The National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) was founded in 1988 with the purported objective of securing a ‘sovereign Bodoland’ in the areas north of the river Brahmaputra. The outfit was originally established as the Bodo Security Force (BSF) under the leadership of Ranjan Daimary. The NDFB is headed by its Chairman, Ranjan Daimary and General Secretary, B Swmkhwr. Lieutenant B Irakdao is the outfit’s ‘publicity secretary’.

Even though the outfit was originally founded to protect the interests of the Bodos; but over the years, it has joined hands with the United Liberation front of Asom (ULFA). Sometime in 1999, the ULFA and NDFB, formed a ‘coordination committee’ for launching a ‘united struggle’. NDFB has also established a ‘working arrangement’ with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM), a terrorist outfit in neighbouring Nagaland.

The NDFB regularly indulges in various acts of insurgency. In the year 2000, NDFB terrorists accounted for the deaths of 29 security forces and 176 civilians. In the same period, 95 NDFB cadres were killed, 83 were arrested and 100 surrendered to the authorities.

NDFB has an estimated strength of 1500 cadres, most of whom are holed up in various camps set up by the outfit in neighbouring Bhutan and Myanmar. According to some estimates, both ULFA and NDFB have more than 21 camps in the jungles of Southern Bhutan. The outfit is active in the districts of Bongaigaon, Kokrajhar, Darrang, Barpeta, Dhubri and Sonitpur. It also uses the Manas national park, an important bio diversity hotspot in South Asia, as a sanctuary.

The NDFB is involved in an internecine warfare with the other Bodo outfits such as the Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT), All Bodo Student’s Union (ABSU) and the Bodo Sahitya Sabha (BSS). As the result of a decision taken on January 10, 2001, in Bhutan, the NDFB decided to target members of the BLT, BSS, ABSU, Bodo People Action Committee (BPAC), and the All Bodo Women’s Welfare Federation (ABWWF), for selective killing.

Extortion and loot form the basic source of funding for the outfit. Tea companies in the area, especially in the districts of Darrang and Sonitpur, have been regularly subjected to extortion by terrorist outfits, including the NDFB. According to sources, in the year 1995-96, government departments like Sales Tax, Forest and Inspectorate of Motor Vehicles, accounted for close to 50 per cent of the NDFB’s collection of about Rs.1.3 crore. Dutch NGO’s such as Landlijke India Werk (LIW) and the Netherland Council of Indigenous Vodlesgeist (NCIV) are alleged to have provided funds for the outfit.

The outfit’s extortion drive is directed against the non-Bodo families in various parts of Bongaigaon and Kokrajhar districts. Civilians and business establishments are served with regular notices for payment of ‘tax’ and ‘donations’. The NDFB also indulges in collecting 'Bodoland tax' from the people in various districts of Lower Assam ranging from Rs 4000 to Rs 20,000 depending on their financial position. The Army, operating in the Lower Assam districts of Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon, also claimed that the NDFB is involved in illegal felling of trees. They also collect ‘taxes’ from other illegal timber contractors.