SPEECH OF HIS EXCELLENCY LT GENERAL NIRBHAY SHARMA PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM (RETD), GOVERNOR, MIZORAM On the occasion of Seminar : Unraveling The Political, Economic And Security Influences In NE India And It’s Impact On The Nuances Of Indo-Myanmar Border (IMB) Management At DG Assam Rifles HQ, Shillong On 23rd June, 2017 Page 1 of 23 Ladies and gentlemen, I am extremely happy to be amongst you this morning. My compliments to DG Assam Rifles and his team for conceiving and organizing this Seminar on a topic of great relevance. The galaxy of speakers and participants indicates a rich fare and I am looking forward to the deliberations, which I am certain will be quite enriching. The topic for the first session is “Insurgency Matrix of North Eastern States : Causative, Political and Economic factors influencing Security Stability”. It is highly relevant and sets the base for our discussions thereafter. Knowing the level and expertise of participants, I will restrict my talk to flag the core issues. Page 2 of 23 But before that, let me present to you a brief historical perspective of the region since it has an important bearing on the cause and effect of the topic. As we all know, North East India is home to a number of tribes, numbering around 213, speaking about 400 different dialects. It is a confluence of the culture and people of Tibeto-Burman, Indo-Aryan and Austroasiatic stock. The region enjoyed autonomy prior to the British, with the presence of political systems such as monarchy and chieftainship. Also, apart from mainland of India, it has to be viewed in conjunction with the border regions of our neighbouring countries, namely Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet (China), Page 3 of 23 Myanmar and Bangladesh, as also the Bay of Bengal and beyond. Prior to British rule in the North East, we know that Ancient Assam was ruled by Kamarupa kingdom (4th-12th century), and by the Ahoms and other chieftains during medieval times upto the 17th century. During this period, Ahom-Mughal conflicts took place, prominent being the Battle of Saraighat (1671). It was followed by the Burmese invasion of Assam in early 19th century, which was followed by the colonial period. The process of British rule in the North East began with the Battle of Yandaboo on 24th February 1826, when they drove out the Burmese from Assam. Page 4 of 23 Initially, the British followed a policy of isolation and non-interference. However, the policy changed with the prospect for tea industry and oil in Assam. After 1826, the British made Assam a new division of Bengal. In 1874, it became a province of British India. Significantly, this new province included the Sylhet region, which belonged to Bengal. The British felt it practical to administer Assam with the already educated Bengalis. This was the genesis of movement to Assam from Bengal. Protection of economic interests was a key factor leading to the annexation of the hill tribes. Manipur and Tripura, which were princely states, were reduced to subordinate status. Political control over Nagaland was Page 5 of 23 established in 1878. Meghalaya was annexed in 1872-73, and Mizoram was brought under control in 1889. Arunachal Pradesh was administered by an Assistant Political Officer posted at Sadiya in 1882. Coming to the 20th century, the region witnessed the start of conflict in the form of Insurgency. Political consciousness among the Nagas began with the participation of a few Nagas in World War I. As early as in 1918, the Naga Club was formed. By 1929, the Naga leaders had submitted a memorandum to the Simon Commission asserting self-determination of their own future. This was carried forward by the educated elites, and eventually the Naga National Council declared Independence on 14th August 1947, under the leadership of Phizo. In 1975, the famous Shillong Accord was signed, by which a Page 6 of 23 section of the NNC gave up arms. However, disgruntled factions formed the National Socialist Council of Nagaland. Subsequent tribal rivalries led to a split into the NSCN (Isak-Muivah) and NSCN (Khaplang) factions. There were something like 13 Peace Accords which were signed between 1949 and 2005 in the North East. Out of these, the Mizo Accord of 1986 is the outstanding success story. Causative factors (political and economic) influencing security stability Various measures adopted by the British sowed the seeds for the feeling of isolation and exclusion amongst the North East tribals. The most obvious of these was the Page 7 of 23 Inner Line Regulation. (The Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation introduced in 1873 was extended to NEFA (Arunachal Pradesh) and the Naga Hills. The Inner Line Regulation was enforced in the Lushai Hills in 1896.) The Regulations restricted contact between the hill tribes and the plainsmen, and also aimed to curb clashes between the British subjects and the tribals. This marked the beginning of isolation of the North East tribes. They became effectively cut off from the political, economic and social development in the rest of the country, including most importantly, the National Freedom Movement. (This policy of exclusion was followed by the Government of India Act 1919, which gave the Governor General-in-Council the authority to Page 8 of 23 declare any British territory as “Backward Tract”. No Act of Indian legislature would apply to these territories, which covered the Lushai Hills, the Naga Hills and the North Cachar Hills. Regional sentiments were reinforced, and the situation was exacerbated by the creation of “Excluded Areas” by the Act of 1935.) Another development of immense significance was the introduction of Christianity. Prior to the British, the tribals were primarily animists and worshipped different forces of nature. The British missionaries introduced Christianity in Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya and the hills of Manipur. They took great initiatives in improving basic amenities, such as health and hygiene. The British introduced the Roman script in Mizoram and Nagaland. Of particular Page 9 of 23 importance was the introduction of education, as the newly educated elites would play major roles in the formulation of ethnic nationalism. Christianity fostered a sense of difference from mainland India, which was seen as primarily ‘Hindu’. North East 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 are accentuated, giving rise to discontentment and assertion of one’s identity. Also, the colonial rulers took nearly a Page 10 of 23 century to annex the entire region, and administered the hills as a loose ‘frontier area’, with the result, that large parts of the northeastern hill areas never came in touch with the principle of a central administration before. Hence, their allegiance to the newly formed Indian nation-state was lacking from the beginning – accentuated by the creation of East Pakistan (today’s Bangladesh) – which meant the loss of a major chunk of the physical connection between mainland India and Northeast India. Interestingly, 99 percent of the Northeast’s boundaries is international and only one Page 11 of 23 percent is domestic boundary. It is therefore necessary that the region should no longer be “boxed in” and breakout both within and without, South East Asia and beyond included. All these resulted in poverty, backwardness and lack of good governance. It must be noted that the GDP of North East pre-independence, prior to the policy of economic exploitation and migration from Bangladesh, was higher than that of mainland India. All these issues perhaps explain, through briefly, the background of the “cause” – political, economic and social. What did we do Page 12 of 23 The government has faced criticism in the way in which it has been looking at the Northeast as an issue of territorial security rather than development per se. The fear of a growing Chinese influence and inimical relation with Bangladesh in the past have also cast their shadow to reinforce this belief. In 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”. There is also a view that politico-administrative arrangements made by the Centre have also been lacking. For instance, the introduction of the Sixth Schedule Autonomous Councils ended up creating multiple power centers instead of Page 13 of 23 bringing in a genuine process of democratization or autonomy in the region. Consequently, there are ten such Councils in the region and many more demanding such status. There have also been issues of political power play, vested interests, and the militancy industry. All the while, the centre of gravity also rested in Delhi, with enormous dependance on Delhi for policies and directions. These crutches require to be removed. What we should do Page 14 of 23 The conflict is one which is mired with complex politico-economic issues. The following approaches may be the way ahead :- 1. Politics of Identity : The politics of identity lie at the heart of the bigger part of the current conflict constellations in the Northeast. In this regard, the need of the day is to change the narrative of States being synonymous with ethnicity. Instead, these are to be seen only as administrative boundaries. Page 15 of 23 2. Apprehension of assimilation : A distinction must be drawn between integration and assimilation. The old apprehensions of the tribal societies must be put to rest and I can do no better than quote Mahatma Gandhi, who said, “I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed.