SUMMARY
The NLFT-B (National Liberation Front of Tripura - Biswamohan faction; sometimes abbreviated as NLFT-BM) was a separatist rebel group fighting an intrastate armed conflict over territory against the Government of India since 2003 (see India: Tripura).
Northeast India, sometimes referred to as the “Seven Sisters” after the seven states that comprise the region, has since independence been a patchwork of ethnic, linguistic and religious groups. These relatively small and sparsely populated (by Indian standards) states have experienced a turbulent history, stoked by ethnic tensions and insurgencies. One particularly prominent part of the social and political milieu in the region has been the demographic stress and conflict brought by the immigration from the rest of India and Bangladesh. The “indigenous” population of India’s seven northeastern states has commonly been referred to as the “tribal populations”. Many of these tribes, but not all, has received special protected status in the Constitution of India; the protected tribes are referred to as the “Scheduled Tribes”. The immigrant population of Northeast India is commonly called the “non-tribal” population, and is comprised of, for example, Bengalis and other ethnic or religious groups found in India proper. Among the tribal populations, there has often been a perception of discrimination, particularly compared to the “immigrant” non-tribal communities, but also between different tribal groups. It was in this context that NLFT-B emerged in Tripura. The primary objective of the group, which claimed to represent the Tripuri tribal group, was to establish an independent Tripura, free from Indian neocolonialism and imperialism.
The NLFT-B was created in 2003, following a rift within the NLFT. Biswamohan Debbarma, who prior to 2003 had been the leader of the NLFT, was deposed by a NLFT commander called Mantu Koloy, allegedly with support from the group’s patrons in Bangladesh. It is also worth noting that Biswamohan was a Christian, which most likely played a part in the rift between him and the Hindu Koloy, and the original NLFT. Following this rift, Biswamohan went on to create his own group, the NLFT-B. Other than Biswamohan himself, important leadership figures of the NLFT-B have included the commanders Atharababu Halam (“Babu”), Chatrabhanga Jamatia, and Sachin Debbarma; these commanders were particularly influential when the group attempted to “revive” itself in 2012. In 2011, there were reports of an internal power struggle between Biswamohan and Sachin.
Given the uncertainty surrounding the various NLFT factions, details regarding the organizational structure of the group has been hard to establish. However, it was estimated that the NFLT-B might have had as many as 550 fighters right after its split from the NLFT. This number has most likely dwindled since 2003, given that the group has seen the surrender of minor commanders and rank-and-file members on multiple occasions. For example, one estimation put NLFT-B’s cadre strength by the 2010s at only 50, or perhaps less than that. By 2012, the NLFT-B attempted to expand its recruitment base by not only appealing to the Tripuri population, but also members of the Reang/Bru tribe.
The group raised funds via various illicit activities, such as abductions, drug trafficking, and smuggling.
It has also been hard to establish what other armed groups the NLFT-B was associated with, but it has been suggested that it had links to the NSCN-IM, the Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL), the NDFB and Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC). At some point in the early 2010s, the Anti Talks faction of ULFA and the NSCN-Khaplang faction allowed the NLFT-B to set up a base in Myanmar, in areas where these two Indian groups were influential.
There has also been repeated interaction between the NLFT-B and the ATTF. In 2010, commander Sachin defected from the ATTF to the NLFT-B. In April 2012, it was reported that NLFT-B had captured ATTF’s “base camp” at Satcherri, Bangladesh; this then led to the signing of a non-aggression pact between the groups. After this clash, it appears as if the NLFT-B gained considerable influence over the ATTF. Later in 2012, the two groups announced the creation of a Northeastern ‘United Front’, which allegedly also included other unnamed groups in northeastern India; it was not possible to uncover any evidence of this United Front ever materializing.
It was believed that the NLFT-B made use of camps located in Bangladesh and perhaps in Myanmar; the group’s leaders were most likely stationed in Bangladesh. Indian authorities also claimed that Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence Agency (ISI), and Bangladesh’s Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) were providing support to the NLFT-B. However, Indian accusations of foreign involvement with armed rebel groups should be considered carefully, given the contentious relationship between India and especially Pakistan. In the early 2010s, the group was hit hard by improving relations between India and Bangladesh, as it was harder for it to utilize Bangladeshi territory.
