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Formula For Peace
Conference on National Security
Though some may disagree with the statement, the security situation in the North East region of India today is something far from amusing. The reason is the innumerable cases of insurgency, extortion, intense forms of agitation such as crippling blockades, bandhs, general strikes and such which are called on even the slightest plea occurring more often than not in many parts of the region. This unsavoury development is posing a serious threat to the peace initiatives being undertaken by the Centre in the fund – strapped but resource – rich North East. This is exactly why, at the Chief Ministers’ conference on Internal Security in the region held recently in June this year at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, this issue was debated upon at great lengths.
While lauding the peace initiatives being undertaken by the Centre in the North East, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh himself described the security situation in the region as complex and he quite justly attributed this complexity to insurgency, extortion and agitations which are the main disruptive elements in the hands of the insurgents. Indeed, it is to be admitted that the Centre’s strategy to impress upon the militants of many insurgent and ethnic separatist groups in region to shun the path of violence and to lay down their arms and join the national mainstream and lead a purposeful life or involve them in peace talks has paid off,for peace talks are being held with a number of outfits such as ULFA, NDFB (P) and NDFB (RD). Talks with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland are going on. Soon talks with both the factions of Dima Halam Daogah of Dima Hasao in Assam and three Meitei insurgent groups all of which are reported to have already signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoU)s with the Cnetre – are about to begin. Therefore, it can be surmised that this well – thought – out strategy has not just led to the encouragement of surrender on the part of the insurgents belonging to various insurgent groups and their participation in the peace process but also resulted in a steady decline in the level of militant related violence.
What is even more heartwarming than anything else vis – a vis the security situation in the North East is that there has already been considerable progress in political dialogue with several insurgent and ethnic separatist groups in the region. This was stated by the Prime Minister Dr. Singh himself while he was delivering the inaugural address at the Conference. He reiterated, “We are committed to undertaking and bringing to a satisfactory conclusion talks with all groups and organizations, which are willing to give up violence to seek solutions within the framework of our Constitution.” If in the not – too – distant future, a workable solution is found through ongoing talks with the insurgent and ethnic groups on their various demands, there can be a marked improvement in the security situation in the North East region.
| Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh himself described the security situation in the region as complex and he quite justly attributed this complexity to insurgency, extortion and agitations |
That the Centre is really committed to tackling the issues of insurgency, ethnic conflicts and identity in the North East on which largely hinges law and order situation in the region is mirrored in the holding of similar conference on national security a little over a month after the Chief Ministers’ conference on internal security on 15th and 16th July at Guwahati. It was organized by the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA) in association with Assam Police (Special Branch). In the two – day conference, several speakers including politicians, academicians and security experts offered valuable advice and ideas on ensuring peace in the North East.The statement of the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh Lt. Gen (retd) Nirbhay Sharma about improvement of relations with China assumed significance during the conference owing to the concerns often aired by security agencies and experts over China’s claim over Arunachal Pradesh. Governor Sharma in fact pinpointed the need for building a cordial relationship with China rather than considering the neighbour ‘Enemy Number One’. He said, “Our border with China should be sealed in totality. Yet it should be filtered in such a way that development work on both sides continues unhindered. The ‘China is our enemy number one syndrome’ has to go. After all, a good relationship between China, India and Bangladesh are vital for the entire northeastern region.”
From the Governor’s speech, it is clear that the security situation in the North East will improve if focus is on building better relations with China. Indeed, he did not prescribe any formula to improve India’s relationship with its neighbour. If the bilateral relationship really looks up in the near future, then India will gain in more ways than one – India’s border will remain secure, development work along it will continue unhindered and more importantly, the ‘China is our enemy number one syndrome’ will be removed from our mind.
Governor Sharma also quite aptly stressed on further improvement of relations with neighbours Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan and Nepal because if this fructifies in the not – too - distant future, the security concern in the North East will lessen considerably following a decline in the level of militant related violence in the event of the government of these countries willing to flush out these insurgent groups from their respective territories. After all, it is a widely known fact that these insurgent groups have set up bases there or are holed up or are undergoing training in the use of sophisticated weapons there.
| Governor Sharma also quite aptly stressed on further improvement of relations with neighbours Bangladesh,Myanmar,Bhutan and Nepal because if this fructifies in the not-too-distant future,the security concern in the North East will lessen considerably following a decline in the level of militant related violence in the event of the government of these countries willing to flush out these insurgent groups from their respective territories.After all,it is a widely known fact that these insurgent groups have set up bases there or are holed up or are undergoing training in the use of sophisticated weapons there. |
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, while inaugurating the conference on national security in Guwahati, asked all agencies working to tackle the country’s Maoist problem to follow his development formula for peace. He said that he had handled diverse conflicts of different groups and ethnic communities without hampering the development process. He also said, “Armed rebellion is nothing new in Assam where it has been witnessed since the 1950s.” He said that during these years of the armed conflict, he had realized that security problems can be solved through development and providing employment opportunities to people. Tarun Gogoi also underlined the need for interaction among politicians, academicians, security agencies as well as the public in tackling the issue of insurgency, conflict and identity in the North East.
There is, however, no gainsaying that in the past few years, the law and order situation in Assam has improved markedly with the level of violence declining steadily due to a number of contributing factors, which are, among others, the victory of many former militants in the elections to the Dima Hasao, Karbi Anglong and Bodoland areas, the Tarun Gogoi led Government’s move to set up development councils for some indigenous communities to push for their development and tackle the growing sense of alienation and frustration, and above all, participation of a number of home – grown militant outfits such as ULFA, NDFB (P) and NDFB (RD) in the ongoing peace talks with the Centre.
However, what the people of Assam are at present worried about is the growing activities of Maoists in the State. The issue not only figured in Tarun Gogoi’s last speech at the June 15th Chief Ministers’ Conference at New Delhi but also in his July 15th inaugural two – day conference on national security at Guwahati. The Chief Minister termed this development as the latest threat to the State Government and warned that the emerging Maoist movement which is concentrated mainly in Upper Assam, might spread to Lower Assam and the Barak Valley taking into its fold local militants.
However, one gratifying aspect of all this is that his government is taking steps to ensure that the Maoists do not emerge as a serious security threat in Assam as it has in some parts of the country.
