Northeast India Peace Claim

By Archis Mohan

New Delhi, Apr 4 : The Centre has claimed that India’s Northeast has never been as peaceful this century as it has been since January 2009. The “peace”, however, appears to have flowed from the barrel of a gun.

The last 15 months have witnessed the lowest number of civilian and security force casualties in the region since January 2000, according to Union home ministry data for six northeastern states (minus Mizoram) released today.

At the same time, the security forces have eliminated a large number of militants in 2009-10, particularly in Assam and Manipur. The ministry data show that 571 militants were killed in 2009 — behind only 2008 (640 killed), 2001 (572) and 2000 (586). Some 81 rebels have been killed till March 15 this year.

The state-wise break up suggests a sharp drop in violence in Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura.

“In Nagaland, the renewed peace talks from 2008 between the Centre and the NSCN-IM have made a difference,” an official said. The rebel outfit and the Centre’s interlocutor, R.S. Pandey, are now holding the 67th round of the talks, started in 1997.

Nagaland has not reported a single insurgency-related death in 2010 yet. The death toll in 2009 was a low 31, which did not include any security personnel. In 2008, Nagaland had reported 213 deaths, including that of 140 extremists.

In Assam and Manipur, the situation remains relatively grim, with a marginal fall in insurgency-related violence and fatalities. Assam reported 424 incidents and the deaths of 174 civilians and security personnel in 2009. The forces eliminated 194 extremists, the highest since 2003.

This “peaceful” period has coincided with P. Chidambaram taking over as the Union home minister in December 2008 after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.