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Peace Accords: Determinants of the Process to End Conflict - A Case Study of the State of Assam, India

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Author Affiliations

  • 1Centre for Development and Peace Studies, 176 Rajgarh Road, Guwahati-781007, India
  • 2University of Science and Technology, Baridua, Meghalaya-793101, India

Int. Res. J. Social Sci., Volume 5, Issue (9), Pages 45-51, September,14 (2016)

Abstract

For several decades now, insurgency and violence has been a continued problem in Assam and its neighbouring states in the north-eastern India. Insurgency rebellion came to forefront in Assam with the birth of the United Liberation Front of Asom in 1979 with their demand of a sovereign state. This was followed by the ethnic rebellion by the Bodos in western Assam with whom the government has already signed two peace accords and yet the issue still remains boiling. Several other ethnic rebellions raised head creating turmoil in the state with different demands, including statehood and autonomous territorial councils. Two more peace accords were signed with insurgent groups called the United People’s Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) and the Dima Halam Daogah (DHD)—both belonging to the two hill districts of Assam. It has been observed by analysts and researchers that in spite of the peace accords signed, peace has not been prevailed in the concerned areas as breakaway factions are carrying out violence on one side while those who had been parties to the peace agreements are becoming restive as accord implementation is facing obstacles, many times implementation of most of the provisions are not even initiated. While peace processes are initiated and carried out with the objective to end conflict, signing of a peace accord should not be viewed as end to conflict. In fact, the framing of a peace accord and its implementation plays a decisive role in the process of ending an insurgency conflict. This paper gives an introduction to the peace accords signed in the state of Assam, the factors for their failure or success as well as brings a comparison with the Mizo Accord which has been considered as uniquely successful in bringing peace to Mizoram, one of the states in the Northeast.

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