North-Eastern Region Held Back by Insurgency

Known as the Seven Sisters of India, the states of Assam, Nagaland, Tripura, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh are isolated and largely unexplored. They could be a tourist paradise given the natural beauty.

Moreover, at a modest calculation, the area has the potential to produce more than 50 thousand megawatts of hydro-power given the nature of the rivers and topography -- more than enough to cater for the energy requirement of the entire region.

Yet, here, there is little development, little industry, a falling per capita income and, most alarmingly, a rising insurgency.

Insurgency

Insurgency is killing the region's rich cultural heritage and the traditions of the many tribes living in the region, whose way of life has remained unchanged for centuries.

After Indian-administered Kashmir, the remote North-Eastern region -- linked by a 20-kilometre-wide corridor to the rest of the country -- is India's most violent and heavily-patrolled region.

It has been plagued by a fierce guerrilla war between tribal separatists and Indian troops. The conflict has claimed about a life a day over the past four decades.

Fuelled by unemployment

A senior Indian government official has said that the bulk of the violence in the region is being inflicted by insurgents, who have converted insurgency into a livelihood.

The desire of the Indian government to invest in the region is increasingly evident. All state departments have provisions to spend 10 percent of their budgets on development in the region.

But so far development is nowhere to be seen. With no new industries coming up in the area, more and more youths are treading the path of violence with one militant organisation or the other.

Independence

As India celebrates 60 years of independence from British colonial rule, in this region the question being asked is: Are we independent? Here, the word "independence" connotes independence from India.

Every year, in the run-up to Independence Day, insurgent groups carry out blasts, killing at random innocent human beings. This year is no exception.

Insurgents have already killed nearly two dozen Hindi-speaking migrants since the beginning of August. And four major regional insurgent groups have called for a boycott of the Independence Day celebrations.

The celebrations in this part of the country usually means a day of strikes and a very gloomy atmosphere.

Rival militant groups

The situation has worsened over the past two decades. In these seven states, many insurgent groups run parallel administrations, and the police and government are helpless.

Each militant organisation is fighting for a "sovereign" and "independent" Manipur, Nagaland or Assam.

Hindi-speaking businessmen are currently fleeing the area because of killings and extortion attempts by insurgent groups.

Manipur

Manipur is one of the most violent of the Seven Sisters. The historical inclusion of the state, which was a distinct kingdom for nearly 2,000 years, into the Dominion of India is hotly contested.

When the British colonial rulers left India in 1947, Manipur actually regained its independence. But just two years later, it became part of India. More than one dozen militant groups are active in this tiny hill state alone.

The insurgent groups increasingly issue dictates and rulings on moral and social behaviour, enforced with the threat of violence.

Bollywood films are no longer screened in the state because of their allegedly "corrupting Indian influence".

Conflicting figures

Officials estimate that over 10,000 have died in Manipur since the conflict between government troops and insurgent groups fully broke out in the early 1980s. Others say that the real figure is far higher.

More than 20,000 people have been killed in insurgency-related incidents in the whole area in the last two and half decades. But again the unofficial figure is much higher than that. More than 250 people have been killed this year so far.

Until problems of unemployment are addressed, the greater danger posed by insurgents will not be solved in this troubled region.