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Analysis
North Cachar :
Black “Jewel” of India’s North East
By
Col. Rahul K. Bhonsle
India’s North East
is a vast region with over 200 ethnic communities and an equal number of
vales with a unique culture and identity. The people in these areas take
great pride in retaining their ethnic and cultural identity. Some deviants
amongst them have fallen prey to terrorism which has assumed a criminal
color. Thus extortion, kidnapping and crime are the flavor with ideology
used as a cultivated prop to sustain their anti social activities.
North Cachar, in Assam is one such area which has seen over 30 people being
killed in the past fortnight or so. North Cachar has two principal groups of
the Dima Halam Daogah (DHD), the Dilip Nunisa and the Jewel Gorlosa faction.
The Nunisa faction is in cease fire mode while the DHD (Jewel) group offered
for peace during the month after being accused of causing extensive violence
over the past few years in the area. Dilip Nunisa was particularly
apprehensive of this peace offer indicating, “It is strange that after a
series of brutal killings of innocent people they have suddenly come out
with the so-called ceasefire proposal. It seems like the outfit is trying to
buy time for re-grouping, since several of its cadres have been arrested or
killed in recent times.”
He accused that, “The outfit led by Gorlosa has become a puppet in the hands
of the NSCN (IM)”, to Sentinel, Assam. The corruption racket in North Cachar
Hills is driven by the DHD Black Jewel group which is at the forefront in
all militant activities of extortion and kidnapping.
Meanwhile to increase security in North Cachar, a Border Security Force (BSF)
battalion was deployed for protection of personnel engaged in the railway
gauge conversion project. This raises the number to three BSF battalions in
NC Hills and Karbi Anglong. “We held a series of meetings with the Railways
recently and decided to deploy one more battalion in NC Hills to provide
exclusive protection to the personnel engaged in the gauge conversion work,”
inspector-general of the BSF (Assam and Nagaland frontier), P.K. Mishra
indicated to the Daily Telegraph.
The apprehension expressed by Dilip Nunisa of sincerity of the Jewel Gorlosa
faction is justified given the large number of charges of kidnapping and
extortion against it. The Group is also seen as an extension of the NSCN IM
in the area. The NSCN IM is outsourcing many of its tasks to such groups as
it facilitates in collecting money and conduct criminal activities in such
areas.
These fears found expression in the killing of many innocents by the DHD
(Jewel) faction in the past few weeks, resulting in the railways suspending
operations in the area. Most of the victims were innocent labor and truck
drivers, attempting to earn an honest living through their hard labor.
North Cachar is however a microcosm of the violence in the North East.
According to Ministry of Home Affairs, in 2007, the North East Region
recorded 1,489 incidents, more than in Jammu and Kashmir which had 1332
incidents. J&K recorded 3,401 incidents in 2003, whereas the number of
violent incidents in NER was limited to 1,332. Civilian killings in the NER
have escalated to 498, highest since 2003. During the same period, violence
in Kashmir claimed only 158 civilian lives. Till 2006, the NER had recorded
less civilian killings than Kashmir. In casualties among security forces
thankfully NER is behind J&K. In 2007, 79 security forces personnel were
killed in NER, whereas in J&K, 110 died in action. Interestingly, Naxal-related
violence has overtaken both the NER and J&K recording 1,565 incidents.
However, as far as civilian casualties are concerned, it is less than those
recorded in NER.
In the North East, Assam has emerged as the top state with highest civilian
killing of 314 including security forces personnel. Last year, the State
recorded 584 incidents, and the first three months of 2008 saw 153 violent
incidents, resulting in 62 killings. This spells for a violent year ahead.
Guwahati is emerging as a flourishing arms bazaar with weapons and
explosives traded for the large number of militant groups operating in the
North East numbering approximately 30. 10 Programmable Time Explosive
Devices (PTED) were seized by the police recently, "The PTEDs were meant for
the ULFA (United Liberation Front of Asom) and was headed to Kakopathar in
eastern Assam through the Network Travels cargo," said city police spokesman
Debojit Deuri. These were being regularly booked through a transport
operator’s network. Cox's Bazaar in Bangladesh has been a favorite location
for arms running in the North East. Similarly the border areas are also
favorite haunts of militant groups for purchase of weapons. "Almost all the
underground groups in the North East purchase weapons at a very cheap price
from gunrunners in the border areas, especially Bangladesh. You can buy
everything including missiles," Kughalo Mulatonu, a senior rebel leader of
the S.S. Khaplang faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN)
stated recently.
As in other militancy affected areas, the solutions in the North East will
come from within the region. The catalysts will remain education, employment
and enterprise. Till indigenous people develop such capabilities we will
continue to see many Jewel Gorlosa’s stamping out development seen as
intervention by the community.
May 18, 2008
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