Centre and Tripura sign pact with 2 insurgent outfits; over 328 rebels to shun guns

“Today’s settlement is the 12th settlement for the Northeast and the third related to Tripura. As of now, 10,000 insurgents have surrendered, shunned their arms and returned to the mainstream,” said Shah, adding that the Central Government has sanctioned a Rs 250-crore package to support the rebels’ transition.

“Since he became prime minister, Narendra Modi has espoused a vision of a developed Northeast. There was a big distance between the people of Northeast and Delhi,” he said, adding that Modi had not only bridged the distance through railways, roads and airways but also brought people’s hearts together.
Shah also cited the agreement signed with Bru migrants in 2020.

“Thousands of Brus are living in nice houses and their children are going to school. They are thinking of employment. They also have access to over 300 centrally sponsored schemes,” he said.

The previous agreements he referred to include the 2019 NLFT peace accord, the agreement for Bru migrants’ permanent resettlement in Tripura, the 2020 Boro Accord in Assam in 2020, the 2021 Karbi Peace Accord in Assam, Adivasi Accord, the 2022 Assam-Meghalaya interstate boundary agreement, the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh interstate boundary agreement, the Dimasa peace accord, the UNLF accord and the 2023 ULFA Accord. Pradyot Kishore thanked the Union home minister.

“Hard work and perseverance always pays off! An era of non-violence and insurgency-free Tripura is on the horizon! I thank the home minister and the officials who patiently negotiated an honourable peace deal with the NLFT and ATTF. There are many more who worked silently behind the scenes for the past one year and a half. I am glad that all of them have managed to convince the organisations that the path of guns will never bring constitutional solutions. We have to engage and articulate our pain in a civil manner. I also thank the home minister and his entire team for also keeping faith in me during this process. Jai Hind. Long live Tiprasa Dopha,” he wrote on Facebook.

Although armed struggle in Tripura dates back to 1967, when a small outfit called Sengkrak took up arms, the thick of insurgency came in the late ’80s, when a series of insurgent groups including the NLFT and the ATTF rose. While most of these have largely been defunct, a small faction of the NLFT is said to be active in Bangladesh.

Insurgency largely came down during the Left Front government’s rule when lucrative offers of an instant grant of Rs 1.5 lakh, vocational training and a Rs 2,000 stipend prompted insurgents to give up arms.

Chief Minister Saha also thanked Modi and Shah. “A dozen peace agreements have been signed in the Northeast in the last 10 years to resolve many of the complex issues. Of these, there have been three agreements in Tripura so far. It is a matter of great satisfaction that members of the NLFT and the ATTF have decided to join the mainstream to participate in the development journey,” the chief minister said.

“There are many schemes, both of the Central and the Tripura Governments, that have been transforming the lives of sections of people in Tripura, including the janajati brothers. The future of Tripura is bright under the visionary leadership of the PM and guidance of the home minister,” he added.