The 53-year-old, whose real name is Rajib Rajkonwar, was one of the founder leaders of the ULFA along with commander in chief Paresh Baruah. The ULFA was formed on April 7, 1979 to lead armed struggle to 'free Assam from the clutches of colonial Indian rule'.
United Liberation Front of Asom chief Arabinda Rajkhowa was released from the Guwahati Central Jail, two days after his bail plea was granted by a designated TADA court.
In a development that signals the beginning of political dialogue with the United Liberation Front of Asom faction led by its chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa in a short time, the pro-talks ULFA group on Tuesday formally declared 'ceasefire' with the security forces.
The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), which trained a batch of Assam's United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) militants in 1991-92, considered the rebel group's chief Paresh Baruah a prize catch and did not want to offend him even after he was unwilling to take the agency's commands on conducting operations in the northeastern state, claims a new book.
The Gauhati high court on Thursday acquitted all six accused in the 2004 Dhemaji bomb blast case in which 18 people, including 13 school children, were killed on Independence Day.
Shah said the ULFA, the oldest insurgent group of Assam, agreed to abjure violence, disband the organisation and join the democratic process.
United Liberation Front of Assam 'general secretary' Anup Chetia, currently in a jail in Bangladesh, will soon be handed over to India, the group's 'chairman' Arabinda Rajkhowa claimed on Thursday.
The Government of India has extended the ban on the United Liberation Front of Assam and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland with a fresh notification making it clear that operation against hawkish factions of these two outfits would continue notwithstanding the on-going peace process involving doves of both the outfits.
All the top leaders of the United Liberation Front of Assam led by 'chairman' Arabinda Rajkhowa submitted their charter of demands to Home Minister P Chidambaram in New Delhi on Friday, paving way for the peace process with the government.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Wednesday called upon the Central government to involve ULFA general secretary Anup Chetia in the on-going peace talks.
The United Liberation Front of Assam's anti-talk faction on Wednesday 'removed' Arabinda Rajkhowa as its chairman and 'appointed' acting chairman Abhijit Asom as its new leader.
In its efforts to bring lasting peace in Assam, the Centre on Friday held talks with ULFA and discussed the group's demands to find a permanent solution to the three-decade-old insurgency in the Northeastern state.
The anti-talks faction of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Assam on Sunday made the 'last' call to its 'chairman' Arabinda Rajkhowa, to come back to the fold of the parent outfit (unbound ULFA) and resume the responsibility of the 'chairman' by giving up the 'unrealistic' path of dialogue with the government to protect the identify of Assamese people without attaining 'sovereignty' for Assam.
The top leadership of United Liberation Front of Asom on Monday held talks with the government and discussed various aspects of its 'charter of demands'. During the 90-minute meeting, the ULFA delegation led by its 'chairman' Arabinda Rajkhowa held discussions with Union Home Secretary R K Singh and other officials. "It was a very constructive and fruitful discussion. I think we have achieved very good progress in the meeting," Singh said.
The United Liberation Front of Asom anti-talk faction, led by 'commander-in-chief' Paresh Barua, on Saturday rejected the charter of demands submitted by the pro-talk faction to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram.
Believed to have led lavish lives in their heydays, pro-talks United Liberated Front of Asom leaders have now been given Rs 40 lakh by the Centre for daily expenses and to run their families.
Sustained operations by security forces, fast dwindling base among the masses and cooperation from the present regime in Bangladesh in evicting insurgent leaders from their soil during the year have brought many insurgent outfits of Assam down on their knees.
There is a vertical split in the proscribed outlawed United Liberation Front of Assam with its hardliner faction led by fugitive commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah forming a new 'central committee' by dropping its eight top leaders including its Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, who is now engaged in peace talks with the government.
The pro-talks faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) led by its chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa on Wednesday came down heavily on fugitive Paresh Barua, the leader of the outfit's anti-talks faction for trying to make light the ongoing peace talks between Indian government and the ULFA (Rajkhowa faction).
After successfully mobilising public opinion to favour the release of senior leaders of the banned United Liberation Front of Asom to facilitate talks with the government, the Sanmilita Jatiya Abhibartan, a forum of leading citizens and civil society organisations, has now started preparing the charter of demands that the outfit can present ahead of the peace talks.
