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GS3 (Science and Technology)

The successful testing of Reusable Launch Vehicle by ISRO is a great achievement for the Indian space sector. What is a Reusable Launch Vehicle? What is the significance of RLV for India’s space sector?

GS2 (Polity and Governance)

WHO has reported that India has the highest number of TB patients across the globe. Examine if India has failed to provide minimal health care to its citizens.

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GS1 (Indian society)

What are the reasons for increasing demand of reservation by middle castes such as Jats, Kapus, Marathas and Patidars? In this context, discuss problems with Indian reservation policy and analyse if India needs to review its reservation policy?

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In the third part of the series, we analyse Government’s response to the NE insurgency and the way ahead . (The part one of the series is here part two is here)

Government’s response    

The Central Government is pursuing a policy for talks/negotiation with such groups which categorically abjure violence, lay down arms and seek solutions for their problems peacefully within the framework of the Constitution of India. As a result, number of outfits have come forward for talks with Government and have entered into Suspension of Operation (SoO) agreement, and some of them have signed Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) and yet others have dissolved themselves.

Those who are not in talks are being dealt with by the Central Armed Police Forces and the State Police through Counter-Insurgency Operations.

The Central Government is supplementing efforts of the State Governments in dealing with the insurgency through various measures. These include:

• Deployment of Central Armed Police Forces to aid the State authorities for carrying out counter insurgency operations and providing security for vulnerable institutions and installations
• Reimbursement of security related expenditure to the State Governments under SRE Scheme. The scheme is being implemented in all States of the region except Mizoram and Sikkim.
• Central assistance to the State Governments for modernization of State Police Forces
• Sanction of India Reserve Battalions for augmenting and upgrading the states’ police forces to deal with insurgency /militancy
• Banning the Unlawful Associations operating in NE Region under UAPA (Unlawful Activities(Prevention) Act, 1967)
• Declaring specific areas/states as ‘disturbed areas’ for the purpose of AFSPA and issuing notifications for Unified command Structure etc.
• Scheme for Surrender-cum Rehabilitation of militants in North East to wean away the mis-guided youth and hard-core militants who have strayed into the fold of militancy and later find themselves trapped into that net.
• Civic Action Programme in the North Eastern States in order to take the local populace in confidence and boost the image of armed forces amongst the common people. Under this Programme, various welfare/developmental activities are undertaken like holding of medical camps, sanitation drives, sports meets, distribution of study material to children, minor repairs of school buildings, roads, bridges, etc. and running adult education centres etc.
• Advertisement and publicity to highlight the activities being undertaken by the Government for peace in the region and also with a view to convey that “Peace pays”.

Recent Initiatives by the Government for development of the North-East

 1. From Look East Policy(LEP) to Act East Policy(AEP):

A greater focus on:

• External Angle : Essentially, concerning relations of India as a whole with ASEAN & East Asia
• Internal Angle : Development of North East India that makes it a viable gate way for the rest of India to ASEAN & East Asia

2. The Kaladan Multi Modal Transit project:

The project will connect Sittwe Port in Myanmar to the India-Myanmar border via roadway. It will provide alternative cost effective shortcut to landlocked north eastern states. Originally, the project was scheduled to be completed by 2014, but work on it is still underway.

Once operational, it will provide an alternate access route to India’s north east region and contribute towards the regional economic development and reduce pressure on the Siliguri Corridor.

3. The India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway

The India-Myanmar-Thailand (IMT) trilateral highway is expected to become operational by 2018-19. Also, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is planning to extend the proposed India-Myanmar-Thailand highway to the CLMV (Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam) countries in the second phase. This will then give India direct access to the South-East and East Asian markets

4. Development of Moreh (Manipur) as a smart city:

Manipur is the most critical state in India’s connectivity to Myanmar and South East Asia. 99% of overland formal trade goes through Moreh.

5. North East in Hydrocarbon Vision 2030 aims to double oil and gas output in the next 15 years.

6. North East Rural Livelihood Project

It is being implemented in 2 districts in each of 4 North Eastern States of Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. The objective is to create sustainable community institutions around women Self Help Groups (SHG), Community development groups (CDG) and the youth of the select districts. It was launched in 2013 for a period of 5 years and is aided by the World Bank.

[Related reading: Can Northeast become economic hub of India? What factors promote or prevent from that happening?]

