The Northeast
A perusal of news items from the three operational areas in Northeast India suggests that insurgent and terrorist activities overflow into neighboring states and the various groups maintain close contact with each other. Thus in Arunachal Pradesh the little-known Arunachal Dragon Federation (ADF) is said to have provided shelter and support to the fleeing ULFA cadres of Assam. The activities of Naga insurgents have been noted in some Arunachal villages while the elected government of Nagaland lays claim to land of its northern neighbor. 5 Mountain Division under 4 Corps has been conducting Operation Falcon at Namka Chu since 1986 (see http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/MONITOR/ISSUE3-3/natarajan.html) while the ITBP and the SSB secure the international border.
In Sikkim the 33 Corps under the Eastern Command originally fielded three mountain divisions and an artillery brigade to secure the border with China. However one division (the 27th) was deployed in J&K during Operation Parakram in 2001-02 and after the recognition of Sikkim as an Indian state by China that division has been retained in the former state. There is a danger of Maoist insurgents from Nepal using Sikkim as a stepping-stone to join hands with insurgent groups in India’s northeast.
In each operational area insurgent groups are ranged against one another on an ethnic basis. Thus Meghalaya has the Achik National Volunteers Council (ANVC) claiming to represent the Garos while the Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) ostensibly fights for the rights of the Khasi people. The ANVC desires a “greater Garoland” within the Indian union and signed a six-month ceasefire in July, agreeing to hold talks with the government. The greater Garoland demand directly affects the Khasi region but surprisingly both groups maintain links with the ULFA and the Naga outfits and both have camps in Bangladesh! The border with that country has been fenced only partially to check cross-border movements.
In Mizoram the Bru National Liberation Front (BNLF) does not desire either secession or a separate state—they seek autonomous district councils from the state government for all Bru-inhabited areas (as already exist for Chakmas, Lakhers, and Pawis). At the close of the year the BNLF agreed to drop this demand and instead consider the concept of a development council for the Bru-inhabited contiguous area in the south of Aizawl district of Mizoram. The BNLF is largely based in Tripura and it is this critical state that needs to be studied in detail.
Tripura
The 3 Corps at Dimapur is responsible for Tripura although no army unit is present in the state and anti-insurgency operations are the joint responsibility of the state police, CRPF, BSF, Assam Rifles, and the Tripura State Rifles (TSR). The principal insurgent groups are the All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF), the National Liberation Front of Twipra (NLFT), and the Borok National Council of Tripura (BNCT)—all of these represent tribal interests against immigrants who have become the dominant population. The ATTF tribals are mostly Hindu and seek restoration of tribal land and the expulsion of Bengali-speaking immigrants while the NLFT tribals are mostly Christians fighting for the secession of Tripura. These groups have further split into factions but maintain links with other insurgents in the northeast and have their usual camps and hideouts in Bangladesh.
The year began with the death of 5 BSF personnel in a landmine blast attributed to the NLFT. The same day (January 03) there was an RPG attack on an ATTF hideout in Dhaka that killed 5 and left 8 injured, including the ATTF president Ranjit Debbarman. Local media speculated that it was a “covert Indian operation”. This was followed by the arrest of 6 NLFT cadres by the Bangladesh Rifles—fallout apparently of Operation All Clear by the Royal Bhutan Army and the consequent pressure felt by Bangladesh in taking action against terrorists before the upcoming SAARC summit.
Encounters between the militants and the security forces continued up to May 7th when 72 insurgents of the NLFT surrendered before the Governor of Tripura. Similarly on October 31st ATTF and NLFT militants to the number of 39 surrendered at the State Police Headquarters. Inconclusive talks with the state government continued but the year closed with the surrender of 138 NLFT militants on December 26th.
Tripura is surrounded on three sides by Bangladesh and the international border is 849 Km long. According to the CPI (M) government of Tripura, the Chittagong and Cox Bazaar tract of Bangladesh is a den of arms and drugs smuggling from SE Asia, which targets Tripura and then spreads out to other northeastern states. All the insurgent groups have contacts with smugglers and international criminal elements and their leaders enjoy lavish lifestyles in their Bangladesh bases. Fencing of the border has been done in patches but has drawn the wrath of Indian and Bangladeshi smugglers who attacked BSF jawans of the 131 battalion in the Bamutia area on June 7th. The Bangladesh Rifles has also resorted to firing on any construction activity along the border as happened on February 19th in the Muhuri char area. Towards the close of the year, in a tragic incident on December 28th, 15 personnel of the Territorial Army and GREF engaged in constructing the Ambassa-Amarpur road were gunned down in an ambush.
It appears that in Tripura, what began as an insurgency has degenerated into terrorism, where unemployed youth are used as cannon fodder to do the bidding of foreign powers while the insurgent leaders build businesses based on smuggling and other nefarious activities. This is practically the pattern across the northeastern states.
