India’s federal Home Ministry and the Manipur government on Tuesday signed a Cessation of Operation Agreement with the Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF), an insurgent group that represents the interests of the Zeliangrong people, in a bid to boost the peace process in the northeastern part of the country.
The agreement, signed in the presence of Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, marks a significant step in the Indian government's efforts to end insurgency and promote development in the region.
The Zeliangrong United Front has been active for more than a decade and has been involved in a number of violent clashes with Indian security forces and other ethnic groups.
Representatives of the ZUF agreed to renounce violence and participate in the democratic process, with the agreement also including provisions for the rehabilitation and resettlement of armed cadres.
“A Joint Monitoring Group will be established to ensure that the agreed terms are followed,” the Home Ministry said in a statement.
Who is the Zeliangrong United Front?
The Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF) is a Naga rebel group based in Manipur. The group has been involved in a number of violent clashes with the Indian government and other militant groups.
The Zeliangrong people are an indigenous ethnic group that has lived in the northeastern region of India for centuries.
They have been struggling for a single administrative and political system that would allow them to govern their own homeland, and have been vocal in their opposition to what they see as the encroachment and colonization of their land by non-indigenous Zeliangrong tribes.
Manipur has a long history of insurgency and conflict, with various ethnic groups and militant organizations demanding autonomy or independence from the Indian government.