Northeast Mass Militancy Platform

Samudra Gupta Kashyap looks at the resurgence of groups that have come together on a common platform.


In 1990, some of these groups — NSCN-K, ULFA, UNLF and Kuki National Army — had formed Indo-Burma Revolutionary Front, which is now defunct. Several armed rebel groups of the Northeast, having lain low for some time, have become active again after coming together on the newly formed United National Liberation Front of Western Southeast Asia. In 1990, some of these groups — NSCN-K, ULFA, UNLF and Kuki National Army — had formed Indo-Burma Revolutionary Front, which is now defunct. NSCN-K, which tops the list of constituents of the new platform, carried out the June attack in Manipur where 18 Army men were killed, while ULFA’s anti-talks faction, under pressure to match the other groups, killed two Hindi-speaking persons in Assam this week.

NSCN-K
Formed after the original NSCN split in April 1988, NSCN-K had entered into a ceasefire with the government in 2001, three years after the NSCN-IM had signed a similar agreement. But after waiting 14 years for a call for talks, it abrogated the ceasefire in March 2015 and renewed violent activities, killing at least 30 security personnel in a series of attacks in Nagaland, Arunachal and Manipur, most significantly in June when it attacked an Army convoy in Manipur.
Strength: 1,000, with most of its cadres based in Myanmar. Headed by S S Khaplang, it demands a sovereign Greater Nagalim comprising present Nagaland and adjoining areas in Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Myanmar.

ULFA-I
ULFA was originally founded in 1979 by Arabinda Rajkhowa, Paresh Barua and others. The breakaway ULFA (Independent) faction was formed by Barua in August 2012, a year after founder chairman Rajkhowa announced a decision to sit for peace talks with the government. On Tuesday, ULFA attacked a Hindi-speaking family and killed two. Assam police say Barua was under pressure from the newly formed platform to “perform” after the other constituents had already “achieved” major successes. Barua, whom Army and intelligence agencies describe as an illegal arms dealer in the subcontinent, has no inclination to sit for talks and continues to demand a “sovereign” Assam. But unlike NSCN factions or groups like NDFB-S, KLO and the Manipuri outfits, the ULFA does not have a definite map for the area it would like to “liberate”.
Strength: 240, with Paresh Barua as military chief and Abhijit Asom as chairman; most cadres based in Myanmar.

NDFB-S
A splinter group of the original National Democratic Front of Bodoland founded by Ranjan Daimary, NDFB-S is headed by Myanmar-based I Songbijit, a former “commander” of the outfit in 2012. Songbijit carries a cash award of Rs 10 lakh on his head. Killed over 100 in a series of attacks in Assam during 2014.
Strength: 270. It demands a sovereign Bodoland.

KLO
Kamtapur Liberation Organisation formed in 1995. Demands a Kamatapur state with 6 West Bengal districts — Cooch Behar, Maldah, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, North and South Dinajpur — and four
of Assam —Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Dhubri and Goalpara.
Strength: 600; Chief Timir Das alias Jiban Singh is in Myanmar.

CorCom
Comprises six groups of Manipur — UNLF, Kangleipak Communist Party, Revolutionary People’s Front (which is the political wing of PLA), Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup, People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak and PREPAK (Pro), Formed in 2010, CorCom (Coordination Committee) coordinates closely with with NSCN-K and UNLFWSEA, intelligence officials say.

NSCN-K Gets Ready For Fight To The Finish

The insurgent group has been constructing bunkers at undisclosed locations along the Indo-Myanmar border. This was communicated to Myanmar during a Joint Consultative Commission meeting attended by foreign ministers of the two countries on Thursday in New Delhi.

By Abhishek-Bhalla



The home ministry has asked the PMO to ban the outfit. Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagalan-Khaplang (NSCN-K), responsible for the attack on the Army that killed 18 jawans in March, is readying itself for a long-drawn-battle across the border in Myanmar fearing an onslaught by Indian and Myanmar forces.

The insurgent group has been constructing bunkers at undisclosed locations along the Indo-Myanmar border. This was communicated to Myanmar during a Joint Consultative Commission meeting attended by foreign ministers of the two countries on Thursday in New Delhi.

A note prepared for the meeting said that apprehensive of Myanmar Army movement towards the Taga-Lungmak area, NSCN-K instructed officials of United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) to complete construction of underground facilities, possibly bunkers.

"They were also instructed to restrict movement of their cadres and store essential items," the note said. Following the attack, the home ministry has been pushing for NSCN-K to be included in the list of banned organisations under the anti-terror law. The home ministry has submitted an action plan to the Prime Minister's Office on how banning the outfit will allow law enforcement agencies to crackdown on it.

However, there is a view in the government that there could still be a possibility of peace talks with the group but home ministry which looks after issues related to insurgency in the North East is not in favour of any dialogue with them at the moment.

Soon after the attack, the Army carried out strikes in Myanmar targeting NSCN-K camps. Since then the forces have intensified operations against the rebel group.

With NSCN-K abrogating the 14-year-old ceasefire in March, its Chairman SS Khaplang and ULFA chief Paresh Baruah initiated the formation of an umbrella group named United National Liberation Front of West South East Asia.

India also took up the issue of NSCN-K cadres abducting young boys from villages in Nagaland along the Myanmar border for recruitment in the group. Mail Today had earlier reported that nine boys were abducted and made to cross the border for being recruited in the group. Sources said the group was also setting up new camps at secret locations in Myanmar after intelligence agencies were successful in locating the old ones.

Mizoram: 16-year-old boy Allegedly Kills Sister, Brother-in-law To Buy Mobile Handset

Aizawl: A 16-year-old boy, who wanted to purchase a mobile handset, allegedly killed his sister and brother-in-law and looted Rs 36,000 from them in a village in the district, police said in Aizawl on Wednesday.

The 16-year-old boy confessed to the Juvenile Justice Board on Tuesday that he had killed the couple on July 7 and took away Rs 36,000, said Aizawl district SP C Laldina.

The 16-year-old boy confessed to the Juvenile Justice Board that he had killed the couple on July 7 and took away Rs 36,000, said Aizawl district police.

The boy was arrested from his home a day after the crime, Laldina said.


Laldina said quoting the boy as having told the Board members that he had been given a single-barrelled gun to hunt animals in the jungle surrounding his village and was overcome by the temptation to rob his step-sister so that he could buy a mobile phone.

"The boy went back, gunned down the husband and hit his step-sister with a firewood," his interrogators said adding that he also inflicted several injuries with an axe.

The couple recently received Rs 66,000 from the government after being selected as the beneficiary of the state government's flagship programme - the New Land Use Policy of which they had already spent around Rs 30,000 and the rest stolen by the accused.

Mizoram celebrates World Skills Day, CM buys tools for trained Youth

Mizoram CM Lal Thanhawla also talked about PM Modi's launching of the Skill India program on the occasion of World Skills Day


Chief Minister of Mizoram Pu Lal Thanhawla. (Source: PTI/File) Mizoram celebrated World Skills Day at two venues on Wednesday with CM Lal Thanhawla distributing tools he bought for 92 youth newly-trained under a state program while state Labour Minister Lalrinmawia Ralte pushed for greater collaboration with South Korea beginning with a k-pop concert scheduled in Aizawl later this month.

Lal Thanhawla took part in a program in his constituency Serchhip where he handed over the tools he spent Rs 4 lakh from his own pocket for to 92 youth who trained for various vocational skills under the Young Mizo Association, a community-based organisation, and the Mizoram Youth Commission.
Lal Thanhawla also talked about PM Modi’s launching of the Skill India program on the occasion of World Skills Day.

In Aizawl, state labour Minister Lalrinmawia Ralte said the K-Pop contest and concert planned for later this month is “not only for fun and games” but for the Mizo community “to knock on the doors” of the east Asian country for better collaboration in other fields.

“We have begun taking steps towards learning from the South Koreans, with whom we share similarities,” he said.

Korean culture, films, music and even cuisine has a large following in Mizoram.

The K-pop contest and concert is being jointly organised by the Mizoram government and the Korean Cultural Centre on July 25 at the Mizoram University.

Charge framing hearing against Salahuddin July 22

A Shillong court in the Meghalaya state of India has fixed July 22 for hearing on charge framing against BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed in a case filed for trespass.

Judicial Magistrate KML Nong Bri set the date in presence of lawyers from both sides today, reports a correspondent from Kolkata.

Talking to The Daily Star over telephone, public prosecutor IC Jhan told that SP Mohonto, lawyer of Salahuddin, was present while the date was announced. The defence counsel did not raise any objection in this regard, Jhan added.

Contacted, a lawyer of Shillong said if Salahuddin admits his fault on July 22, the court will then fix a date for delivering its verdict. Otherwise, the trial will begin, he added.

Indian police arrested BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed on May 12 in Shillong district of Meghalaya on charge of entering the country without travel documents. The BNP joint secretary general was arrested from Golf Link locality of Shillong.

After the arrest, Salahuddin was initially sent to MIMHANS mental hospital in Shillong and was later shifted to Shillong Civil Hospital.

Later he was admitted to Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Science after Salahuddin’s wife Hasina Ahmed demanded better treatment for her husband.

