Context: Almost 250 members of two extremist organisations in Assam laid down their arms recently.
The organisations are the Tiwa Liberation Army (TLA) and the United Gorkha People’s Organisation (UGPO).
TLA was Formed in 2014 to cater to the aspirations of the Tiwa community.
Tiwa community
Tiwa (Lalung) is an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the states of Assam and Meghalaya in north-eastern India.
They are also found in some areas of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland.
They are recognized as a Scheduled tribe within the State of Assam.
They were known as Lalungs in the Assamese Buranjis and in Colonial literature and in the Constitution of India, though members of the group prefer to call themselves Tiwa (meaning “the people who were lifted from below”).
