Kokrajhar, Dec 06: The Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) today achieved its goal for a separate administrative wing for Bodo people through the creation of an autonomous territorial council of Bodoland in lower Assam at the end of its struggle since 1996. With the surrender of BLT cadres before the Union minister of state for home affairs Swami Chinmayanand here and disbanding the militant outfit, the rebels ended their battle getting an autonomous council instead of a separate Bodoland. Since its inception on August 18, 1996, the ultras concentrated in jungles and dodged security forces to indulge in large-scale attacks on ethnic groups, including the Santhals, within the Bodo areas for three years demanding a separate Bodoland curving out of Assam. The BLT also fought for the Bodos of Karbi Anglong district to be included in the sixth schedule granting them scheduled tribe status. After a three-year-long armed struggle, the outfit in 1999 unilaterally announced a ceasefire responding to the state and central governments' offer for talks to fulfil the Bodo peoples' aspirations for preserving their cultural identity and language, promotion of education and development of economy. Following a series of talks among the BLT and the two governments the ceasefire was formally agreed to in March 2000 and subsequently extended to February 2003. On February 10 this year, a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) was signed by the BLT leaders, Assam and central governments paving the way for creation of the self- governing Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC).
Bureau Report