The recent violence in the Bodo areas indicates the risks associated with the formation of exclusive ethnic homelands based on the demands of the majority population (belonging to an ethnic group) inhabiting a particular geographical area. Formation of such exclusive ethnic homelands may prove to be both an assault on the pluralistic ethos of our country and a nightmare for minority groups living in that terrain.
The Prime Minister’s address highlighted critical threats to internal security and expected counter-measures with the aim of refocusing the attention of the police forces on these vital issues.
Although there has been little change in the influence of Naxalites across the country over the past couple of years, patience and concerted effort shall no doubt make the Maoists irrelevant.
The raging controversy on social media regulation post the violence in Assam has left the government in a losing perception battle. It is time to engage with the new media and exploit its potential to communicate strategically and not shoot the messenger
The need of the hour is to activate a clean and transparent record keeping of land by the state so that violence based on the fear of outsiders forcibly taking away the most precious commodity, land, can be effectively averted.
The ongoing violence between the Bodos and the minority Muslim community is a result of increasing tensions over issues of land grab and illegal migration
Without rooting out the parallel structures of an illegitimate economy and violence existing in Nagaland, efforts undertaken by Naga civil society to bring about peaceful reconciliation would only deliver sub-optimal results.
There is much scope for imaginative thinking on the desirability, compatibility of goals and feasibility of the political, cultural and socio-economic components of the new compact as suggested by the Interlocutors.
It is important that the ULFA talks do not get enmeshed on issues that create divisions, counter-claims and result in lack of consensus leading to a locked positional dialogue with no resolution in sight.
There are fears that the NSCN (Khaplang) and NSCN (Khole and Kitovi) will clash violently in big towns like Dimapur and districts like Mon for turf control since both outfits inhabit the same territorial space.
Violence in Bodo Areas: The Risks of Conceding ‘Exclusive’ Ethnic Homelands
The recent violence in the Bodo areas indicates the risks associated with the formation of exclusive ethnic homelands based on the demands of the majority population (belonging to an ethnic group) inhabiting a particular geographical area. Formation of such exclusive ethnic homelands may prove to be both an assault on the pluralistic ethos of our country and a nightmare for minority groups living in that terrain.