The way ahead: “Acting East through North East”

Although varying in their demands and methods, there is a common thread running through the insurgency infested north-east, that is of identity and development. Hence, some solutions that are common need to be explored with specifics derived from them for specific regions and groups. Following are some suggestions:

1. Decentralisation with alertness: Meeting the political aspirations of groups by giving them autonomy. Implementing sixth schedule provisions in these areas will help them to preserve their identity and culture while giving them greater autonomy.

2. Need to pursue a developmental approach: If institutions of development are created in the region, the problems of politics, society, ethnic strife, militant assertion and of integration will get minimised. E.g.

• Improving road and railway connectivity within the North-East
• Modernization of the primary sector and a vigorous programme of rural development
• Stress on processing industries connected with agriculture, animal husbandry, horticulture and forestry and also service industries related to the rural infrastructure like irrigation, rural electrification, transport and communication, marketing etc.
• Modernization of border trading framework
• Improving infrastructure

Also, the developmental approach must ensure the participation of the masses of all groups in the development process with reasonable equity in the distribution of costs and benefits. Another point to be stressed is that development in the North East must be ecologically sustainable and must not be eco-degrading.

3. Improving Governance and delivery mechanisms of the government and administration.

4. The pre-condition of complete abjuring of violence for holding peace talks is a flawed notion. If violence is discarded and peace is established then the need of peace talks become futile. Dialogue should be an ongoing process to reach concrete solutions by involving all the stakeholders and not a single group.

5. Coordinating operations with the neighboring countries and use of force only when needed.

6. The report by 2^nd ARC recommends that even in dealing with the purely ‘law and order aspects’ of insurgency and violence in the region, much greater reliance needs to be placed on the local police than has been the case so far. While deployment of the Armed Forces of the Union may be required, there is a strong case for minimising their use for operational purposes in a region which still continues to harbour a sense of alienation.

7. State police and central forces should cooperate on intelligence sharing, investigation and operations against militants. It has been alleged by the army that the June 2015 ambush of the army became possible because state police did not share the intelligence about the attack with it. It is unfortunate and counter-productive.

8. Also, there is important spill-over effect of insurgency in one State on the contiguous States. Therefore, the problem has to be viewed and tackled in an integrated manner considering its regional external effects, uniformity in its basic nature and also the linkage between the insurgent outfits of different States.

9. Civil-military relations are a critical ingredient for a successful political strategy to counter insurgencies in areas like the North East. Better civil-military relations in states like Mizoram ensured that a twenty year old Mizo insurgency (1961-1986) was rooted out through joint civil-military strategies like the grouping of villages, which had relocated nearly 80 per cent of Mizoram’s population to 102 new villages known as ‘protected and progressive’ villages.

10. Speedy implementation of the North East Vision 2020 and speedy completion of the projects already underway like The Kaladan Multi Modal Transit project, The India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway etc.

11. The need for Sub-State diplomacy: States in border areas have a natural cultural and economic interest in our foreign policy orientation towards our neighbours. There is a need for all the States in North East to be more involved in diplomacy with neighbouring countries. Inclusion of Chief Ministers of Border States of North East in Prime Ministerial visits to neighbouring countries is a welcome step.

[Related Reading: Role of border states in India’s Foreign policy]

12. There is a need to promote a ‘pan-India fraternity’ that bridges the psychological and emotional gap between the North-East and the rest of India.

13. A recognition that the security and territorial integrity of India in the North East can be best fortified by the combined economic strength of the States in the North East and their economic integration with ASEAN , BIMSTEC and East Asia.

In the second part of the series on the Northeast insurgency, we analyse the factors responsible for the insurgency, the challenges being faced and  the impact of insurgency on the region’s economy. (The first part of the series is here)

Factors responsible for insurgency in the Northeast

• Lack of development and basic amenities coupled with corruption and diversion of funds, often to the coffers of insurgents e.g. siphoning of food-grains meant for the public distribution system, a large proportion of which falls in the hands of the militants
• Unemployment problem in the region stands as a major cause for sustained insurgency.
• Feeling of alienation and deprivation among the tribal population
• Demography: In spite of several political permutations and combinations, the political boundaries in most cases do not coincide with the existing social boundaries. It has lead to the demands of various ethnic categories for recognition of their distinctive identity.
• Similar ethnicity across the border on Myanmar side
• Porosity of the border with Myanmar due to difficult terrain
• Change in demographic pattern due to infiltration from across the border
• Disconnect with the other parts of India and fellow Indians
• Widespread corruption among the ruling elite
• Lack of visionary leadership among the tribal communities
• Easy availability of arms and ammunition
• Political support from various factions
• Instability in Myanmar
• Factional in-Fighting among the insurgent groups.
• Military reasons – AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Power Act).
• External support – China and Myanmar.

