Nearly 30 militant groups operate north east India. These struggles have left more than 50,000 dead in six of the seven north eastern states since 1947. Demand of such groups range from creation of autonomous regions to right of self-determination.Another 44,000 (by New Delhi count) to 1,20,000 (by independent count) people have sacrificed their lives in Kashmir since 1989. India occupies the Muslim majority state against the aspirations of its 10 million inhabitants.
Bordering China, Tibet, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar the seven states, comprise the contiguous states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. They are connected to the rest of India by a narrow strip of 20 kms land in West Bengal. This is the Siliguri Corridor that resembles a chicken's neck. These remote states have been ravaged by more than 60 years of bloody conflicts.
Much of the region does not match with the rest of India ethnically and linguistically though tribal populations proudly claim their origin in Aryan and Dravidian stocks. They prefer to co-mingle with the Indo-Burmese and Indo-Tibetan strains. There exists, therefore, little or no reciprocity with the rest of India.
The region is underlined by a turbulence of languages, races, religions and civilizations. Around 400 tribal and sub-tribal groups fear loss of identity. Village is pitted against village, tribe against tribe, tribal against non-tribal. Locals fight against migrants and independence movements battle for secession (or autonomy) for their various districts, states, or pan-state tribal homelands.
Over 50,000 people have died in the violence since 1947. Large numbers of people have been displaced by conflicts. There are reports that hundreds of thousands of Muslims have forcibly been displaced in Assam, Manipur and Tripura by angry rioting mobs over recent years, living in roadside huts on the national highway and unable to own or work the land.
Access is tricky. Workers from humanitarian outfits are in general denied entry into the states. Those who do get in are closely monitored and their movements restricted. "It's completely forgotten," says Helen O'Neill of MSF-Holland, which works in Assam and Manipur. "Nobody really thinks about it or knows about it. It surprises us that there isn't more out there in the press about it. But India really does not want international NGOs treating it like the Third World," Neill added.
The conflicts have their roots in the extraordinary diversity of the area. Its people have resisted control by the empires of India throughout history. The seven ringed states have been added to political India only in recent times. Assam (which included at the time of Indian independence, Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya) was rarely part of political India for most of its history; Manipur and Tripura were princely states, also rarely a part of political India; Arunachal Pradesh was beyond the outer line of British India at the beginning of the 20th century; and Sikkim too was not part of political India. Also, the annexation cut off the region from its traditional trading partners (Bhutan, Myanmar and Indo-China). Partition of India in 1947 made the region a landlocked area, exacerbating its deprivations and aloofness. It has become a captive market for mainstream Indian capitalists since then.
Emergence of Bangladesh in 1971 with Indian intervention further spelt economic disaster for these states. Their inland water, road and railway links with the rest of India were abruptly severed and they lost access to any port. With political changes in Myanmar, the softer borders that lay to the east hardened and encouraged migrants from Myanmar, Nepal and Bangladesh to add to the worries of the region's population. Since inception, New Delhi's rule in the region is strongly opposed and resented by the newly educated elite of the tribal societies who accuse the Indian government of encroaching on their independent status and tribal way of life and freedom. The states are poorly governed and rife with corruption and extortion.
Here is a brief introduction of the main insurgent groups and conflicts in northern India:
NAGALAND The conflict in jungle-covered Nagaland is India's oldest and credited with inspiring others in the region. Nagas, a loose collection of about 30 tribes, have fought since 1947 for a separate homeland that includes parts of the predominantly Christian state of Nagaland as well as areas in Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
The billions of dollars' worth of oil thought to be underneath Nagaland is also a factor in the conflict. Local people assert the revenues from the oil will help make Nagaland a self-reliant state. The National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) is the most powerful rebel group in the region. It has accused New Delhi of wanton killing of their cadres and encouraging rival groups to attack them. Despite numerous talks between the government and rebels, little progress has been made.
ASSAM The insurgency in Assam first arose from demands for the deportation of Bangladeshi migrants. To the dismay of the natives, New Delhi granted citizenship in 1985 to the millions of settlers who arrived before 1971 from Bangladesh. The insurgency is spearheaded by Bodo tribesmen who resent the settlers. The Bodos feel they are being marginalized in their homeland by the influx comprising an estimated 40 percent of Assam's population.
Since then rebels have continued to attack police, security forces, politicians and railway construction workers. An estimated 10,000 people have been killed in separatist violence.
MANIPUR The United National Liberation Front is fighting for independence for Manipur. Here more than 18 active insurgency guerrilla groups are fighting troops for political freedom. The violence has left more than 20,000 people dead in the tiny state which borders Myanmar.
Manipur has been administered by the Indian army since 1980. Since there exists little industry in Manipur, frustrated young people are willing to join the separatists. Manipur also has an endemic drug problem because of its proximity to the opium fields of the Golden Triangle, with an accompanying epidemic of HIV/AIDS.
TRIPURA Tripura, a knob of land protruding south into Bangladesh, is home to native tribal and Bengalis. They want ejection of Bengali immigrants and frequently resort to attack the Bengali-speaking community. Such attacks have caused displacement of an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 IDPs.
ARUNACHAL PRADESH Arunachal Pradesh, the most north-easterly state, though appearing relatively peaceful, suffers from an overflow of violence from neighboring Nagaland. Indigenous insurgent groups have started appearing in most parts.
MIZORAM In Mizoram the Mizo National Front signed a deal with New Delhi in 1986, ending a 20-year insurgency but the Bru National Liberation Front (BNLF) armed groups have continued guerilla war and inflicted considerable casualties in the fight with security troops.
MEGHALAYA Many of the tribes in Meghalaya have set up militant groups engaged in criminal and extortion activities. The key militant outfits - the Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) and the Achik National Volunteer Council (ANVC) camouflage their activities with political demands for protection against foreigners and the creation of separate homelands.
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed