Bodo Liberation Tigers Force (BLTF), also called Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT), was an armed group operating in the Bodo dominated regions of Assam which demanded a separate state for the Bodos to be carved out of Assam. The organization came into being on June 18, 1996 under the leadership of Prem Singh Brahma.
The leaders of the BLT, together with the leaders of All Bodo Students' Union, formed a political party called Bodo People's Progressive Front.
Path to peace
On February 10, 2003, representatives of BLTF and the governments of Assam and India signed a Memorandum of Settlement, and 2641 cadres laid down arms on December 6, 2003. A vast majority of them were absorbed in the CRPF. On December 6, 2003, 2641 cadres of the Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) renounced violence and surrendered along with arms and ammunition at Kokrajhar, marking an end to seven years of insurgency. On the following day, an interim 12‑member executive council of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) was formed in Kokrajhar.
A Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) for the creation of the BTC was reached at a tripartite meeting held in New Delhi on February 10, 2003, between the representatives of Union Government, Assam Government and a BLT delegation. The main provisions of the MoS relate 'to creation of the BTC, an autonomous self-governing body within the State of Assam and under the provisions of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India to fulfill economic, educational and linguistic aspirations, socio-cultural and ethnic identity of the Bodos; and to speed up the infrastructure development in BTC area'. The BTC would comprise 3,082 villages in four districts—Kokrajhar and the three yet to be created - Chirang, Udalguri and Baska. The BTC would have 40 elected representatives and the Assam Government would nominate six more. Of the elected representatives, 30 seats would be reserved for tribals, five for non-tribals and the remaining five would be open for general contest.