Assam inks settlement with Hmar, Kuki extremist groups
Leaders of Hmar and Kuki extremist groups sign a settlement agreement with the Assam government on March 15, 2026. Photo credit: Special Editing
The Assam government signed a settlement agreement with three Kuki extremist groups as well as a Hmar group on Sunday, March 15, 2026.
The organizations involved are the Hmar People’s Convention-Democratic (HPC-D), the United Kukigam Defense Army (UKDA), the Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA), and the Kuki Liberation Organization (KLO), also known as the Kuki Liberation Army. Members of all these groups laid down their weapons in 2012.
Assam Education Minister Ranoj Pegu, in whose presence the memorandum of agreement was signed, said that the agreement envisages the establishment of a Hmar Welfare Development Council and a Kuki Welfare Development Council in the Hmar and Kuki dominated districts of Assam respectively.
Three-way talks
“Suspension of Operations was signed with the state government after these groups laid down their arms. Later, several rounds of tripartite talks involving the Center led to the memorandum of understanding,” said a senior official of Assam Home and Political Department.
He said that the solution process has been accelerated in the last few months in order to ensure peace and tranquility in the state and to fulfill the demands of both communities.
“Each development council will consist of a chairman, vice-chairman, executive committee member, executive members and members nominated by the Assam government. Both the councils will be headquartered in Guwahati and their budgets will be prepared as per their requirements submitted to the Department of Transformation and Development,” the official said.
Rehabilitation measures
Mr Pegu said the State government would take appropriate measures to rehabilitate the cadres of armed groups in accordance with the existing procedure. “The state will also pay compensation to the families of the cadres who lost their lives in the armed struggle,” he said.
KLO, KRA, HPC-D and UKDA were established in 1992, 2000, 2003 and 2010 respectively.
The government claimed that the agreement with Hmar and Kuki groups put an end to the issue of ethnic militancy in Assam. He added that more than 9,000 cadres from various extremist groups, including Bodo, Karbi and Adivasi communities, have been rehabilitated in the last few years.
The government said these groups together left behind 1,012 firearms, 25,488 bullets and 34 grenades.
It was published – 15 March 2026 08:57 IST
