Insurgency in Northeast India

Various groups are involved in the Insurgency in Northeast India, India's north east states, which are connected to the rest of India by a strip of land, as narrow as 14 miles, known as the Siliguri Corridor.

In the region several armed factions operate. Some groups call for a separate state, others for regional autonomy while some extreme groups demand complete independence.

Northeastern India consists of 7 states (also known as the seven sisters): Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, and Nagaland. Tensions exist between these states and the central government as well as amongst the tribal people, who are natives of these states, and migrant peoples from other parts of India. Regional tensions have eased off as of late, with Indian and state governments' concerted effort to raise the living standards of the people in these regions. However, militancy still exists within the region. At present insurgent activity is present in Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura.

Assam
Assam has been the hotbed of militancy for a number of years due to its porous borders with Bangladesh and Bhutan. The main causes of the friction include the anti-foreigner agitation in the 1980s and the simmering Assam-Bodo tensions. The insurgency status in Assam is classified as very active.The government of Bangladesh has arrested and extradited senior leaders of ULFA.

ULFA
The United Liberation Front of Assam was formed in April 1979 to establish a sovereign state of Assam through an armed struggle. In recent times the organisation has lost out its middle rung leaders after most of them were arrested.

NDFB
The National Democratic Front of Bodoland was formed in 1989 as the Bodo Security Force, aims to set up an autonomous region Bodoland.

KLNLF
The Karbi Longri N.C. Hills Liberation Front is a militant group operating in Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao districts of Assam that was formed on May 16, 2004. The outfit claims to fight for the cause of Karbi tribes and its declared objective is Hemprek Kangthim, meaning self-rule/self-determination of the Karbi people. It is closely linked with the ULFA (United Liberation Front of Asom)

UPDS
The United People's Democratic Solidarity was formed in March 1999 with the merger of two terrorist outfits in Assam's Karbi Anglong district, the Karbi National Volunteers (KNV) and Karbi People’s Front (KPF).

Manipur
The locally-elected government was dissolved in 1949 after the "Manipur Merger Agreement." After the Government of India occupied Manipur in 1949, there was widespread discontent and anger among the indigenous people.

Insurgency started in Manipur as early as in the 1960s.

India extended the Armed Forces Special Powers Act to Manipur from Nagaland in 1958.

Several clubs and organizations were formed. One of these was the United National Liberation Front which was created in 1964 and demands an independent socialist state of Manipur.

Subsequently, the federal government announced that various civil organizations and clubs were illegal.

The UNLF went underground. The army atrocities and neglect from the Government of India has led to the mushrooming of various underground organizations. The heavy deployment of armed forces has not helped and only led to more discontent and anger among the indigenous people, more so owing to the Army's atrocities and violation of human rights in the name of counter-insurgency operations.

Peoples Liberation Army
The Peoples Liberation Army is a leftist organisation formed in 1978 with the aim of liberating Manipur from India.

PREPAK
People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak is an armed insurgent group in Manipur demanding a separate and independent homeland.

Nagaland
Nagaland was created in 1963 as the 16th State of Indian Union, before which it was a district of Assam. Insurgent groups classified as active, mainly demand full independence. The Naga National Council led by Phizo was the first group to dissent in 1947 and in 1956 they went underground.

NSCN-IM
The National Socialist Council of Nagaland was formed in 1980 to establish a Greater Nagaland, encompassing parts of Manipur, Nagaland, the north Cachar hills (Assam). The NSCN split in 1988 to form two groups namely  NSCN(IM) & NSCN(K). As of now, both the groups are in ceasefire with the Indian government.Though sovereignty and independence was their ideology initially, of late the Indo-Naga talks seem to centre around Greater Nagaland which itself is being vehemently opposed by the states of Assam,Manipur,Arunachal Pradesh etc. solely for the reason that it is nothing sort of encroachment on their territories which continues to forment suspicion and ill-will in the North-east India. However, they continue to be actively involved in illegal activities including extortion, kidnapping, inter-factional clashes, bootlegging and recruitment besides imposing various tax/duties to all types of commercial enterprises and establishments. In spite of the name, the Council's ideology is Maoist rather than Hitlerite.

NSCN-K
The National Socialist Council of Nagaland—Khaplang is the second faction with the same aim of a Greater Nagaland and was formed in 1988.

Tripura
The insurgent groups in Tripura were emerged in the end of the 1970s, as ethnic tensions between the Bengali immigrants and the tribal native population who were outnumbered by the former hailing from other parts of India and nearby Bangladesh which resulted in their being reduced to minority status even threatening them economically,socially, culturally which thus resulted in a clarion call of safeguarding tribal rights and cultures.Such being the extent of desperation naturally resulted in hatred and suspicion and as such their status is classified as very active.

National Liberation Front of Tripura
The National Liberation Front of Tripura was formed in March 1989.

All Tripura Tiger Force
The All Tripura Tiger Force was formed by the local aboriginal tribals in 1990, who were gradually outnumbered both directly and indirectly even at the cost of being threatened for their survival economically and culturally not to speak of their being reduced to minority population-wise, with the sole aim of the expulsion of all Bengali speaking immigrants from the rest of India and nearby Bangladesh.

Meghalaya
Problems in Meghalaya arise from the divide between tribals and non tribal settlers, identity issues and growing corruption besides the fear of being reduced to minority by native tribals. The activity status is classified as active.

ANVC
The Achik National Volunteer Council was formed in 1995 with the intentions of forming an Achik Land in the Garo Hills. , a Suspension of Operations Agreement (SoO) between the Government and ANVC has been in force since 23 July 2004.

HNLC
The Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council, formed in 1992, aims to free the state from the alleged Garo and non-tribal Indian domination.

Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA)
The Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) aims to establish a separate "Garoland" for the Garo people. It was formed in 2009, and consists of 70 members, most of whom are ex-members of ANVC, Liberation of Achik Elite Force (LAEF) and National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB). GNLA has been involved in extortion, attacks and bombings.

Mizoram
Mizoram's tensions are largely due to the simmering Assamese domination and the neglect of the Mizo people. In 1986, the Mizo accord ended the main secessionist movement led by the Mizo National Front, bringing peace to the region. Insurgency status is classified as partially active, due to secessionist/autonomy demands by the Hmars, chakmas, Brus, Pawis, Lais and the Reangs.

Hmar People's Convention-Democratic - HPC(D)
The Hmar People's Convention-Democracy is an armed insurgency group formed in 1995 to create an independent Hmar State in North East India. It is the offspring of the Hmar People's Convention (HPC), which entered into agreement with the Government of Mizoram in 1994 resulting in the formation of Sinlung Hills Development Council (SHDC) in North Mizoram. Their recruited cadres are from the States where the Hmar people are spread - Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Meghaaya. The HPC(D) is demanding a separate administrative unit under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India.

BNLF
The Bru National Liberation Front was formed in 1997 to protect the rights and dignity of the Reangs. The BNLF have surrendered with 757 of their comrades to the Mizoram Government on 21 October 2006.

External references

 * "The Other Burma: Conflict, counter-insurgency and human rights in Northeast India"
 * Mansi Mehrotra Bodo Uprising
 * Sinlung
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