Sansad TV Perspective: Peace in the Northeast

In the series Sansad TV Perspective, we bring you an analysis of the discussion featured on the insightful programme ‘Perspective’ on Sansad TV, on various important topics affecting India and also the world. This analysis will help you immensely for the IAS exam, especially the mains exam, where a well-rounded understanding of topics is a prerequisite for writing answers that fetch good marks.

In this article, we feature the discussion on the topic: Peace in the Northeast.

Anchor: Teena Jha

Participants:

Guests:

1. Anil Choudhary, Former Secretary, Internal Security, Ministry of Home Affairs 
2. Deepak Diwan, Senior Journalist
3. Maj Gen (Retd) Dhruv C. Katoch, Director, India Foundation

Context: Tripartite agreement was signed between the Centre, Assam government, and eight armed tribal groups of Assam.

Highlights of the discussion:

• Introduction.
• Significance of the tripartite agreement.
• Internal security in India.
• Measures taken by Government and their impact.
• Challenges that still exist.

Introduction:

• The Union government aims to resolve inter boundary disputes in the Northeast and also strike reconciliation with all armed insurgent groups by 2024. 
• Various agreements have been signed with armed groups since 2014, with 93% of these pacts implemented on the ground. 
• Some recent achievements regarding insurgency in the Northeast since 2014:
  • The number of insurgency-related incidents in the northeast had reduced from 824 to 158. 
  • The number of civilian killings in the region had declined from 212 to 6.
  • The number of security forces killed during the same period had reduced from 20 to 2. 
  • Moreover, approximately 10000 cadres had surrendered and joined the mainstream.
  • Nearly 7000 weapons had been surrendered. 
• It was reiterated during the agreement that the Centre is making every effort to make the whole of the North East and its largest state Assam free from drugs, extremism, and controversy.

For more information on the agreement, read here: PIB dated 15th Sep 2022

Significance of the Tripartite Agreement:

• As per the accord, the Centre and the state government will churn out 500 crore rupees in the next five years for the development of infrastructure in the tribal areas of Assam. The basic infrastructure demands include schools, medical facilities, and housing.
• This is the third biggest accord in the region which includes many tribal groups.
• There have been surrenders of approximately 1182 individuals along with 157 arms, 887 ammunitions, 21 grenades, and 7 IEDs.
• The area will flourish and the locals will develop confidence in the system. It will have a cascading effect on the other insurgent groups as well.
• The accord will usher in an era of peace in Assam, especially among the Tea Garden labourers. 
• It has the potential to end the journey of insurgency in Assam.

Internal Security in India:

• Internal security in India has been a huge challenge. According to late CDS General Bipin Rawat, India not just faces twin challenges but ‘two and a half’ challenges, where ‘half’ refers to internal security challenges.
• The major reason behind the insurgency in the North East is the existence of multi-ethnicity. There are a large number of tribes and sub-tribes that have their own aspirations and expectations.
• If the North East region is developed, it automatically impacts the peace within the country.
• The major threat in North East India comes from China as far as the border area is concerned. This conventional threat gets magnified if there is an insurgency incident in any of the North Eastern states.
• Moreover, our resources get utilized in countering the insurgency threats.
• Since peace is the greatest dividend and Assam is the most significant state in the region, peace efforts in Assam can further give impetus to stability in the region.

Know more about the Naga insurgency in the linked article.

Benefits of peace accords with the insurgent groups:

• These accords have huge potential as their impact goes much beyond the region.
• It is also important to understand that India’s foreign policies like Act East and building bilateral relations with other South East Asian countries depend immensely on the stability of the region.

Measures taken by Government and their Impact:

• The political space and the political will shown in the recent past by both the central government and the respective state governments have received positive responses both from the locals and the insurgent groups.
• These efforts have resulted in restricting the presence of these insurgent groups to very few places. For instance, Splinter Alpha Group which was once a major threat has lost its ground support in Assam. Similar examples exist in Nagaland, Mizoram, etc.
• The efforts are still continuing through discussions with various groups in different states. For example, in the Kuki region of Manipur, tripartite talks are underway with 25 terror outfits.

Challenges that still exist:

• Manipur still remains a disturbed area. This can disrupt the process of making the entire region extremism free.
• There are often issues of infiltration from across the border, especially from countries like China and Myanmar. Though it has been dissipated to great extent, small-scale activities are observed multiple times.
• Reconciliation becomes difficult when the geographical boundaries between the two states are involved. For example, Nagaland insurgent groups are claiming territories of Manipur.
• Moreover, there are groups whose demands are not feasible to be met and can create delays in the peace process.
• The biggest challenge in the entire process is the assimilation of the people of North East into mainstream India.

Conclusion:

It is the development work that has made inroads for this government and helped it gain rapid success in getting the agreements ratified. Thus, development should happen at a faster pace and its benefits should flow to the people of the region for lasting peace in the region.

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