Within 23 days of the arrest, Shillong Sub-Inspector M Lamhare submitted the charge sheet accusing Salahuddin of trespassing only.

Two days later, Salahuddin secured conditional bail and started living at a rented house at Police Bazar in Shillong.

Mizoram Has the Highest Number of Landless Farmers

Aizawl, Jul 15 : Mizoram has the highest number of rural residents without land among the tribals in Northeast India.

According to the Socio-Economic and Caste Census 2011, a whopping 80 per cent of the state’s Mizoram’s rural dwellers are landless, compared to the national average of 56 per cent of villagers without land.

Mizoram tops the rest of NE states in terms of landless villagers as 88,757 of the total 1,11,626 families living in the rural areas do not own an inch of agriculture land.

Of the total 80,43,896 families in the Northeast region living in rural areas, 1,007,77,240 are without arable land, constituting 59 per cent of the total rural population, the Census revealed.

Sikkim, the smallest state in the NE region, tops the rest of the NE states as 53,339 of the total 88,727 rural families are owning arable land.
Northeast tribals are worse than their mainland Indian counterparts as 59 per cent of families living in the rural areas in the hilly region are without land, compared to 56 per cent among tribals in mainland India.

While 80,43,896 families of ST/SC in the NE region are living in rural areas, 13,60,207 of them are living in urban areas.

Mizoram has the highest number of Scheduled Tribe (ST) as 98.91 per cent of the total population belongs to ST.

About 80 per cent of farmers in Mizoram still practice the slash-and-burn system of cultivation or jhumming, that involves clearing of forest and burning the slashed trees and leaves for cultivation.

The land used for jhumming cultivation cannot be reused until the next five years. Most of the forest used for cultivation belong to the concerned village councils, who distribute land to the villagers on yearly basis.

Mizoram Yet To Get Share Ratio Instructions

Aizawl, Jul 8 : Mizoram Finance Minister Lalsawta today presented a second vote-on-account for three months from August in the State Assembly for not getting directions from the Centre on the share ratio of Centrally-Sponsored Schemes, among other reasons.

Lalsawta said he was compelled to seek the second vote on account amounting to Rs 1,823.81 crore as the State government was yet to receive instructions from the ministries concerned about the ratio of share-holding pattern of various Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS).

“Even though the recommendation of the 14th Finance Commission was in favour of State governments by increasing the share in taxes from 32 per cent to 42 per cent, the discontinuance of the Special Category Status of the North Eastern states has caused insurmountable financial problem to Mizoram and other states of the region, as increase in the states’ sharing ratio with the Central government in respect of CSS has been indicated by the Centre,” he said.

Being a resource-deficient State, Mizoram might not be in a position to take up certain CSS which the State could somehow manage with some difficulty earlier, he said.

The NE states, including Mizoram, had submitted to the Centre a joint and common cause demanding restoration of the privileges of a Special Category State, he said, adding that the states of the region were still waiting for a positive response from the Central government.

The Finance Minister regretted that the amount of fund to be devolved to the State government from the North Eastern Council (NEC) and the Ministry of DoNER, which were part of the plan size determinants, were also yet to be ascertained.

Tributes paid: The Assembly today paid rich tributes to former State Chief Minister Brig Thenphunga Sailo and former legislator Lalnghenga. Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla termed their demise as an irreparable loss to the Mizo people.

BSNL to urge Centre to allow MNP in Northeast

Shillong, Jul 8 : BSNL will pursue the telecom ministry to allow Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in the north eastern region, a senior company official today said.

"I'll try to ensure that the MNP service is extended to NE states. I'll raise this issue with the Union minister who will be visiting Agartala later this month," BSNL NE1, chief general manager, DP Singh told reporters in Shillong.

BSNL wants MNP in North East India.

North eastern states are barred from MNP, implemented in the rest of the country on 3 July for security reason, he said.

Singh said that over 100 towers located in remote areas of the region have been shut down due to cost overrun. These towers were earlier funded by the Centre under the Universal Service Obligation (USO) scheme.

He, however, said that the Centre has recently approved a proposal to implement a comprehensive development plan for the north eastern region at a cost of over Rs 5,336 crore aimed at connecting 8,617 villages.

"This project which includes 2G mobile service in uncovered areas and providing reliability in transmission networks will be commissioned in September next year," Singh said.

Stating that the NE1 circle has made a loss of Rs 88 crore this year, Singh said the revenue collection went up by Rs 17 crore and assets worth Rs 46 crore had been added to the network.

While informing that wi-fi hotspot connectivity would be provided at important tourist places, Singh said 44 locations in Meghalaya, 35 in Mizoram and 94 in Tripura have been selected for the service.