By Shamsul Basunia
The
Indian government is mulling the arrangement of polls for early next
year in this region amidst the threat of large scale insurgencies by the
United Liberation Front of Assam - ULFA and its associates among the
CPI (Maoist) left leaning political parties that exist in the state very
predominately.
Once
Maoist cadres’ numbers were only around 300, now, how many nobody
knows. Neighbouring Arunachal, Nagaland, Meghalaya and the sovereign
country of Bangladesh are encouraging these fronts.
The
protagonists are engaged in seeking all sorts of support. Bangladeshi
people once were and still are soft on them, they think and express
their memory that previously the Bangladeshi peoples needed support from
the Assamese, in the period of the liberation war that was staged in
1971. Thus this link of today.
India’s
Home Affairs minister for the first time formally declared Assam as a
Maoist-hit state. Insurgencies are predominant there. However, why are
people of the state witnessing such painful scenarios every day? These
are agro-based states in the India. However, minerals are another
salient feature. Agriculture is dominant though over other elements.
The
State Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi noted that the Maoist movement is
still at its embryonic stage, but could soon emerge as a potent threat
to peace, security and stability. The adjoining areas in Arunachal
Pradesh, were established with some co-operation of the left-wing
insurgency-rife states of Odessa and Jharkhand.
Tripura
Chief
Minister of Tripura Manik Sarkar says, the insurgency has not been
uprooted yet, despite all out efforts. Militants are still on the
operational mode in interior places of the state. Few months earlier, a
treaty was signed between central government and the insurgents residing
in the state.
However,
Border Security Forces along with other forces like Tripura State
Rifles, and Tripura Police are jointly performing their duties to keep
peace in the state but in most of the cases, without success.
Sociologists opine that the budget that the centre sanctioned for the
state is adequate. That pains the people of this state. They are not
able to compete in the pace of development as other developed states
like, Uttarpradesh, Gujrat, Madyapradesh, Kerala, Karnataka etc.
Nagaland
Nagaland
is one of the seven states of North East India, which are also called
the ‘seven sisters’, surrounded by four countries, viz. China, Myanmar,
Bangladesh and Bhutan. These states are connected with mainland India
through a 22km wide corridor at Siliguri, called the ‘chicken’s
neck’.The people of Nagaland, like the rest of the North East states,
belong to the Indo-Mongoloid group and speak the Tibeto-Burman dialects.
Traditionally, the people followed animistic religions until their
recent rapid conversion to Christianity. Nagaland was carved out of
‘greater Assam’ in 1963.
The
Tuensang Tract was also included in Nagaland, which was a part of North
Eastern Frontier Area at that time. Naga people were deprived of any
development works, suffered in employment opportunities, becasue of
poverty, maltreatment and uncaring political hegemony that made them
unruly and furious and sometimes pushed them to resort to armed
struggle. Narendra Modi government has signed a peace treaty recently
but the development package is yet to follow and that makes them once
again aggrieved .
Arunachal
Arunachal
is a state which identifies as a next-door neighbour to Myanmar, Bhutan
and Bangladesh. As New Delhi is far from the state, it demands its
sovereignty because the people of this state see they are deprived of
all modern amenities and facilities that are being enjoying in the rest
of the country. Over the course of time, the protesting people formed
Bodo Liberation Tigers and began to fight against the armed forces to
liberate themselves. All Students Union joined with their struggle and
at one stage matters went beyond the control of the central government.
Finding
no other way, the government established ties with the insurgents
eventually but there has been no development. People are collectuively
groaning amidst torture, and misrule.
Meghalaya
Meghalaya
is a North East Indian state that lies at the doorstep of Bangladesh.
China is very near to the state and the insurgents take opportunity to
bring in weapons from that country as the Untied Liberation Front of
Assam - ULFA - in Assam did and does. Social injustice, economical
deprivation and political hegemony make the state restless. State and
central government take very little care and this makes the majority of
people aggrieved, yet again.
Government
initiatives do not make them happy. The state supplies coal and other
natural resources to the whole country but the people get nothing that
they aspire to. The youthful forces, along with the support of
Chittagong Hill Tracts insurgents, make them stronger. This strength
mounted more and more plus the Assamese began to help them to fight
against government forces. Now the government is striving to pacify the
insurgency but pragmatic strategy by the Indian government has not
followed.
Manipur
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi’s high-level Task Force on the Northeast wants
the army to be pulled out of counter-insurgency duties in Manipur and
Nagaland, and re-deployed east to guard the porous border with Myanmar.
Like the other members of the seven sisters, Manipur is replete with
in-demand natural resources but the people of this state do not in-full
get their rights and privileges as other Indian states enjoy.
Justice
and humanity itself speaks loudly for the provision of this state its
full due of shares and rights that they need to enjoy life. However, the
central government fails to serve the people of this state. No
neighbouring country has time to ignite other’s insurgencies, as they
are busy with their own domestic needs and problems.
Mizoram
The
20-year long insurgency in Mizoram led by the Mizo National Front was
resolved as far back as in 1986, and the State has, since, been at peace
in terms of that stream of insurgency. Nevertheless, the ethnic
polarization and tensions provoked by the MNF insurgency continue to
trigger occasional violence linked to a range of other armed groups,
some of them located in and operating from neighboring states.
On
February 2, 2015, armed militants suspected to be from National
Liberation Front of Tripura and Bodo Democratic Front of Mizoram
abducted 22 people from an area close to the Indo-Bangladesh border in
Mamit District of Mizoram.
Sources
disclosed that around 10 militants armed with sophisticated weapons
later released 20 of them, while holding back two hostages - Hokum Singh
and Mohammad Buizul Islam. The hostages are employees of the Border
Roads Task Force. On February 1, 2015, the Mizoram Police and Assam
Rifles, in a joint operation, arrested two arms dealers from Vanzau
village in Champhai District near the Indo-Myanmar border. These
incidence are unceasing.
What
has come to light in recent days is the effect of a decision of the
central government to allow Hindu refugees from Bangladesh into Assam,
and the locals in these states are worried about getting swamped, and
see this as a move to alter the demographics with next years election in
mind.
With
the situation already tense due to non-application of minority rights,
and an over-reaching New Delhi political stretch the Modi government
needs to pay special attention to what is happening in Assam and bring
the Assamese into the dialogue when making policies.
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