Insurgency in Northeast: From betrayal to hope and development

Bishaldeep Kakati

(Advocate, Gauhati High Court)

&

Bipasha Saikia

(Assistant Professor, JB Law College)

Often termed the Paradise on Earth, the Northeast region of India is home to many hillocks and inselbergs, vivid flora and fauna, lush greeneries, and meadows. It is also ethnically the most diverse region in the entire country, with more than 200 tribes. But amidst this seemingly perfect picture, spine-chilling stories of murders, bloodshed, abductions, and bomb blasts mire this region. Deprived geographically, socially, and economically from the mainstream for decades, the region has been at the receiving end of insurgencies. The volatility of the region can be attributed to an ugly outcome of an identity crisis—cultural, linguistic, or religious—as the government of the day attempted to integrate these tribes into the mainstream with a narrow perspective and concern towards border implications.

The eight states, namely Meghalaya, Manipur, Assam, Mizoram, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Sikkim, are connected with five countries—Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, and Nepal—by a 4,500-kilometre international border, but the region is connected to India only through the 23-kilometre Siliguri Corridor. The impenetrable terrain configuration has always been a hindrance to the swift execution of infrastructure projects. Further, the lack and ineffective implementation of economic policies have fuelled resentment among the people of the region. Factors like inadequate representation in the Lok Sabha and demographic changes in the landscape of the region (with the uncontrolled influx of refugees from former East Pakistan) have led to growing discontent amongst the indigenous people of the region. All these factors have shaped a crisis of identity among the populace of the Northeast.

The inception of insurgency in the region can be traced back to the 1947 withdrawal of British forces, which saw the formation of various militant groups with demands ranging from outright secession to autonomy and the right to self-determination on justified grounds like poor governance and indifference towards the human rights of the people of this region. At their formative stages, outfits like the Naga National Council (NNC), Mizo National Front (MNF), United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), and United National Liberation Front, to name a few, secured support at some point or another for the causes they espoused. But over the years, many have significantly departed from their original objectives and have lost the support they once enjoyed. Issues like the easy availability of arms, trans-border linkages, and adequate safe havens in neighbouring countries have allowed these outfits to flourish for decades.

To thwart attempts of destabilisation by the militant outfits, the government at power had deployed measures like negotiations and peace dialogues (that had seen significant success) to military operations and legislative measures like the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA). A recent report (2020) by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has claimed that from 2014–2020, insurgency-related deaths have been reduced by 80 percent and there has been a remarkable improvement in the security scenario of the region. Recent developments like the complete removal of AFSPA from the states of Meghalaya and Tripura and its reduced application in Arunachal Pradesh, along with the series of peace accords signed with various militant outfits, depict a hopeful transition to peace in the region.

The insurgency first reared its ugly head in the state of Nagaland. The demand for independence of the Nagas from the mainstream was made to the British Government in India. But their demands fell on deaf ears as both the colonial power and the subsequent Indian government refused to yield to their concerns. The Naga National Council (NNC) was formed under the leadership of A.Z. Phizo for the indigenous people to voice their concerns. A plebiscite held in 1951 resulted in 99 percent of the Naga population voting in favour of secession. The Mautam Famine (1959–1961) in Mizoram and the apathetic attitude of the government towards the victims were two of the direct causes behind the formation of the Mizo National Front (MNF) in 1966. Under the leadership of Laldenga, the MNF asserted the freedom of Mizoram from the state of Assam. Mizoram attained statehood in 1987. Clashes continue between Mizos and Brus.

The uncontrolled flow of illegal migrants to Assam posed a threat to the indigenous people, propelling them to launch the Assam Agitation (1979–1985) that saw the rise of Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), a local student leaders’ political party that signed the historic Assam Accord, 1985, with the Central Government, the provisions of which were never implemented. This ultimately led to the formation of the now-proscribed ULFA. The Nellie massacre, which saw the killing of 1800 Muslims of Bengali origin in 1983, was one of the worst riots in the history of the state. The Indian military was called in to diffuse the deteriorating law and order situation.

Tripura and Manipur saw insurgencies erupt in the late 1960s with the influx of Bengalis from East Pakistan (former Bangladesh), rendering the indigenous people a minority in their own lands.

This spawned a group called the Tribal National Volunteers (TNV) in 1978, which was active for a brief period until two new groups emerged in the 1990s: the All Tripura Tiger Force and the National Liberation Front of Tripura. Manipur too has numerous militant outfits that emerged in different time periods, like the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), formed in 1964, the Revolutionary People’s Front (RPF) and its armed faction, etc.

