United Liberation Front of Assam

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United Liberation Front of Assam

Founder

Paresh Baruah

Chairman

Abhizeet Asom

Commander-in-Chief

Paresh Baruah

Founded

1979

Membership

10,000

Ideology

Assamese nationalism
separatism
Party flag

Website

archived version

United Liberation Front of Asom (Assamese: , ) is a separatist group

from Assam,[1] among many other such terrorist groups in North-East India.[2] It seeks to establish a
sovereign Assam via an armed struggle in the Assam conflict. Thegovernment of India banned the
organisation in 1990 citing it as a terrorist organization, [3] while the United States Department of
State lists it under "other groups of concern."[4]
ULFA claims to have been founded at the site of Rang Ghar on 7 April 1979,[1] a historic structure
from the Ahom kingdom. According to Sunil Nath, the ULFA established its relationships
with Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) in 1983 and with KIA, operating in Burma, in
1987. It initiated major violent activities in 1990. Military operations against it by the Indian Army that
began in 1990 continue until present. In the past two decades some 18,000 people have died in the
clash between the rebels and the security forces.[5] On 5 December 2009, the chairman and the
deputy commander-in-chief of ULFA fell into Indian custody.[6]
There has recently been a large ULFA crackdown in Bangladesh, which has significantly assisted
the government of India in bringing ULFA leaders to talks. In January 2010, ULFA softened its stand
and dropped the demand for independence as a condition for talks with the Government of India. [7]
On 3 September 2011, a tripartite agreement for Suspension of Operations (SoO) against ULFA was
signed between Indian Government, Assam government and ULFA.[8]
Contents
[hide]

1 Leaders
o

1.1 Founding leaders

1.2 Current leaders

2 History

3 ULFA according to itself

4 ULFA according to Government of India

5 Links to China

6 Major activities
o

6.1 Assassinations

6.2 Economic subversion

6.3 Recruitment

6.4 Political activities

6.5 Extortion

6.6 Organized criminal activities

6.7 Other activities

7 Surrenders

8 Secret killings of ULFA family members

9 Negotiations/talks

10 Renewed Peace Initiative

11 See also

12 Notes

13 References

14 External links

Leaders[edit]
Main article: List of top ULFA leaders

Founding leaders[edit]

Paresh Baruah

Arabinda Rajkhowa

Pradip Gogoi

Anup Chetia

Bhimkanta Buragohain

Paresh Baruah (Commander-in-Chief) spotted in Nagaland[9]

Arabinda Rajkhowa (Chairman), Released on bail

Pradip Gogoi (Vice-Chairman), Released on bail

Anup Chetia (General secretary) imprisoned in Bangladesh[10]

Raju Baruah (Deputy Commander-in-Chief), Released on bail

Current leaders[edit]

Mithinga Daimary (Publicity Secretary), Released on bail

Chitraban Hazarika (Finance Secretary), Released on bail

Pranati Deka (Cultural Secretary), Released on bail

Sashadhar Choudhury (Foreign Secretary), Released on bail

History[edit]
The ULFA was founded on 7 April 1979 in Sibsagar, Assam by some youths which included Paresh
Baruah, Arabinda Rajkhowa, Anup Chetia, Pradip Gogoi, Bhadreshwar Gohain and Budheswar
Gogoi. The organisation's purpose was to engage in an armed struggle to form a socialist Assam.
[citation needed]

Recruiting for the front did not begin until 1983. Soon after it finished recruitment in 1984, it began to
seek out training and arms procurement from other groups such as the Kachin Independence
Army(KIA) and the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland(NSCN). In 1986 it launched a fund
raising "campaign" across India by way of extortion. It then began to set up camps in Tinsukia and
Dibrugarh but was soon banned by New Delhi on 7 November, under the Unlawful Activities
(Prevention) Act of 1967.
In less than a decade of its formation, the Ulfa emerged as one of the most powerful and violent
insurgent outfit in Southeast Asia, largely because of the immense popularity it enjoyed during the
first decade of its struggle as well as its economic power which in turn helped it in bolstering its
military capabilities. In the early 1990s, ULFA launched an aggressive campaign with victims such as
security forces, political opponents, and blasting rail links. In July 1991 the front captured and held
14 people for ransom, included in the abductees was an engineer and a national of the Soviet Union.
From the 1990s on the ULFA have continued to carry out terrorist attacks. [11]

ULFA according to itself[edit]

[show]Organizations listed as terrorist groups
by India

The ULFA is a revolutionary political organisation engaged in a liberation struggle against state
terrorism and economic exploitation by India for the establishment of
a sovereign, independent Assam. It does not consider itself a secessionist organisation, as it claims
that Assam was never a part of India and as a matter of fact the Treaty of Yandaboo was signed in
1826 by General Sir Archibald Campbell on the British side, and by Governor of Legaing Maha Min
Hla Kyaw Htin from the Burmese side. With the British army at Yandabo village, only 50 miles from
the capital Ava, the Burmese were forced to accept the British terms without discussion.
According to the treaty, the Burmese agreed to (1) cede to the British Assam, Manipur, Rakhine
(Arakan), and Taninthayi (Tenasserim) coast south of Salween river, (2) cease all interference in
Cachar and Jaintia, (3) pay an indemnity of one million pounds sterling in four instalments, (4) allow
for an exchange of diplomatic representatives between Ava and Calcutta, and (5) sign a commercial
treaty in due course.
It claims that among the various problems that the people of Assam are confronting, the problem of
national identity is the most basic, and therefore it seeks to represent "independent minded
struggling peoples" irrespective of race, tribe, caste, religion and nationality.

ULFA according to Government of India[edit]

The Government of India (GOI) has classified it as a terrorist organisation and had banned it under
the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in 1990. Concurrently, GOI started military offensives against
it, named Operation Bajrang November 1990, Operation Rhino September 1991, Operation All Clear
December 2003 and Operation Rhino 2 led by theIndian Army. The anti insurgency operations still
continues at present under the Unified Command Structure.
The Government of India accuses ULFA of maintaining links with the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)
of Pakistan and the DGFI of Bangladesh, and waging a proxy war on their behalf against India.

Links to China[edit]
The outlawed group has been using China for shelter following mounting pressure from both Burma
and Bangladesh, in turn pressured by India. The outfits top commander, Paresh Baruah, is living
near the Sino-Burmese border looking for an alternative position for a hideout. There are 50 ULFA
militants holed up in Chinas Yunnan Province led by the group's Lt. Partha Jyoti Gogoi. [12]

Major activities[edit]
Assassinations[edit]
Some of the major assassinations by ULFA include that of Surendra Paul in May 1990, the brother of
businessman Lord Swraj Paul, that precipitated a situation leading to the sacking of the Government
of Assam under Prafulla Kumar Mahanta and the beginning of Operation Bajrang.
On the ULFAs Army Day on 16 March 2003, an IED explosion under a bus on National Highway No.
7 killed six civilians and wounded approximately 55 others. [11]
In 1991 a Russian engineer, and national of the Soviet Union was kidnapped along with others and
killed. In 1997, Sanjay Ghose, a social activist and a relative of a high ranking Indian diplomat, was
kidnapped and killed. The highest government officer assassinated by the group was
local AGP minister Nagen Sharma in 2000. An unsuccessful assassination attempt was made on
AGP Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta in 1997. A mass grave, discovered at a destroyed ULFA
camp in Lakhipathar forest, showed evidence of executions committed by ULFA.
ULFA continues to attempt ambushes and sporadic attacks on government security forces.
In 2003,the ULFA was accused of killing labourers from Bihar in response to an alleged molestation
of a Mizo girl in a train passing through Bihar. This incident sparked off anti-Bihari sentiment in
Assam, and ULFA saw it as an opportunity to regain its lost ground. The ULFA killed civilians of
Bihari origin who had been in Assam for generations, and had been assimilated in the greater
Assamese society.
In 2003, during a Railways Recruitment Board Examination for Group(D)posts conducted by North
Frontier Rail(a wing of Indian Railways), a good number of candidates from Bihar and other states
were beaten up and stopped from taking exam by some elements who were seeking 100 percent
reservation for the Assamese non-employed long ahead of the date of the said test.
In resentment, some hoodlums misbehaved randomly with train passengers from North Eastern
States passing through some of the stations like Katihar, Jamalpur, Kishanganj in Bihar.
During that period ULFA was already losing its popularity and ground across many pockets in Assam
where it had strongholds. However, ULFA took this situation as an opportunity to fan an opposition
against 'India' among people in Assam. They started killing innocent Hindi-speaking people (mostly
having origin in Bihar) just to show own presence in the State.

