New Delhi - More than 300 members of a major separatist rebel group surrendered Friday in India's north-eastern state of Assam, raising hopes for an end to decades of violent insurgency in the region, news reports said. A total of 359 militants of the outlawed Jewel Garlosa faction of the Dima Haolam Daogah (DHD-J), more popularly known as the Black Widow, surrendered to authorities and deposited a huge cache of weapons and explosives at a public ceremony at Haflong, headquarters of the North Cachar Hills district in southern Assam, the IANS news agency reported, quoting a government spokesman.
"This is a historic occasion with the DHD-J surrendering en masse," Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi was quoted as saying during his speech at the surrender ceremony. "We hope this will pave the way for permanent peace in the region and an end to all forms of violence and bloodshed."
The Black Widow militants have killed an estimated 100 people so far in 2009 in the North Cachar Hills district and have attacked trains several times, holding up rail traffic.
The DHD-J was formed in March 2003 after a split in the original organization. While the faction led by Jewel Garlosa continued with its fight for an independent homeland for the region's majority Dimasa tribe, the rival group concluded a ceasefire with the federal government.
"We hope the central government responds positively to our peace overtures as we have decided to abjure the path of violence," Niranjan Hojai, self-styled commander-in-chief of the DHD-J, said in a speech after laying down an M-16 rifle.
The decision to surrender followed an ultimatum by federal Home Minister P Chidambaram that the group should lay down its arms by September 15 or face a stepped-up military offensive
The rebels have been surrendering in batches, but Friday's was the largest group so far.
Hojai said a small faction of about 10 members of the group was still in the forest and there was no information about them.
Garlosa was arrested in the southern Indian city of Bangalore in June 2008.
The chief minister offered red roses to the rebels as they handed over an assortment of sophisticated weapons, including rocket launchers, rifles and small arms as well as explosives, the government spokesman said.
The ceremony had been arranged to coincide with the October 2 birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, India's independence hero and an advocate of non-violent protest.
A total of seven militant groups in Assam now have ceasefire pacts with the government, including two factions of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland.
However, some important factions of these two groups remain underground and are continuing with their war for separate homelands for various minority groups.
More than 10,000 people have lost their lives to insurgency in Assam during the past two decades.