Exercises in forced assimilation after the departure of the British are the main reason for the mushrooming of militant outfits in the region. To counter the conflicts in the region, the Congress leadership resorted to reorganising the region, which led to the division of the region into eight different states. The establishment of constitutionally backed 6th Schedule areas in the North East conferred greater autonomy to several pockets of territories in the region in the form of autonomous district councils (ADCs) in various states to safeguard the rights of tribal populations. However, improper demarcation in the present time has led to inter-state border tensions, with the recent cases of conflicts between Assam and Mizoram and Assam and Manipur standing as live examples.

A structural change envisioned through the ‘Look East’ policy is the economic development and opening of trade routes to Southeast Asia via land and sea to bring prosperity to the Northeastern states. This policy is pertinent to insurgency because it would persuade people to reject the violent means projected by the armed groups and embrace peace and development.

In 2011, the Government of India identified 79 armed insurgent groups active in six of the seven states of the North East. Many of these groups have been involved in formal as well as informal talks with the government. To counter insurgency, the Assam Rifles, India’s oldest paramilitary force, was set up where deemed necessary under the control of the Army. More troops and paramilitary forces were deployed permanently. Assam has witnessed a gradual change in its overall counter-insurgency strategy due to the measured military responses by the army after the 1990s.

Dialogue and negotiations, too, have always been a productive alternative to countering insurgency. Be it the dialogue in the Naga Conflict that started as early as 1947, the Naga Peace Mission of 1964, or the Shillong Accord of 1975, The Narendra Modi-led BJP government in power has also given due importance to the signing of treaties, be it the historic peace treaty with Naga rebels NSCN (IM) in 2015 or the recently signed Karbi Peace Accord in 2021, alongside the Bodo Accord (2020), the Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh, the NLFT agreement (2019), and the Bru-Reang Agreement (2020). The result of all these treaties has not only ensured development in the coming years but also allowed the drastic reduction of insurgency in the Northeast. The signing of peace treaties has been accompanied by improved governance on the ground, choking the smuggling route through better policing and a genuine political will to bring peace and unity, thus in a way moving forward to the dream of achieving an insurgency-free Northeast by November 2022.

The approach of the central leadership saw a transformation with Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the helm in 1998. During his tenure, a separate Department of Development of the North-Eastern Region (DoNER) was established in 2001 to ensure the overall development of the region. The East-West connectivity corridor, a 3442-kilometre stretch, was an attempt to connect Silachar in Assam to Porbandar in Gujarat. From the perspective of the economy, the corridor is immensely important for trade between the North Eastern states and the rest of India. This route has ensured roadway and railway connectivity and is a boost to India’s Act East Policy. Through this measure, the security scenario in the region has improved tremendously as illegal immigration, cross-border terrorism, and the smuggling of weapons and drugs have seen a tight vigil.

The sole focus of the colonial powers in the North East region was the economic exploitation of tea and rubber. As mentioned, it was during this time that the seeds of inter-regional disputes were sown. The successive Congress leadership was instrumental in carrying forward this trend.

Decades of neglect and policy paralysis led this once-vibrant region to record low levels of economic growth when, at one point, it surpassed the national average. Concerning issues like immigration, the subsequent refugee crisis, control over resources like oil, tea, and timber, internal and external security, and demarcation of inter-state borders, the indifference of the government in Delhi allowed for a situation of ‘internal colonialism’ to flourish that had been rightly addressed by the current leadership.

Post-Independence, many steps have been undertaken by successive governments to make the North East insurgency-free. In an era of constant disruptions and agitations, talks have shifted to culture, GDP growth, and improved connectivity due to the series of historic peace accords signed by the current dispensation that have been successful in creating an atmosphere of trust via mutual consultations. But the menace of insurgency is a nightmare that still lingers, although the impact of the same has been considerably reduced. Hence, present times demand certain time-based solutions that can do wonders in the process of completely making the Northeast insurgency free.

Having undertaken all the possible measures, it is time to implement certain improvised solutions to effectively uproot the insurgency. Insurgencies strive for manpower. Hence, motivated cadres wishing to join insurgency groups should be psychologically monitored, especially by removing the false narratives of betrayal as compared to modern times in relation to insurgency.

Unemployed youths desiring to join insurgency groups should be motivated by the idea of research and resurgence and employed in the process of nation-building. Historically speaking, insurgency groups have always thrived in remote areas. Hence, intelligence agencies need to monitor these regions with sophisticated technologies like satellite tracking and general packet radio service. The access to lethal weapons in the hands of the insurgency groups (via the easy availability of black money) further strengthens the insurgency groups; hence, a cessation in the inflow of black money can directly or indirectly also reduce the number of insurgency activities.

Hence, in the modern era, alongside all the steps taken by the government, a quick administrative monitoring can be the way ahead to completely eliminating the activities of insurgency in the Northeast.