Challenges and concerns:

1. The linkage with organised crime

The biggest challenge to the North East is extortion carried out by various insurgent groups. Extortion has become meticulously organised activity in the region and is one of the major sources of funds for the militants. Other sources of their funding include arms and drugs smuggling.

2. Maoist Consolidation in North East:

The Maoists have been able to extend the red corridor to the Northeast. The arrests of various top Maoist leaders in this region during 2013 revealed the extent of Maoist infiltration in Northeast India.

The Maoist rebellion in Northeast India is at present in its ‘latent phase’ which involves mobilization of the masses, political awakening, visiting villages, engaging in small struggles on local issues, picking up students’ issues, fighting corruption, short–listing shelter and arms dumps and identification of local militant elements.

3. Spread of Islamist Militancy:

Northeast India, shares an 1880 km long porous border with Bangladesh, a country that is a hotbed of Islamist militancy. Though radical Islam has not yet seeped into the Muslim population in the region, the arrests of twelve persons in Assam during November‐December 2014 with links with the Islamist terror outfit Jamaat‐ul‐Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) shows that radicalization of a section of Muslim population has begun in the region.

4. Trans-national linkages

India’s Northeast is one of South Asia’s hottest trouble spots, not simply because the region has as many as 30 armed insurgent organizations operating and fighting the Indian state, but because trans-border linkages that these groups have, and strategic alliances among them, have acted as force multipliers and have made the conflict dynamics all the more intricate.

The impact of insurgency on economy:

 The persistent insurgency atmosphere has been the most important contributor to economic stagnation of the region.

1. Connectivity:

The gateway to the North Eastern Region is the chicken’s neck of Siliguri area in North Bengal and all flows to and from the Region on the surface routes have to pass through this neck and the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam, Guwahati being the grand nodal point. Therefore, any disturbance in the Brahmaputra Valley and/or its adjoining hills brings the activities in the whole of the Region to a stand-still position.

2. Infrastructure:

The subversive activities of the insurgents’ damage rail tracks, cause accidents leading to loss of life and property, create terror among the travelers and throw the entire system out of gear. Similarly, vehicles in the State and National highways are often attacked, passengers and transport workers are killed or wounded and sometimes abducted for ransom; and goods are looted.

3. Industry including petroleum and tea:

As the articulated economic grievance hovers around the idea of so called regional colonialism based on the alleged drain of rich resources of the region, any violent political movement makes petroleum and tea as its target.

4. Environment:

On the one hand, insurgents damage forests by taking shelter there and on the other, anti insurgency operations also lead to denudation of forests. This not only means that conservation activities and other forestry operations are hampered thus resulting in the loss of valuable natural resources but also that a grave threat is posed to the fragile ecology of the region.

5. Development of the interior areas

The insurgency has aggravated the problem to such an extent that development workers of both the Government and NGOs are utterly discouraged from going to the hilly and rural areas as they face constant extortion and threats of abduction or death.The insurgents by breeding a cult of hatred against the supposed or real outsiders are blocking all inflows of resources, ideas, expertise and initiative to the societies of the North East.

 

In the next part, we will analyse Government’s response to the NE insurgency and the way ahead . (Click here for part 3). This is supposed to be one of the most comprehensive series in Internal Security related Issues. Your feedback is welcome ?

In this article series we focus on understanding the insurgency in North-East India.

The North-East region:

The Northeast region of India comprises eight states – the Himalayan state of Sikkim and the contiguous seven Sister States (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura).

 

North East India is connected to the Indian mainland by a small corridor – Silghuri Corridor (also known as Chicken Neck – with a narrow width of only 23 kilometers.)

Strategic Importance of the region: About 99% of the 6387 km border of this Region is international border along Bangladesh, Myanmar, China and Bhutan. It makes up close to 40% of India’s land borders with its neighbours. It thus has an extraordinarily important international strategic dimension and is a vital part of the nation’s defence architecture.

Bridge to South East Asia: The region is a bridgehead between India and the vibrant economies of Southeast Asia, including southern China.

Economic Significance: North East is endowed with huge natural resources (oil, gas, coal, hydro, fertile land, etc) which can be harnessed for nation development.

A historical background of the North-East

Pre-independence era: During the British era, the tribal groups constituted an overwhelming majority of the population in most of the areas they inhabited. Outsiders were not allowed to acquire land in the tribal areas. At the same time, the British government supported the Christian missionaries to move in and establish schools, hospitals and churches.

