Insurgency in North East India

Syllabus: GS 3: Security   > NE insurgency

REFERENCE NEWS:

• Recently, in a historic development, the Government of India and the Government of Manipur signed a peace agreement with the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), the oldest valley-based armed group in Manipur.

MORE ON NEWS:

• The UNLF was formed in 1964 and has been operating both within and outside Indian Territory. It is a banned organisation under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), which was extended for five years recently.
• The agreement is poised to give a fillip to usher in a new era of peace in the North East in general and Manipur in particular.

DRIVERS OF INSURGENCY IN NORTH EAST INDIA

• Difficult terrain
  • The geography and terrain of Northeast India, characterized by dense forests, extreme weather, and limited accessibility due to hills and heavy rains from April to July, significantly aids the persistence of insurgent movements. 
  • Established insurgent groups in supportive terrain can elude state forces for years, employing guerrilla tactics and hit-and-run strategies to surprise the military. For instance, ULFA exploits the limited connectivity and dense forests along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh-Bhutan border.
• Geographical isolation:
  • North East India is connected to the Indian mainland by a narrow stretch of land called Siliguri Corridor (or Chicken’s neck) which is only few kilometres wide.
• Historical reasons:
  • Colonial policy of political non-interference and religious interference
  • Physical repression of insurgence groups in the early years of post-independence period
• Socio-cultural:
  • Cultural differences
• The tribes of the Northeast are mostly of Mongoloid stock and they view themselves as different from the Aryan and Dravidian races of India.
• Ethnic or factional conflict
• All north eastern states except the Arunachal Pradesh have been inflicted with ethnic violence at one time of another in recent history.
• Political reasons:
  • Corruption:
• The political culture of most north east states is fraught with corruption, lack of representation in power structures at the centre, and nexus between politicians and insurgent groups. 
• The result of this is an insecure state structure and insecure public.
• Restrictive laws:
• Laws such as Inner Line Permit and Restricted Area Permit >> inhibit access of outsiders into the region.
• Delhi-centric approach:
• Many of the developmental and counter-insurgency policies for NE region lacks expertise from the ground realities
• Ill-informed administrations:
• Due to low presence of north east people in civil service
• Ineffectiveness and lack of autonomy to local bodies
• Presence of draconian laws:
• Laws such as AFSPA have escalated the conflict by bringing it on a military level. There are regular allegations of violation of human rights by the Indian Army.
• Economical backwardness:
  • North East has underdeveloped transportation and communication
  • Skewed distribution of developmental benefits
  • Agriculture sector
• Still not modernized
• The productivity of agro horticulture crops in the North Eastern Region is significantly lower than the prevailing national standards
• Non-residence dominance in industrial and service sectors
• There is overwhelming dependence for resources on the Central Government
• Public investment in the region has sub-optimal productivity due to weak forward and backward linkages.
• With 96 per cent of the boundary of the region forming international borders, private investment has shied away from the region.
• Porous international border:
  • The 4500 kilometre long international border of India in this region is porous
  • Due the porous border, the insurgents can easily flee to neighbouring countries such as Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh and also establish their underground insurgent bases.
• Governance issues:
  • Inability of governments to control floods and river bank erosion causes unmitigated damage to properties and lives of millions of people every year in the region >> mistrust towards governments
• Availability of arms and drugs:
  • Porous borders has resulted in easy flow of arms, illegal immigrations etc.
  • Youth of north east is vulnerable to drug addiction due to the flourishing drug trade in the so called Golden Triangle.

STEPS TAKEN BY GOVERNMENT:

WAY FORWARD:

• Integration of the region with the mainland:
  • Enhance communication and connectivity, infrastructure improvement for better integration of the region with the mainland.
• Improving law and order situation:
  • Stringent law and fast criminal justice system for quick disposal of insurgents attack cases.
• Greater coordination
  • Between central forces and state forces for better tactical response.
  • Coordinating operations with the neighboring countries to counter transnational insurgency
• Greater cultural interaction:
  • With the rest of the country and socio-economic development that includes a holistic inclusive development.
• Decentralization:
  • Improving administrative efficiency, pro-people governance and strengthening the functioning of local bodies
• Meeting the political aspirations of groups by giving them autonomy:
  • Implementing sixth schedule provisions in these areas will help them to preserve their identity and culture while giving them greater autonomy.
• Withdrawal of draconian laws:
  • Laws such as AFSPA should be repealed as it is one of the causes for inflating insurgency in north east
• Improving agriculture sector:
  • A successful example is the adoption of System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Tripura which has yielded a dramatic rise in productivity >> it can be replicated in all of NER
  • Also speed up land reforms and penetration of rural credit and banking

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Q. "The insurgency in north-east India indeed involves more than just the assertion of ethnic and cultural identities." Comment. (10 marks, 150 words)