On 15 August 2004, an explosion occurred in Dhemaji District of Assam in which 13 people died,
mainly women and school children. This explosion was carried out by ULFA. The ULFA has obliquely
accepted responsibility for the blast.[13] This appears to be the first instance of ULFA admitting to
public killings with an incendiary device.
In January 2007, the ULFA once again struck in Assam killing approximately 62 Hindi-speaking
migrant workers mostly from Bihar. ULFA notoriety as a directionless and unpopular organisation
increased, as the bomb blast victims also included several ethnic Assamese people. The Central
Government made a tough response, forcing a dreaded group of ULFA - 28 Battlaian - to unilaterally
bow down and seek asylum from the government. This particular one-sided ceasefire broke the
backbone of ULFA.
On 15 March 2007, ULFA triggered a blast in Guwahati, injuring six persons as it celebrated its 'army
day'.

Economic subversion[edit]
The ULFA has claimed responsibility for bombings of economic targets like crude
oil pipelines, freight trains and government buildings, including the 7 August 2005 attack on oil
pipelines in Assam.[14] ULFA carried out a bombing and destruction of a five million-liter petrol
reservoir at Digboi refinery in Tinsukia, with an estimated property loss of Rs 200million. On the
same day they also damaged a gas pipeline in the oil district of Tinsukia. [11]

Recruitment[edit]
In the initial years of the Ulfa movement (when it used to enjoy widespread public support in both
urban and rural areas of Assam), cadres were recruited from rural areas as well as from many towns
in Upper and middle Assam districts. One of the most popular Ulfa leader of all time, the late Heerak
Jyoti Mahanta hailed from a place which is just a few kilometres from the state capital Guwahati.
However, with the Assamese urban middle class becoming increasingly sceptical of Ulfa's method of
functioning, the Ulfa targeted the remote villages and the tribal areas for recruitment. According to
intelligence sources, the Paresh Baruah faction of the Ulfa, which have been continuously raising its
voice against the ongoing peace process being initiated by the Arabinda Rajkhowa faction, is
engaged in a massive recruitment drive in the rural areas of Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Sibsagar,
Lakhimpur and Nalbari districts of Assam. The Ulfa also has strong following among the Naga
people in the tribal areas of Assam.[15]

Political activities[edit]
After 1985 and before it was banned in 1990, ULFA was credited in the media with many public
activities. It has continued a public discourse of sorts through the local media (newspapers),
occasionally publishing its position on political issues centred around the nationality question. It has
participated in public debates with public figures from Assam. During the last two local elections, the
ULFA had called for boycotts. Media reports suggest that it used its forces to intimidate activists and
supporters of the then-ruling parties (Congress and AGP respectively).

Extortion[edit]
The ULFA is credited with some bank robberies during its initial stages. Now it is widely reported
to extort businessmen, bureaucrats and politicians for collecting funds. In 1997, the Chief Minister of
Assam accused Tata Tea of paying the medical bills of the ULFA cultural secretary Pranati Deka at
a Mumbai hospital.