There was a virtual absence of any political, cultural, social, geographical, religious or business contact of the tribals in the North-East with the rest of the India. So India’s freedom struggle had very little impact on the tribals.

Post-independence era: The sixth schedule of the Indian Constitution provided for self rule, autonomy and decentralisation in the region. Thus district and regional councils were created.

Initially, there was only one state of Assam and one Union Territory NEFA (North East Frontier Agency) covering the whole of north-east.

While NEFA was developing comfortably and in harmony with the rest of the country, problems developed in other tribal areas which were a part of Assam administratively. The tribals were afraid of losing their identity and being assimilated by the policy of Assamization in government jobs and other professions.

There were demonstrations and a major agitation developed. In 1969, Meghalaya was carved out of Assam as a ‘state within a state’. Finally, Meghalaya, Manipur, and Tripura were granted statehood in 1972.

Meanwhile, secessionist movements developed in Nagaland and Mizoram. Nagaland was granted statehood in 1963 itself, while Mizoram became a state in 1987. Also, NEFA was renamed as Arunachal Pradesh and granted the status of a separate state in 1987.

Difference between insurgency, terrorism, militancy and extremism

Before we move further, it is important to understand the difference between the terms ‘insurgency’, ‘terrorism’, ‘militancy’ and ‘extremism’. [Recall the previous article series on Cross Border Terrorism, Left wing Extremism (Naxalism)]

Militancy is a condition which experiences the use of violence, being combative or predisposed to fight. Militants can include any individual or group which takes to violence. This need not only include terrorists and insurgents, but also religious groups which take to violence to further their beliefs.

Extremism is a state wherein a person or an organisation holds extreme political or religious views.

If one were to compare these terms, an extremist may not necessarily be committing a crime under the law. A number of groups, political and religious, fall under this category, for instance, the separatists in Kashmir and Maoist supporters.

Insurgency: The Indian Sub Conventional Doctrine defines insurgency as “an organised armed struggle by a section of the population against the state, usually with foreign support. Possible causes of an insurgency including ideological, ethnic or linguistic differences; or politico-socio-economic reasons and/or fundamentalism and extremism.”

An insurgency may have within its fold both militant groups supporting it as also extremists who propagate its ideology. But, insurgents are our own citizens, whereas terrorists may not always be our own citizens.

Present Situation of insurgency in the North-East

The security situation in some of the north-eastern states has remained complex for a long time because of a number of militant outfits and their diverse demands. Assam, Manipur and Nagaland have continuously been a point of worry.

The Government has steadily followed a policy of dialogue and negotiations with any outfit which agrees to forego the path of violence and come forward for peace talks within the constitutional framework of India. In general, the security situation in most of the north-eastern states has shown considerable improvement during the last 5 years.

State wise status and reasons behind the insurgency:

 Nagaland:

The Nagas believe that they were not part of India, whether through conquest or consent. The Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) is a Naga nationalist group operating in North-east India. The main aim of the organisation is to establish a soverign state, “Nagalim” unifying all the areas inhabited by the Naga people in Northeast India and Burma. (See the backgrounder section here for a brief history of the Naga movement)

Issues:

• Clashes among different tribal groups and factions
• Presence of underground groups that deal in extortion, arms, drugs, smuggling etc.
• Parallel government

Recent developments:

The govt of India and Naga insurgent group NSCN (IM) signed a peace accord on 3 August 2016. However, this is only a framework agreement. The details of the accord are yet to be fleshed out. It is likely to be followed by more detailed agreements and negotiations.

Assam:

The perceived threat to the political identity of the Assamese people from the illegal migrants from Bangladesh lies at the core of the Assam problem. The indigenous people of Assam feel that in future the illegal migrants will become the majority population and they will lose political power.

Statehood demands in Assam:

1. Bodoland
2. Karbi Anglong
3. Dimaraji
4. Kamtapur

Recent developments:

In July 2012, violence broke out with riots between indigenous Bodos and Bengali-speaking Muslims (who were suspected to be illegal Bangladeshi muslims). Violence in Assam later had its repercussions in other parts of India, Azad maidan riots in Mumbai, Rumour mongering (via sinisterSMSs) triggered exodus of NE Indians.

[Related reading: Assam Riots and Demand of Bodoland]

 Manipur

The people of Manipur include the Meitei tribe, the Kuki tribe and the Naga tribe. Meitei tribe forms about 60% of the total population and lives in the plains while Nagas and Kukis live in the hill districts.

