDP, which received some 3,000 complaints, has completed preliminary investigation into just about 500, but has also failed to launch a single detailed investigation.
Moreover, TRC and CIEDP have fallen short of international standards, both in their constitution and operation, despite repeated orders by the Supreme Court of Nepal. On January 2, 2014, the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional the TRC Ordinance adopted in 2013 by the Maoist-led Government, which provides for amnesties to persons deemed responsible for serious human rights abuses during the country’s civil war of 1996-2006. However, the Government effectively ignored the Court order and promulgated the TRC Act into law on May 11, 2014. Once again, on February 26, 2015, the Supreme Court struck down the amnesty provision in the TRC Act.
As a result, pressure from the international community has also been mounting on the Nepal Government to ensure transparency and proper consultation before selecting officials for the two TJ commissions. Urging the Government to publicly clarify its plans to take the transitional justice process forward in 2019, Kathmandu-based diplomatic missions of Australia, Germany, the European Union, Finland, France, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the United Nations, in a Press release on January 24, 2019, observed,
Similarly, expressing serious concern over the selection process of the new leadership in the two transitional justice commissions and the delay in amending the TRC Act, five United Nations special rapporteurs sent a letter addressed to Minister of Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali on April 12, 2019. In the 10-page letter, sent through Nepal's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, the rapporteurs stated that the existing selection procedure lacks impartiality, independence and transparency. Separately, issuing a joint press statement, four international rights organizations - the International Commission of Jurists, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and TRIAL International - on November 26, 2019, stated,
Meanwhile, the Nepal Government, on March 12, 2019, banned the Netra Bikram Chand aka Biblab-led Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-Maoist-Chand) following a series of explosions that took place at ‘Ncell’ telecommunication towers and other public places across the country. Upholding the order, the Government, took strong action against the CPN-Maoist-Chand in 2019. According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), 13 CPN-Maoist-Chand insurgents, including one District in-charge, were killed across the country in various operations in 2019. No insurgency-linked fatality was reported in the country between 2014-2018. Also, 173 leaders and cadres of the outfit were arrested across the country in 2019. 47 CPN-Maoist-Chand cadres were arrested in 2018 and 21 in 2017. CPN-Maoist-Chand was formed on December 1, 2014, after splitting from the Communist Party of Nepal (Revolutionary Maoist) headed by Mohan Baidya.
Hardening the Government's stand further, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Ishwar Pokharel, talking to media persons at Biratnagar Airport on July 22, 2019, observed that the Government would take the process for talks with CPN-Maoist-Chand group forward only if the group gave up arms and violent activities. Similarly, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Gokul Prasad Baskota, speaking at a regular press meet at Singha Durbar, Kathmandu, on October 24, 2019, declared that the Government would not lift the ban on CPN-Maoist-Chand. Baskota, however, urged the outfit to shun violence and come for talks. He also urged the underground group to enter peaceful mainstream politics by abiding by the Constitution. He stated, further, that the demand for the release of arrested cadres of the group could not be addressed at any cost until the party came up with a peaceful compromise.
The Nepal Government is using its full capacity to curb the activities of CPN-Maoist-Chand. There are no signs of the Government backing off on its clampdown against the recalcitrant group, as it continues to reject calls for unconditional surrender. With a two-thirds majority in Parliament, the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has the mandate and a golden opportunity to consolidate the stability the country currently enjoys. However, 14 years after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement which formally ended the war in Nepal, the mere extension of the terms of TRC and CIEDP is likely to prolong the justice process without meaningfully improving the chances of victims to secure justice, truth and accountability. Justice will continue to evade the victims of the protracted conflict in Nepal.
Weekly Fatalities: Major Conflicts in South Asia January 27-February 2, 2020
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Violent attacks increased in the last quarter of 2019 as compared to 2018, reveals latest SIGAR report: Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), in its latest report, records marked increase in violent attacks in Afghanistan in the last quarter of 2019 compared with previous years. According to a SIGAR report released on January 31, 2020; there were 8,204 attacks between October and December 2019 - up from 6,974 in the same period in 2018. Al Jazeera, February 2, 2020.
ANSF will not allow further expansion of Taliban operations in Northern Provinces, states NSA Hamdullah Mohib: On January 27, National Security Advisor (NSA) Hamdullah Mohib, said that the Taliban are seeking to take over some areas in the Northern provinces and the Afghan National Security Forces will not allow the militants to control more areas in the north. Tolo News, January 29, 2020.
Tripartite Bodo Accord signed in Assam: Government of India (GoI) on January 27 signed the Bodo Accord putting an end to decades long movement for a Bodoland state. The Accord rechristened the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD) to Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) with additional political and economic bonanza. The accord also made Bodo language the official associate language of the state besides Assamese. The Telegraph, January 28, 2020.
1,615 NDFB militants surrender in Assam: On January 30, 1,615 cadres of four different factions of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) surrendered in Guwahati in Kamrup Metropolitan District of Assam. Those who surrendered included 836 from the Dhiren Bodo faction of NDFB (NDFB-DB), and the Gobinda Basumatary led Pro-Talks faction (NDFB-PTF); 579 from the Ranjan Daimary faction (NDFB-RD); and 200 from the Saoraigwra faction (NDFB-S). A total of 178 arms and 4,803 live ammunition were deposited by the surrendered militants". East Mojo, January 31, 2020.
Maoists form new 'Central Committee' with a majority of members from Telangana: The Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) has formed a new 'Central Committee, (CC)' with a majority of the members hailing from Telangana. As per the report, the new 'CC' has 21 members and out of which 10 are from Telangana, four from Jharkhand, two each from Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal and one from Bihar. The Indian Express, January 29, 2020.
SFJ changes stance on 'referendum': The Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) has changed its nomenclature from "Sikh Referendum 2020" to "Punjab Referendum 2020". As per the report, the SFJ circulated posters on social media, extending the programme to all communities and invited members of other religions, besides Dalits to join the movement. The Punjab Police and Intelligence Officials said that the SFJ had abandoned the 'Sikh Referendum' movement and shifted its stance after it got no response from the Sikh community over its separatist agenda". The Tribune, January 17, 2020.
ULFA-I to join talks only if 'sovereignty' was main agenda, states ULFA-I 'chief' Paresh Baruah: United Liberation Front of Assam-Independent (ULFA-I) 'chief' Paresh Baruah on January 28, stated that the outfit would only join talks if sovereignty was the main agenda. In a telephonic interview, he said the outfit would join talks only if there are no formalities, talks are held in an atmosphere of trust and sovereignty was the 'one-point agenda' on the table".Hindustan Times, January 29, 2020.
Freedom of expression is under attack and transitional justice stalled in Nepal, says Amnesty International: Amnesty International in its annual human rights report on January 30 said that freedom of expression is under attack and transitional justice stalled in Nepal. The rights group has pointed out that the Government made arbitrary arrests of journalists for criticising the Government and individuals online. It has also criticised the attempts of incumbent KP Sharma Oli administration for introducing different laws that are targeted at curtailing the right to freedom of expression. Kathmandu Post, February 1, 2020.
Constitution amendment is essential in achieving goal of ethnic liberation, NCP Chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal: Chairperson of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Pushpa Kamal Dahal speaking during an oath-taking ceremony of the party's sister organization Federation of Indigenous Nationalities Nepal in the capital Kathmandu on January 27 said that the constitution amendment is essential in achieving the goal of ethnic liberation. Dahal said "Suppressed class, marginalized groups and communities are still not completely liberated; therefore, their concerns will be addressed through constitution amendment after having a broader national political consensus. My Republica, February 1, 2020.
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