How serious Delhi is in her approach to North East issues

Misao Hejang Hangmi *

North East region of India with Myanmar, Bangladesh lying nearby :: Pix - TSE

North-East India commonly known as seven sisters comprising seven States (Arunachal, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura), with one brother i.e, Sikkim is rich in natural flora and fauna. The diversity and rich cultural heritage is what makes the NE special and unique. North East : a region poorly connected to the mainland India by a small corridor also known as chicken's neck, and shared international boundaries with many countries such as Bhutan, Myanmar, Bangladesh and China, is the setting for a multitude of conflict that undermines the idea of India as a prosperous and functioning democracy.

Insurgencies become the hallmarks of the North-East. Conflict and insurgency currently affected most of the states in the region in one form or the other. It is ubiquitous to all States except Sikkim. Comparatively Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Sikkim are at the moment relatively stable. The causes or reasons for the respective conflicts are wide ranging from separatist movements, to inter-community, communal and inter-ethnic conflicts which are in one way the doing of the New Delhi.

The irony is development takes the back seat as a result of which the region lagged behind in terms of economic, educational, industrial, political and human resource development from the Indian mainland. Unfortunately, the data and information on the region is not sufficiently analyzed and communicated between the region and the Centre, contributing to further misinformation, mismanagement and alienation.

At another level, conflict in the region has been an all pervasive phenomena, and in its violent form, it has not only affected the territorial and political sovereignty of the Indian state, but also the life of the various people living in the region in incomprehensible and inexplicable terms. In a drastic and dreaded sense, there is a "culture" of conflict and unfortunately, people have submitted to such an existence. However, amidst the widespread sense of helplessness, there is also an overwhelming desire and force to be free from such a situation of conflict which cripples the people from all sides.

The delay and appeasement policy of New Delhi through the age old tactics of divide and rule in dealing with the problems of North East become disappointing and left a big cloud of doubt in the mind of the people about New Delhi seriousness towards the North-East well being. For instance, the Naga, the Kuki, the Bodo, the Garo etc. movement are some of the unresolved armed conflicts in the region.

In total, Manipur, Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tripura have witnessed scales of conflict that could be characterised as low intensity war. However, it must also be mentioned that internal conflicts have been a permanent feature of the Asian political landscape since 1945, of which post-colonial India is no exception. To gain a holistic understanding of the problem that has historical and contemporary dimensions, it is important to assess and understand the various facets of the problem that interact with each other.

Critical look at New Delhi's approach

New Delhi in her determination to suppress insurgencies in North-East imposed Armed Forces Special Power Act of 1958 under which security forces are given power to kill with immunity provision. The AFSPA became a powerful measure for the central and the state government to act against actors challenging the political and territorial integrity of India. As a result, the Indian army for the first time since its independence was deployed to manage an internal conflict.

But, instead of resolving the problem, it led to an ongoing escalation of the conflict by bringing it on a military level. The regular violations of human rights has led to a radicalization and militarization of the region and weakened also the supporters of a political solution. According to the Human Rights Watch Report (August 2008), "The Act violates provisions of international human rights law, including the right to life, the right to be protected from arbitrary arrest and detention, and the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.

It also denies the victims of the abuses the right to a remedy." A fact-finding commission, appointed by the government in 2004, complained that the "AFSPA has become a symbol of oppression, an object of hate and an instrument of discrimination and highhandedness".

In 2007 data from Manipur showed that every day two persons were killed by the security personnel in the name of counter insurgency under the power conferred to them by AFSPA, which means the figures of human right violation stood at an alarming rate of 730 people killed in a year. The study further analysed that if the trend continue then the Manipur population will be wipe out of the globe in no time. The iron fist strategy of the government under AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Power Act) for instance, shows the inability and reluctance of the government to solve the conflict with adequate political measures once and for all.

The Ceasefire and Suspension of Operation initiative of New Delhi and the State Government with various insurgent groups of NE in their attempt to subside conflicts yielded no positive results so far. The people wait and see the outcomes of this initiative but the larger population remain sceptical taking into account the delay tactics of New Delhi in solving the vexed NSCNs/Naga issue. The famous word of political leaders "Pump in money if the Northeastern people rebel", reverberated throughout the region especially when the decade old ceasefire with the GOI and NSCNs takes to no clear direction.

The recent development in the region; where the Indian Air Force speeds up their bases or stronghold to counter the Chinese menace by deploying the latest fighter Sukhoi MKI exacerbate the people's doubt on New Delhi genuineness to North-East issue. The tide takes a different turn when the north eastern insurgent groups formed an umbrella organisation and seek the help of China in their desperate attempt to achieve their objective. It is believe that they obtained logistic, strategic and arms support from China.

The recent news about Maoist attempt to set up bases in NE and their tie-up with some of the NE separatist groups add salt to the wound. This new development becomes a grave concern for India because their combine effects could be a big blow to india's integrity. At the same time historical connections among the traditional tribes in the Northeast are largely of Tibeto-Burman/Mongoloid stock and closer to Southeast Asia than to South Asia which is considered as a viable threat to geographical and political integrity.

The region is ethnically, linguistically and culturally very distinct from the other states of India. Though cultural and ethnic diversity per se are not causes for conflict, but one of the major problem areas is that the Northeast is territorially organized in such a manner that ethnic and cultural specificities were ignored during the process of delineation of state boundaries in the 1950s, giving rise to discontentment and assertion of one's identity. Interestingly, the Northeast's boundaries are 99 percent international and only one percent is domestic boundary.

Policy of Look East

India's 'look east policy' is a foreign economic policy initiative towards South East Asia. The Northeast which is geographically situated between mainland India and Southeast Asia is supposed to have had immense developmental benefits as a result of this initiative and hence, have synergy effects on reducing poverty in the region; as well as on insurgency and armed conflict.

The region's diverse natural resources, rich bio-diversity and enormous hydro-electricity potential, among others, could also help to overcome the widespread feeling of backwardness among the inhabitants of the Northeast. But there is also increasing argument made that the impact of increased introduction of market imperatives in the traditional society of the region would have irreversible impact on the people's culture and life and it would also lead to increased settlement of mainland people to the northeast. Thereby it is of high importance, that the announced opening will take place in a regulated frame and through cooperation with the local people, which the centre till date failed to do, otherwise it could aggravate the tensions between the centre and the region.

The government has also faced criticism in the way in which it has been looking at the Northeast as an issue of territorial security (buffer states) rather than development per se. The fear of a growing Chinese influence, as well as, increasing cross-border terrorism (Myanmar, Bangladesh) in the region are some of the factors cited as reasons for limiting India in its attempt to open the region.

To conclude, New Delhi needs to do something more than 'carrot and stick' policy to find a durable solution to the North East enduring problems by considering it as an integral part of India's democracy in tune with the words of Clemens Spiess, the various problems and conflict constellations in the Northeast "represent(s) durable challenges to the integrative and accommodative capacity of Indian democracy". A crying child needs care and an ailing child longs for a healing touch. So long as the government lack political will to solve the vexed north east issue it will continue to be the playground of the political game.