Issues:

• There are more militant groups in the states than anywhere else and the rivalry between these outfits often leads to greater violence.
• The situation is further complicated because insurgent groups are not united for the same cause. The Nagas wish to annex a part of Manipur and merge with a greater Nagaland or Nagalim, which is in conflict with Meitei insurgents’ demands for an independent state.
• Unlike other conflict theatres of the Northeast, not many ‘surrenders’ have been reported from Manipur, thus indicating the tight control that the outfits have maintained over their cadres.
• Also, non-Manipuris are being targeted increasingly in Manipur.

Recent developments:

In June 2015, 18 Indian Army jawans were killed and several others were injured when suspected militants ambushed their convoy in Manipur’s Chandel district. In response to the killing of 18 of its troops by militants in Manipur, the Indian Army in one of its biggest covert missions sent troops into Myanmar to strike at two camps and, according to official estimates, killed over 20 suspected militants.

For more details on the Manipur insurgency read the backgrounder section here.

Related reading: Inner Line Permit controversy in Manipur

Meghalaya

Meghalaya is perhaps the least affected by insurgency in the north-east region.

Problems in Meghalaya arise from the divide among various tribes as well as the divide between tribal and non tribal settlers, identity issues and growing corruption, besides the sharp changes in demography due to Bangladeshi infiltrators. Also, criminal activities like extortion and drugs smuggling are a major concern in the region. The state lies in a major smuggling route between Bangladesh and India.

Mizoram and Tripura have shown remarkable success in controlling insurgency and now they are largely peaceful.

Arunachal Pradesh

The people of three eastern districts of Arunachal Pradesh, namely Tirap, Changlang and Longding live in perpetual fear due to presence of cadres of two NSCN factions in the area, who resort to kidnapping, extortion and factional feuds. These three districts are a part of NSCN-IM’s  projected state of Nagalim (Greater Nagaland).

Arunachal Pradesh has also been used as atransit rout by the ULFA (United Liberation Front of Asom).

The next part in this series will analyse the factors responsible for the insurgency, the challenges being faced and  the impact of insurgency on the region’s economy (click here for Part 2). This is supposed to be one of the most comprehensive series in Internal Security related Issues. Your feedback is welcome ?

GS4 (Case study)

There was a fire at Central Ammunition Depot (CAD), Pulgaon recently which claimed the lives of two Army officers, one Army jawan and 13 civilian firefighting staff. You are the Director General of Military Operations. The investigation by Army’s Court of Inquiry reveals no evidence of sabotage or a short circuit causing the fire. The investigation documents claim that some of the decisions taken by you in the past were not altogether correct. There were others also who were party to these decisions. If these documents are made public it will lead to disciplinary action with possibility of punishment against you as well as your colleagues. However, these documents can be camouflaged to mislead the public resulting into no punishment for you.

Otherwise you are an honest and conscientious officer. But this particular decision turned out to be wrong.

The following are the courses of action available to you. Evaluate the merits and demerits of each option.

1. You can refer the matter to your superior and seek his advice and act strictly in accordance with the advice, even if you are not completely in agreement with the advice of your superior.

2. You could proceed on leave and leave the matter to be dealt by your successor in office or request for transfer.

3. You can weigh the consequences of disclosing the information truthfully, including the effect on your career, and reply in a manner that would not place you or your career in jeopardy, but at the same time a little compromise can be made on the contents of the information.

4. You can consult other colleagues who are party to the decision and take action as per their advice.

Also please indicate (without necessarily restricting to the above options) what you would like to advise, giving proper reasons.

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GS3 (Issues related to Conservation)

The human population boom is the biggest drain on the planet’s resources. So if we don’t consider culling humans, we do not have the right to cull other species. Critically comment in the context of current debate on culling of animals.

Best answer

Nitish Singh wrote the best answer for this question and got a score of 4.5/10 (if the best answer is an image, it cannot be uploaded here, hence scroll down to see those). The answer is being reproduced below for everyone’s convenience. Of course these answers can always be improved. (Best answer  of a particular only involves those given on that day, later answers may not have been checked)

GS2 (International Relations)

With few achievements in its pocket, BRICS has largely remained a dormant association. In the light of the above statement discuss what major issues/challenges are being faced by this multilateral forum and what should be done to make BRICS a genuine powerhouse.

Best answer

Nitish Singh wrote the best answer for this question and got a score of 4/10 (if the best answer is an image, it cannot be uploaded here, hence scroll down to see those). The answer is being reproduced below for everyone’s convenience. Of course these answers can always be improved. (Best answer  of a particular only involves those given on that day, later answers may not have been checked)