Assam signs MoS with Kuki, Hmar groups; welfare councils to be formed for community development

The Government of Assam on March 15, 2026, signed two Memorandums of Settlement (MoS) with several Kuki and Hmar groups at Dispur in Guwahati in the presence of Assam Education Minister Ranoj Pegu. The agreements were signed with the United Kukigam Defence Army (UKDA), Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA), Kuki Liberation Organization / Kuki Liberation Army (KLO/KLA), and the Hmar Peoples' Convention Democratic (HPC-D).

UKDA was formed in 2010 while KRA was established in 2000 in Karbi Anglong district. KLO and KLA were formed in 1992 and 1993 in Dima Hasao district, while HPC-D was formed in 2003–2004 by Hmar youth. These groups had laid down their arms in 2012 in the presence of the then Union Home Minister and the then Chief Minister of Assam, after which Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreements were signed with the state government to resolve long-pending issues through dialogue.

Following the SoO agreements, several rounds of tripartite talks were held, eventually leading to the signing of the MoS aimed at ensuring peace and addressing the aspirations of the Kuki and Hmar communities.

Under the agreements, the government will establish a Kuki Welfare and Development Council (KWDC) and a Hmar Welfare Development Council (HWDC) in Kuki- and Hmar-dominated areas of Assam. Each council will consist of a chairman, deputy chairman, chief executive member, executive members, general members, and members nominated by the Government of Assam. The headquarters of both councils will be located in Guwahati.

The councils will receive budgetary provisions from the state government. Development plans prepared by the councils will be submitted to the Transformation and Development Department for approval. The MoS also include a list of schemes aimed at accelerating development in Kuki and Hmar inhabited areas while protecting and promoting their social, cultural, linguistic, and ethnic identity.

The Government of Assam will also take steps to rehabilitate surrendered cadres as per existing procedures. Families of those who lost their lives during the armed struggle will be provided financial compensation.

Speaking exclusively to India Today NE, Minister Ranoj Pegu said the government has decided to create welfare and development councils and allocate funds for their functioning. He added that surrendered members will be rehabilitated, while families of those who died during the conflict will receive ex gratia support.

Pegu further said that some individuals who are still staying in forest areas will be brought back and their issues resolved soon. He also stated that efforts will be made to provide training in their mother languages and new educational institutions will be opened in areas where such facilities are currently lacking.

Highlighting the broader peace process in the state, Pegu said that militancy in Assam has effectively ended. Over the past few years, the Government of India and the Government of Assam have signed MoS with several groups including Bodo, Karbi, Adivasi, DNLA, and ULFA factions, rehabilitating more than 9,000 cadres who surrendered arms and joined the mainstream. These groups deposited 1,012 arms, 25,488 rounds of ammunition and 34 grenades.

The MoS were signed on behalf of the Assam government by Ajay Tewari, Additional Chief Secretary of the Home and Political Department. Senior officials including Hiren Ch. Nath, former Special Additional Director General of Police (SB), and Masanda Pertin, Secretary of the Home and Political Department, were also present during the signing ceremony.