The founding of ULFA
The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) was founded on 7 April 1979 at Rang Ghar, an amphitheatre of the historical Ahom kingdom, by Paresh Baruah and associates, with the stated objective of establishing an independent, sovereign Assam outside the Indian Union.[1]
· Other
Founding of ULFA, 1979
ULFA was founded at a historic Ahom-kingdom site to campaign for an independent, sovereign Assam.
The factional split and 2023 peace accord
By the 2010s, ULFA had split into a pro-talks faction led by Arabinda Rajkhowa and a hardline faction, ULFA-Independent, commanded by Paresh Baruah, which continued to demand full sovereignty.[2]
On 29 December 2023, the pro-talks faction signed a tripartite peace accord with the Indian and Assam governments, agreeing to disarm and disband in exchange for a development package; the hardline faction was not a party. Reporting characterized the preceding insurgency as having claimed around 10,000 lives since 1979.[3]
· Agreement
ULFA peace accord, 2023
The pro-talks ULFA faction disbanded after decades of insurgency, though a hardline faction continues to seek sovereignty.
Sources for this page
Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.
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1.
Claim: The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) was founded on 7 April 1979 at Rang Ghar, an amphitheatre of the historical Ahom kingdom, by Paresh Baruah and associates including Rajiv Raj Konwar, with the stated objective of establishing an independent, sovereign Assam outside the Indian Union, reflected in its slogan "Oikya, Biplab, Mukti" ("Unity, Revolution, Freedom"); ULFA's emergence coincided with, but diverged from, the non-violent 1979-1985 Assam Agitation against unchecked migration from Bangladesh led by the All Assam Students' Union, which did not itself seek independence.
- United Liberation Front of Asom (Wikipedia) link, Founding and ideology section. Source record
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2.
Claim: By the 2010s, ULFA had split into a pro-talks faction led by Arabinda Rajkhowa, which entered a ceasefire and negotiations with the Indian government, and a hardline faction, ULFA-Independent (ULFA-I), commanded by Paresh Baruah from bases reported along the China-Myanmar frontier, which rejected negotiations and continued to demand full sovereignty for Assam.
- United Liberation Front of Asom (Wikipedia) link, Split section. Source record
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3.
Claim: On 29 December 2023, the pro-talks ULFA faction led by Arabinda Rajkhowa signed a tripartite Memorandum of Settlement with the Indian government and the Assam state government, following around 12 years of negotiations; ULFA agreed to renounce violence, surrender its arms, disband, and vacate its camps, in exchange for a development package reported at approximately 1.5 trillion rupees for Assam. The hardline ULFA-Independent faction under Paresh Baruah was not a party to this accord. Reporting on the accord characterized the preceding insurgency as having claimed around 10,000 lives since 1979; this bundle presents that figure as reported, not independently verified.
- ULFA signs peace pact with Centre, Assam Government; agrees to shun violence, disband organisation (The Tribune (India)) link, Accord terms and casualty-figure sections. Source record
Printed from https://independenceatlas.com/movements/assamese-independence/history · last substantive update 24 September 2026.