Col J P Singh, Retd
I have been a victim and witness of insurgency in J&K. I was pushed into the scourge of insurgency in Nagaland in seventies and Sri Lanka in eighties. I keep trying to figure out why the successive govts have done nothing to rid the nation of this menace. I am sure the nation has learnt many lessons from the past experiences and mistakes. Being in the North, we know very little about insurgences in other parts of the country and people living there know little about us. Hearing its meteoric rise in Assam and Manipur in the recent past, my inquisitiveness to why it has not declined there like Mizoram and Nagaland, kept intriguing my mind. Hence I undertook journey to Manipur, one of the most troubled state in the East, to see for myself the magnitude of the menace. It was purely for academic interest. Talking to various persons effected with militancy, I got an insight into the causes and consequences of lingering insurgency. The subject became more and more interesting as glaring similarities with J&K got revealed. Here the intent is to expose what I came to know of and leave it to the readers to draw parallels with J&K. Interestingly, I found no media coverage of cross border militancy inflicting J&K during my stay in Manipur.
Manipur was called ‘Land of Jewels’ and ‘Switzerland of India’ by Lord Irwin. Geographically the state is divided into two tracts ie the ‘Hills’ comprising of 5 districts and the ‘Valley’ having 4 districts. Three main tribes inhibit Manipur. (i) Meithei (ii) Kuki and (iii) Tangkhul Nagas. Meithei which are 60 % of the population live in and around Imphal and occupy 10 % of the land area whereas 35 % Nagas live in higher hills and own 85 % the area while the Kukis who dwell in lower hills have 5 % of the area in their control. Meitheis enjoy maximum political and economic benefits. Hill areas are totally neglected and that is the major cause of conflict in Manipur.
Manipur is bounded by Myanmar on its East, Assam in the West, Nagaland in the North and Mizoram in the South. Manipur does not have any recorded history. According to researchers, King Pakhangba ascended to the throne in 33 AD and laid the foundation of a dynasty that ruled till Manipur came under British rule in 1891. On 15 October 1949, Manipur acceded to India. In 1963, it was declared as Union Territory. Full statehood was given to Manipur on 21 January 1972 as 20th state of India. Other new states were carved out of composite Assam same year. This led to a sudden upsurge of ethnic awareness. 1971 opened flood gates for huge population shift and unarmed aggression from Bangladesh to Northeastern parts. And the Indian vote bank politics got golden opportunity of political empowerment by trampling national interests. Volcanoes such as at Kokrajahar, Assam, which erupted last year, were net result of illegal immigration and political hara-kiri. Such volcanoes will keep erupting with growing belligerence and increasing numbers of migrant community called Bangladeshi Muslims who are spreading like Hydra in the Northeast. This unique / peaceful aggression of unimaginable proportion will not only impair economic and political stability of the region but will threaten very existence of victim states. How? This is explained in the following paras.
Manipur’s unique location bordering Myanmar provides it the unique advantage of acting as ‘Gateway to the East’ and its proximity to Bangladesh is equally significant. It is through Manipur that Netaji’s Azad Hind Fauj marched through and laid siege at Imphal and Kohima and retreated through the same route after the vacation of the siege. Manipuris; particularly the Nagas, helped the Japanese and Azad Hind Fauj against Gen Slim’s 14th Army and proved their nationalist credentials. Unfortunately the situation is totally different today. Surely something went wrong at somebody’s behest which resulted in more mistakes and disappointment after independence.
Insurgency began in Manipur in 1964 after it was made Union Territory. The separatists demanded a sovereign state, separate from the Union of India. It turned more violent in 1978. The arguments raised were lack of development, plundering of local resources and general discontent. Human rights violations by Security Forces, acting with impunity, further fuelled the insurgency. Presently there are 34 separatist groups that demand independence from India. Of these, the most prominent and violent is People Liberation Army (PLA) of Manipur and has approximately 3000 active cadres with safe heavens in Myanmar. As of today, Manipur and Assam are the worst case scenario in the Northeast as far as militancy is concerned with its roots firmly entrenched across the borders. For several years this region has been rocked by ethnic violence, terrorist killings, sexual crimes, massacre of Hindi speaking people, smuggling of arms, drug trafficking and unchecked influx of illegal migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh. There have been tensions between different tribes leading to blockades and numerous violent clashes amongst Nagas, Kukis, Meitheis and migrant Hindu / Muslims.
Kuki insurgent groups of Manipur want a separate state for the Kukis to be carved out from the present state. Whereas Nagas wish to annex hilly parts of Manipur and merge it with a greater Nagaland or Nagalim, which is in conflict with Meithei insurgent groups demanding complete independence from Indian Union. The rivalries between separatist outfits often lead to wide spread and greater violence. For too long successive govts in Delhi have viewed the lingering insurgency as law and order problem. The real problem lies in the history and geography of three hundred diverse ethnic groups which constitute the region’s 3.5 crore population. People living on both sides of our extensive international borders with China, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh are bound by centuries old linguistic, ethnic, cultural, religious and economic ties. There is extreme poverty in bordering countries. India has better opportunities. Hence they migrate to India where they are welcomed by their tribes. Can the population influx be separated by a mere geographical line called border or LOC when so much of their inheritance is on the other side? Hence a compulsory need to respect their shared and community identities. Can mere laws and imaginary lines prevent border crossings. But that does not mean that we live in fear and uncertainty. Is there any solution in sight? The prickly liberal intelligentia has turned its eyes from the ground reality. Politicians prefer migration to convert them to votes; willy-nilly inviting immigration. Once empowered they reinforce separatists and insurgent groups seeking Azadi. The existing scenario is proliferation of militant outfits at an industrial scale with no end in sight. Considering the magnitude of problem, flawed policies and vote bank politics of successive regimes, India is not going to have peace in the Northeast for years to come. Illusive peace may still be acceptable. The moot question intriguing nation’s mind should be will the troubled areas remain part of India.
Northeast is totally land locked and still poorly connected to the rest of India. Its pre 1947 rail link via Bangladesh is dysfunctional. Once thriving with inland water and river transportation system, taking its products to international markets, it no longer enjoys access to any sea because its main rivers flow into Bangladesh. This physical isolation was further compounded by the failure of successive govts in New Delhi to strengthen the bonds of emotional integration of diverse communities who inhabit this region.
The problems have been further worsened by misgovernance at the state level and above all the anti India forces operating from territories of neighbouring countries, primarily Bangladesh and Myanmar. It is time that the centre and effected states take concrete and corrective measures to extinguish the volcanic fires or else Manipur, Assam and Kashmir like volcanic eruptions will keep occurring in many more states on the periphery of victim states and may even lead to furious confrontations and final disintegration.
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