Re: Separatist movements in India
Bru National Liberation Front
Formation
The Bru National Liberation Front (BNLF) is an armed outfit of the Reangs and is currently engaged in negotiations with Mizoram government.
It was formed in 1996 following violent clashes between ethnic Mizos and Reang tribesmen in the Mamith sub-division of Mizoram State. The immediate cause of the conflict was the demand for an Autonomous District Council (ADC) by the Bru National Union (BNU), a political organisation of Reangs that was formed in year 1994. The BNU anchored its demand in the presence of a majority of Reangs in the sub-division, and declared that their rights––political, economic and cultural among others––were not justifiably protected under the prevailing political arrangement.
The Reang Democratic Convention Party (RDCP), another Reang organisation, passed a resolution in this regard. This reportedly provoked Mizo organisations like Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) and Young Mizo Association (YMA)––fearing geographical division of Mizoram––to organise violent attacks, in October 1997, on Reang settlements. As a result, approximately 32,000 Reangs were displaced in the conflict and have since been staying in refugee camps in the Kanchanpur sub-division of the neighbouring Tripura State. The outfit’s cadre strength is estimated to be a little over 100.