Organized criminal activities[edit]

The ULFA is not involved any other organised criminal activities such as drug trafficking and arms
trafficking.[16]

Other activities[edit]
The ULFA is reported to maintain a number of camps in Bangladesh, where members are trained
and sheltered away from Indian security forces. In April 2004, police and Coast Guard intercepted
unloading at Chittagong of a massive amount of illegal arms and ammunition, being loaded into 10
trucks and believed intended for ULFA. A total of 50 have been charged with arms smuggling and
arms offences, including former high-level Bangladesh political appointees, including Bangladesh
National Party ministers and National Security Intelligence military officers, as well as prominent
businessmen, and Paresh Baruah, military wing chief of ULFA, then living in Dhaka.[17] He fled the
country. Trials were still underway in Chittagong in 2012 under tight security.[17]
Until recently, they had maintained camps in Bhutan, which were destroyed by the Royal Bhutan
Army aided by the Special Frontier Force in December 2003. These camps housed combatants and
non-combatant families of ULFA members.
The ULFA maintains close relationships with other separatist organisations
like NDFB, KLO and NSCN (Khaplang).

Surrenders[edit]
Main article: SULFA
Beginning in 1990, the Government of India has attempted to wean away members of the ULFA.
This occurred due to the death of the ULFA's deputy Commander in chiefHeerak Jyoti Mahanta on
31 December 1991. He had opposed surrenders, but they began after his death. The group has
been meeting more local opposition as residents are tired of the violence and disruption, and some
energy has gone out of the movement.
In 1992 a large section of second-rung leaders and members surrendered to government authorities.
These former members were allowed to retain their weapons to defend against their former
colleagues; they were offered bank loans without any liabilities to help them re-integrate into society.
This loose group, now called SULFA, has become an important element in the armed politics and
business of Assam. Some surrenders have been staged for political and economic reasons by local
and national governments.
The total number of ULFA cadres to have laid down arms has gone up to 8,718. 4,993 cadres
surrendered between 1991 and 1998. 3,435 surrendered between 1998 and 2005, when a new
policy to deal with the ULFA was unveiled.[18] On 24 January 2012, one of northeast India's biggest
surrender ceremonies took place in Assam's main city of Guwahati, when a total of 676 militants laid
down their weapons. The Home Minister gave them roses.[19]

Secret killings of ULFA family members[edit]

Main article: Secret-killings of Assam
During the government of AGP leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, unidentified gunmen assassinated a
number of family members of ULFA leaders. With the fall of this government following elections in
2001, the secret killings stopped. Dinesh Barua, the elder brother of Paresh Barua, military wing
chief of ULFA in the 2000s, was taken from his house at night by unidentified Assamese men, along
with armed military officers. Later his body was found lying near a cremation centre in Chabua.
ULFA's Publicity Secretary, Mithinga Daimary, lost five members of his family during this period.
Government investigations into the killings culminated in the report of the "Saikia Commission",
presented to the Assam Assembly 15 November 2007. The report describes how the killings were
organised by Prafulla Mahanta, then the Assam Home Minister. They were executed by the police,
with co-operation from the Indian Army. The gunmen were former members of ULFA who had
surrendered to the government. They approached their targets at home, at night, knocking on the

door and speaking in Assamese to allay suspicion. When the victims answered the door, they were
shot or kidnapped to be shot elsewhere.[20]

