Inhabited by numerous tribes and sub-tribes with fierce clan loyalties, the north-east of India has been plagued by identity-inspired insurgencies since independence. The first of these insurgencies was that of the Naga National Council (NNC) in the mid-1950s. Subsequent decades saw the outbreak of other, similar, insurgencies among the Meiteis, Mizos, Assamese and Boroks.
Over the years, endless corruption, mismanagement of funds, and failure to devolve power to the people has completely jeopardised the unique Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC), leading to the rise of Karbi insurgency.
While the economic-cum-strategic thrust towards CLMV countries has to be invigorated, a re-look at the Act East Policy is warranted to give it a more north-east development oriented under-pinning.
For a state long thought to be a role model to other North-eastern states, Meghalaya has seen a steady rise in insurgency in the last few years. The Garo National Liberation Army has clearly emerged as a potent threat to security in Meghalaya and parts of Assam.
The Meghalaya High Court’s order directing the central government to consider invoking AFSPA in the Garo Hills is more like an advisory premised on a number of High Court and Supreme Court judgments.
A distinctive feature of insurgency in India’s North-East and neighbouring Myanmar has been the tendency among rebel groups to form alliances. Cooperation is deemed advantageous in a hostile terrain, against a powerful and better organised enemy. Several coalitions were formed in Myanmar by the separatist insurgent outfits with well-defined objectives which, however, failed to produce any significant impact on the campaign for independence of the region.
The political imbroglio in Manipur has to be analysed through the prism of likely political gains and losses for the State`s major players, in juxtaposition to the scenario prevailing in adjoining States as well as inclinations of the Central Government.
A resolution of one of the oldest armed ethnic conflicts in the Northeast offers a way forward to resolving many other ethnic conflicts in the region such as those involving Kukis, Meiteis, Bodos, Dimasas, Hmars, and Karbis.
The security audit should be done in a realistic frame and may include some interlocutors and officers of the C&AG`s department given their understanding of the functioning of the state government machinery at various tiers as well as their independence of approach.
