A visit to Assam and Meghalaya by members of a Joint Parliamentary Committee examining the contentious draft Citizenship (Amendment) Bill of 2016 has brought to the fore old fractures between communities that were in the process of healing, and raised fears of fresh unrest in a region that turned towards peace and economic development only in the past decade.
The United Liberation Front of Asom faction led by its Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, which is currently in talks with the government, has threatened to withdraw from the peace process if the Bill is passed. A faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland led by Ranjan Daimary has backed this stance and promised to do likewise.
