SUMMARY
The BNLF (Bru National Liberation Front) was a tribal Reang/Bru rebel group active primarily in India’s Mizoram, Tripura, and Assam states, but also in Bangladesh, close to the Indian border. 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 the BNLF emerged.
The BNLF was formed in 1996 as a response to violent clashes between the Reang/Bru tribe and members of the Mizo ethnic group in the Indian state Mizoram. The Reang/Bru people migrated to Mizoram from the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh in the 1950s. The immediate cause behind these clashes was a demand from the political organization Bru National Union (BNU) for an Autonomous District Council (ADC) that would ensure the adequate protection of the Reang/Bru’s political, economic, and cultural rights. This demand led to violent attacks on members of the Reang/Bru tribe by Mizos, who feared the breakup of Mizoram. The BNLF was formed in order to protect the rights and dignity of the Reang/Bru tribe, and to safeguard the tribe’s Hindu faith from the alleged imposition of Christianity. The group’s demands included the establishment of the ADC (later modified to only a regional council), reserved seats for the tribe in the Mizoram Legislative Assembly, and the repatriation of all Reang/Bru displaced during the ethnic clashes.
The group was led by “President” Surajmani Reang, and dis deputy commander Hmunsiama. Other important leaders included Thang Masha, A Joseph, Solomon Prophul, and S. Bru.
As mentioned above, the BNLF was primarily active in Mizoram, Tripura, and Assam, where it made use of both conventional and guerilla tactics. Furthermore, the group maintained bases in Bangladesh, in the parts close to the Indian border; the BNLF was for example known to have had bases in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. The group’s cadres were described as well-trained and equipped with modern weapons, such as assault rifles and grenades. A major source of income for the group was selective abductions and ransoming of non-Reang/Brus and Mizo Christians.
Prior to the eruption of violence between the groups in 2000, the BNLF maintained ties to the Tripura rebel group NLFT. Following a “Memorandum of Understanding” between the two groups, NLFT committed to supplying the BNLF with ammunition, weapons, and logistic support; the NLFT was instrumental in BNLF’s growth. However, a rift between the two groups formed, likely caused by BNLF’s alleged pro-India stance, collusion with Indian security forces, and the group’s killing of Christians; the NLFT was fighting the Government of India, and was an outspoken Christian group. Following the rift with NLFT, BNLF developed ties to the Naga separatist group NSCN-IM, to which it supplied weapons, and with the Assamese ULFA; the nature of the ties to ULFA has not been possible to specify.