Negotiations/talks[edit]
The ULFA has put forward a set of three preconditions for talks and negotiations with the Indian
government. The government has rejected these preconditions. The preconditions are:
1. The talks should be held in a third country.
2. The talks should be held under United Nations supervision.
3. The agenda of the talks should include the sovereignty of
Assam.
In 2004, the ULFA dropped the first two preconditions and offered to talk with the government. The
Government of India was not ready to negotiate on the issue of sovereignty. Still some progress was
made when the ULFA formed a "People's Consultative Group" in September 2005 to prepare the
grounds for an eventual negotiation between the government and ULFA, which the government has
welcomed. In a sustained operation launched by Indian Army inside a National Park in Dibru
Saikhowa, ULFA lost its hides and camps, important leaders and cadres. The group came to the
negotiating table in 2005. According to the India Times, talks were first held in December 2005 at the
residence of the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh. There were three rounds of peace talks with the
11-member People's Consultative Group (PCG), headed by noted Assamese writer Indira Goswami,
leading to a temporary truce in August 2006. However the truce broke down by 23 September of the
same year as ULFA continued with its violent activities against civil population mainly tea estates
and oil pipelines. It also violated ceasefire as it lobbed grenades on Army columns during the
ceasefire period.[21]
Ceasefire by a portion of 28 Battalion of ULFA
Main article: 28th Battalion (ULFA)
Some leaders & cadres of the A and C companies of ULFA declared unilateral ceasefire on 24
Jun'2008 at a press meet held at Amarpur in Tinsukia district. The declared the ceasefire to
pressurise the top brass of ULFA to sit on negotiation table with the Government of India. But the top
brass of ULFA expelled the leaders of 28 Battalion led by Mrinal Hazarika and Jiten Dutta ( who had
managed to escape from the cordon of Indian Army in Dibru Saikhowa National Park). The group
later renamed as ULFA ( Pro-talk ).
Currently the 28th Battalion is under commandership of Lt Bijoy Chinese alias Bijoy Das. [22] All the
battalions have now been disbanded and only part of 27 battalion renamed as Kapili Gut remains.
There are no commanders other than Paresh Baruah. All the others have been downgraded to staff
and workers.

Renewed Peace Initiative[edit]

With the arrest and deportation of top Ulfa leaders by the Bangladesh government to India, the once
stalled peace process received a boost when the jailed Ulfa leaders took the initiative in forming a
"Citizen Forum" comprising intellectuals, writers,journalists, sympathizers and professionals from
various other fields that would act as a catalyst in bringing the Government of India and the rebel
Ulfa to the negotiating table. In a sate level convention held in Guwahati on 24 April 2010,the forum
passed a set of resolutions to expedite the peace process between Government and the ULFA.
These resolution include sending an 11-member team to Delhi to put pressure on the Centre to hold
talk with ULFA at an earlier date. The convention resolved to urge both government and ULFA to

come forward for talk without any condition. Moreover, the convention in a resolution demanded
immediate release of ULFA leaders for from jail. According to the Indian Army sources, the total
strength of ULFA is around 3,000, while various other sources put the figure ranging from 4,000 to
6,000. A military wing of the ULFA, the Sanjukta Mukti Fouj (SMF) was formed on 16 March 1996.
SMF has three full-fledged battalions: the 7th, 8th and the 709th. The remaining battalions exist only
on paper at best they have strengths of a company or so. Their allocated spheres of operation are
as follows:
7th Bn (HQ-Sukhini) is responsible for defence of General Headquarters (GHQ).
8th Bn - Nagaon, Morigaon, Karbi Anglong 9th Bn Golaghat, Jorhat, Sibsagar
11th Bn Kamrup, Nalbari
27th Bn Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Kokrajar
28th Bn Tinsukia, Dibrugarh
709th Bn Kalikhola
In the past decade nearly 2,500 (approximate) militants, including about 200 women cadres have
surrendered to the government.

See also[edit]

Insurgency in Northeast India

Enigma Force

People's Consultative Group

Sanjukta Mukti Fouj

List of terrorist organisations in India

Notes[edit]
1.

^ Jump up to:a b "United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) - Terrorist

Group of Assam". Satp.org. Retrieved 1 January 2013.

2.

