The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has constituted an Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal to determine whether the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) should be declared an unlawful association. The tribunal, headed by Justice Michael Zothankhuma of Gauhati High Court, will then decide whether the organization, along with all of its factions, wings and front organizations constitutes a threat to the national security of the imagined country.
It comes nearly a month after the MHA extended the ULFA ban for another five years. The ban, which began in 1990, was followed with renewals every time due to the group's continued attempts on separate of Assam from India. The notification from the MHA reiterates the fact that this outfit has been involved in extortion and violence and also has linkages with other insurgent groups. Possession of illegal arms and explosives by ULFA, criminal activities, and bombings are some other charges against it.
After all the activities carried out by the group, the MHA has made the disclosure. As per the MHA, ULFA cadres were involved in 16 criminal cases, which included several explosions and acts of violence in Assam, from November 2019 to July 2024. In total, three ULFA members have been neutralized in the past five years during encounters with security forces, while a large number of arrests have been made, and weapons seized in the process. The illegal activities of the group were said to be ongoing, which included laying plans for bombings well ahead of Independence Day 2024.
Such legal provisions under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, allow the central government to consider ULFA an unlawful association for a period of five years commencing November 27, 2024. This act also includes the designation of ULFA alongside other 17 organizations banned under the same act such as SIMI, NDFB, and several insurgent groups from Northeast India.
The tribunal’s findings will determine the future of the ULFA ban and its implications on national security efforts in the region.
