Peace Agreements and Ethnic Contestation: The Kuki Memorandum of Settlement in Assam (2026)

सार

The Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) signed on 15 March 2026 between the Government of Assam and Kuki Suspension of Operations (SoO) groups represents a significant milestone in the state’s ongoing peace process. The agreement seeks to address long-standing insurgent mobilization through negotiated political accommodation and development-oriented institutional arrangements. However, the MoS has also generated contestation in the hill districts of Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao, revealing the complex interplay between ethnicity, autonomy, and constitutional governance in Assam. This paper examines the MoS as both a peacebuilding instrument and a site of political tension. Using a qualitative case study approach based on documentary analysis, the study explores the historical roots of Kuki political demands, the constitutional basis of their claims, the transition from insurgency to negotiation, and the competing interpretations of the settlement among key stakeholders. The paper argues that the MoS reflects both progress toward negotiated peace and the persistent fragility of ethnic accommodation in Northeast India.