Need For Peace In the North-East Mithun Dey Insurgency in the North-East has been eating into the vitals of the nation since independence. It always stood on the path of progress, prosperity, peace and integrity of the nation. Recently it has increased which should be a cause concern for all. The incidents of massacre of innocent people, extortions and sabotage should be taken seriously. Insurgency in the North-East has been a perennial problem for the nation. Various ethnic factors, forest cover, hilly terrain, networking among militant groups, porous international border with Bhutan, China and Bangladesh and involved of foreign genies have made the situation more complex. Among these, the insurgency in Nagaland has been the oldest and the most formidable one. Following it is a model, several groups have cropped up in the region. The terrorist activities in the North-Eastern region began with the Nagaland secessionist movement, which subscribed for a brief spell when in 1963 Nagaland become a separate state. But still, demand for sovereign Nagaland is being espoused by a group of people and it perpetrates insurgency in Nagaland and adjoining areas. In Manipur, initially, insurgency was provoked by the delay in granting statehood which laid the foundation for the secessionist movement. People’s Revolutionary party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) posed a serious insurgency problem. Naga and Kuki are the two major tribal groups still clash with each other while claiming Manipur as their own territory. Their rivalry often results in mass killing. NSCN and Kuki national Army also come in conflict with each other on political and economic interests. In Tripura, the National Liberation Front of Tripura and All Tripura tiger Force, the main tribal extremist groups want the non-tribal to move out of the state. For this, they have resorted to terrorism. Mizoram also suffered from insurgence when MNF demanded creation of a sovereign State called Greater Mizoram. Peace could return only when Mizoram was made in 1987. Assam has been the worst sufferer due to various ethnic movements. Its territorial area has reduced drastically with the creation of Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. The ULFA and UNF area are two major militant organizations of the State, Assam. In 2009, the killing of Anil Majumdar, executive editor of the Assamese daily, Aji, in Guwahati was shocked. Occurring barely four months after the murder of Jagajit Saikia, another journalist in Kokrajhar, the developments lay bare the escalating threat of life faced by working journalists in the State. This has been a phenomenon witnessed not just in Assam but in many parts of the North-East plagued by conflict situations stemming from insurgency, secessionism, ethnic unrest and unstable political environment. Assam, the State has witnessed killing of journalists since 1987 when K. Agarwalla of The Assam Tribune, Kampur and Pabitra Narayan, The North East Times, Sivasagar gave their lives. Since then there has been rise of such cases and more than 20 journalists have either lost their lives or gone missing. The Government and the law should enforce agencies in dealing with the mounting attacks on media persons. The Government must also take serious note of the growing attacks on media persons and make some meaningful intervention. Certainly the situation is grim. Mobilizing youth power into a constructive force, foreign linguistic and ethnic cohesion, providing means of livelihood to people and deploying resource of human development and propagating values of liberty, equality and fraternity are some steps to bring peace. The government should continue its exercise for peace, worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow. It only takes away the strength of today. Patience and perseverance shall always be companies. Development and mass consciousness will pay rich dividend.
Posted on: Fri, 20 Sep 2013 16:50:08 +0000
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