Years after signing of Bodo pact, former NDFB cadre remains stuck as labourer in Myanmar

Despite the signing of the third Bodo pact ending armed conflict in the Bodo-dominated area of Assam effectively ending the armed insurgency in the region, one of the cadres of the now-disbanded National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) still remains in Myanmar.

A resident of Nizraguri in Chirang district, Alson Basumatary alias B. Ansailang, joined the insurgents on the 15th of August in 2014 as an 18-year-old kid. Even though over a thousand cadres returned to Assam after signing a tripartite pact with the government, Alson still remains trapped in Myanmar, where he is working as a daily wage labourer in a gold mine in Tamo.

Nipon Basumatary, the youth's father who is a daily-wage worker, has lamented that despite the other cadres' return from the jungles, his son has been unable to make his way back due to many impediments -- such as the lockdowns.

[caption id="attachment_97873" align="alignright" width="496"] Alson's father Nipon (pictured above) has urged the government to bring his son back[/caption]

"All the cadres have returned home and there is a lot of peace there, but our son is still in Myanmar,' Basumatary lamented.

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The father added that he had gone to meet top NDFB leader-turned-politician BR Ferranga to ask about his son who confirmed that Alson indeed is in Myanmar.

"They have said that there is a lockdown and the roads are also not in good shape. However, it has been two years and there is still no sign of my son", Basumatary said.

The daily wage worker through the media has urged the governments at the Centre, Assam, and BTC to bring his son back home by any means necessary.

"I am unable to work or do anything else as I cannot stop thinking about him (Alson)". Basumatary said.

The cadres of all four fractions - NDFB (Dhiren Bodo), NDFB (Progressive), NDFB (Ranjan Daimary), and NDFB (S) had laid down their arms before Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal at the arms lay down ceremony in January of 2020. 836 were from NDFB (Dhiren Bodo), NDFB (Progressive) fractions, 579 from NDFB (Ranjan Daimary), and 200 from the NDFB (S) faction.

All four factions of the group disbanded a couple of months later in March, laying the groundwork for the establishment of peace in the Bodoland region.

The outfit was formed on October 3, 1986, under the name of Bodo Security Force with the aim of launching an armed movement to form a separate state for Bodos — the largest tribe in Assam.

While disbanding, the NDFB (P) leader Gobinda Basumatry said "Our fight has finally come to an end after 34 years of armed struggle within and outside the country... from Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Bhutan. We believe that the NDFB movement has been a successful one and so we are disbanding the group."

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