The government is determined to start negotiation with the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom sans the participation of its fugitive 'commander-in-chief' Paresh Barua. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday said that dialogue with ULFA will start as soon as the outfit will take a formal decision in its general council meeting.
Centre's interlocutor for peace talks with northeast militants P C Haldar on Thursday said he was "optimistic about taking the peace talks with the United Liberation Front of Asom forward as they have expressed their willingness for unconditional talks."
Hours after the release of United Liberation Front of Asom Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa from Guwhati's Central Jail, the Assam government clarified that the ban the outfit will stay despite the outfit's leadership talking truce.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday called upon Paresh Barua, the fugitive commander-in-chief of the anti-talks faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom, to join the ongoing peace process with his colleagues in the militant outfit, led by 'chairman' Arabinda Rajkhowa. Addressing the people of Assam on Independence Day in Guwahati, Gogoi said his government was sympathetic towards the misguided youth of the state in the ranks of various insurgent groups.
The outlawed United Liberation Front of Assam, led by Arabinda Rajkhowa, has set the tone for dialogue to resolve the over 31-year-old vexed insurgency problem in the state by dropping its main demand for 'sovereignty'.
Top United Liberation Front of Asom leaders on Friday met Home Minister P Chidambaram and presented the outfit's 'charter of demands', setting the ball rolling for peace talks with the government to bring about a lasting solution to Assam's three-decade old insurgency problem.
Paresh Barua, heading the United Liberation Front of Asom's anti-talk faction, on Wednesday rejected the unilateral ceasefire declared by Arabindo Rajkhowa-led group.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday informed the state assembly that the arrested chairman of United Liberation Front of Asom Arabinda Rajkhowa and foreign secretary Sashadhar Choudhury had been in Bangladesh since 1990, while finance secretary Chitrabon Hazarika and deputy commander-in-chief Raju Baruah shifted to Bangladesh on a later date.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday said that like all other insurgent groups in truce with the government, the banned United Liberation Front of Assam too would have to enter into a formal agreement for suspension of operation and surrender weapons before starting dialogue with the government of India.
The pro-talk United Liberation Front of Asom faction, led by Arabinda Rajkhowa, is deliberating on the charter of demands to be taken up during its peace talks with the Centre.
The Central government-appointed interlocutor for facilitating peace talks with the banned United Liberation Front of Assam P C Haldar, the former chief of the Intelligence Bureau, arrived in Guwahati for a three-day visit on Wednesday.
The Centre on Tuesday held talks with the top leadership of the banned United Liberation Front of Asom and discussed various aspects of its 'charter of demands' which sought amendment in the Constitution to find a lasting solution to the three-decade-old insurgency problem in Assam.
The chairman of the proscribed United Liberation Front of Asom Arabinda Rajkhowa on Tuesday said that the outfit was hopeful that the assurance of an 'honourable negotiated solution' to all the burning problems of Assam as given by 'the leadership of the world's largest democracy to the people of a strife-torn Assam ' would be kept in true spirit.
A delegation of United Liberation Front of Asom leaders, led by its 'chairman' Arabinda Rajkhowa, met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, days after the group sat for unconditional talks with the government.
For the first time in its 31-year-long struggle, the banned United Liberation Front od Asom will hold face-to-face unconditional talks with the Centre tomorrow in an attempt to usher in peace in insurgency-hit Assam. An eight-member ULFA delegation led by its 'chairman' Arabinda Rajkhowa will meet Union Home Secretary G K Pillai.
The vertical split in the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom has come to the fore raising questions about the fate of the nascent peace process with the Government of India.
Two top United Liberation Front of Asom leaders -- 'foreign secretary' Sasha Choudhury and 'finance secretary' Chitraban Hazarika -- were granted bail on Monday by a special TADA court paving the way for their release.
The pro-talks faction of the United Liberation Front of Assam has lauded the on-going process for reconciliation of Naga rebel groups during a visit to the camp of NSCN (khole-Kitovi) in Nagaland.
The ULFA on Wednesday said there was no immediate possibility of holding talks with the government as the atmosphere was "not conducive".
A formal ceasefire agreement between the pro-talks faction of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Assam led by its 'chairman' Arabinda Rajkhowa, the Centre and the Assam Government is slated to be inked when ULFA leaders meet government representatives in New Delhi on September 3, according to an official source in Guwahati.
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