Jump up^ "Indias Treacherous Northeast". Yaleglobal.yale.edu. 26

September 2012. Retrieved12 October 2014.

3.

Jump up^ "NIA :: Banned Terrorist Organisations". Nia.gov.in.

Retrieved 12 October 2014.

4.

Jump up^ [1][dead link]

5.

Jump up^ "Five killed in Assam bomb blasts - Dawn". Dawn.com.

Retrieved 12 October 2014.

6.

Jump up^ "Ulfa leaders held, admit China link". Hindustan Times. 5
December 2009. Retrieved1 January 2013.

7.

Jump up^ "ULFA softens demand on Assam independence". Reuters.

3 January 2011. Retrieved3 January 2011.

8.

Jump up^ "Tripartite agreement signed with ULFA". The Hindu. 3

September 2011. Retrieved19 September 2012.

9.

Jump up^ Rajeev Bhattacharyya (5 May 2012), Inside the Ulfa camp,
Nagaland: The Week, retrieved 22 October 2013

10. Jump up^ Syed Nazakat (5 May 2012), Slow and not steady, The
Week, retrieved 22 October2013
11. ^ Jump up to:a b c [2][dead link]
12. Jump up^ "ULFA eyeing China for shelter, commander in ChinaMyanmar border". Thaindian.com. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
13. Jump up^ [3][dead link]
14. Jump up^ "bombing of oil facilities on August 7, 2005".
News.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 12 October2014.
15. Jump up^ "Arunachal Pradesh Becoming Safe Haven For Militants Sinlung". Sinlung.com. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
16. Jump up^ John Pike. "Peoples United Liberation Front (PULF)".
Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved1 January 2013.
17. ^ Jump up to:a b "Ex-Industries Secretary Nurul Amin was informed of
the 10-truck arms smuggling: Mobin Hossain", Bangladesh Sangbad
Sangstha (BSS), 28 November 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2013
18. Jump up^ "ULFA morale hit as more cadres surrender", The Indian
Express, 2 November 2007
19. Jump up^ "700 militants surrender arms in Assam", Deccan
Chronicle, 24 January 2012
20. Jump up^ "Saikia Commission indicts former Chief Minister Mahanta
for 'secret killings'", The Hindu, 16 November 2007
21. Jump up^ "North East Military Peace Tango". The Times of India.
22. Jump up^ [4][dead link]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Nath, Sunil. "Assam: The Secessionist Insurgency and the Freedom of

Minds". Faultlines (South Asia Terrorism Portal) 13. Retrieved 29
December 2007.

ULFA Archived home page

Bloody Tea - Program on Aljazeera telecast beginning 30 May 2007.

On YouTube: Part 1, Part 2. Retrieved 2007-12-29.

ULFA - Terrorist Group from Assam from South Asia Terrorism

Portal

Assam at GlobalSecurity.org

Report on the most recent ULFA attack on poor migrant workers,

January 2007

"ULFA cadres went to Pak via Bangla for training in explosives, say
Assam cops" - article in Yahoo! India News dated 15 June 2006

"Media gag must go, journalists tell ULFA" - article in Yahoo! India
News dated 15 June 2006

"'Respect right to freedom of expression':Media to ULFA" - article

in Yahoo! India News dated 15 June 2006

"Assam on Red Alert following fresh ULFA strike" - article in Yahoo!

India News dated 12 June 2006

"Market blast kills at least 4 in Indian northeast" - article in Yahoo!

India News dated 12 June 2006

"Bomb kills 10 at India Independence Parade" - article in New York

Times dated 15 August 2004

Assam: How Ulfa terrorism altered demographic pattern dated 15

Aug 2012

[5][dead link]

[6][dead link]
[show]

Indian separatist movements

Categories:

Politics of Assam

Irregular military

Organisations based in India

Organisations based in Assam

Government of India designated terrorist organisations

Terrorism in Assam

Assamese nationalism

National liberation movements

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