That the northeast region of India holds great potential in terms of natural resources and tourism is hardly a new knowledge. However, it will be widely agreed that this potential has never really been tapped to its fullest. Issues relating to law and order, integration with the national mainstream as well as physical infrastructure have stunted access to this pristine region over the years. A lot of this is now beginning to change.
The most significant issue is law and order. The northeast states have been plagued by insurgencies and separatist groups dominated the political discourse in the region for decades. This partly emanated from the visible lack of governance on the ground for decades. The Narendra Modi government has put a huge premium on returning security and rule of law to the region.
The government’s approach has been to place peace in the region at the centre of its development agenda. It wouldn’t be possible to ensure economic and social integration without normalcy prevailing in day-to-day life. The efforts to carve out peace are now showing. From an era of constant disruptions and agitations, the talks have shifted to culture, GDP growth and multimodal transport connectivity. The improvement in law and order is being driven by a series of peace accords negotiated by the Home Ministry under Amit Shah. An earnest effort has been made to provide permanent solution to long-standing problems such as the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) agreement, the Bru Refugee Rehabilitation agreement and the Bodo Peace Accord.
The NLFT agreement was signed in August 2019. Soon after this agreement, the cadres surrendered in big numbers. A special package of Rs 100 crore was announced to facilitate economic development. Disbursal of funds and project execution under this package is already in progress.
The Bru Accord facilitated settlement of 6,959 families in Tripura with a financial package of Rs 661 crore. This addressed a long-standing problem in Tripura and Mizoram. Under this agreement, each resettled Bru family will be provided a fixed deposit of Rs 4 lakh as financial assistance, free ration, Rs 5,000 financial assistance per month for two years, a housing assistance of Rs. 1.5 lakh and a plot of 1,200 square feet. The Tripura government initially earmarked 14 locations in six districts for the settlement of Bru migrants and all 13 such proposals, which required forest clearance, have been approved in-principle by the Ministry of Environment and Forests on a priority basis.
The Bodo Peace Accord was signed in January 2020, addressing a long conflict. This accord benefited the state of Assam with Bodo cadres returning to the national mainstream. A special package of Rs 1,500 crore was offered for the Bodo people in the region.
Yet another achievement was the recently signed Karbi-Anglong Peace Accord. The Government of India and the Government of Assam are making constant efforts to fulfil the just aspirations of the Karbi people. This is a long-pending issue, where tripartite memorandum of understanding was signed twice in 1995 and 2011. But due to apathy by the old governments, despite these agreements, peace could not be established in Karbi-Anglong.
The Modi government held several rounds of talks with representatives of the Karbi and Kuki organisations in an effort to find a comprehensive and final solution to their demands, while upholding the territorial integrity of Assam. Under this historic agreement, five militant organisations laid down arms and more than a thousand of their armed cadres have given up violence and joined the mainstream of society. A special development package of Rs 1,000 crore will be allocated over five years by the central and the Assam governments to take up special projects for the development of Karbi areas.
This agreement will transfer as much autonomy as possible in exercising their rights to the Karbi-Anglong Autonomous Council without affecting the territorial and administrative integrity of Assam. This focus is to protect the culture, identity and languages of the Karbi people, while ensuring political unity. The Karbi armed groups have agreed to renounce violence and to engage in a peaceful democratic process established by the law of the land. A provision has also been made in this agreement to rehabilitate the cadres of armed groups.
The government of Assam will also set up a Karbi Welfare Council to focus on the development of the Karbi people living outside the autonomous council area. Overall, the present agreement proposes to give more legislative, executive, administrative and financial powers to the Karbi-Anglong Autonomous Council.
The success of this accord is predicated on quick action on the promises made by the government. Development projects with budget of Rs 350 crore announced for the Karbi-Anglong Autonomous Council are already underway, recognising this need for tangible results on the ground. The Assam Hill Medical College and Research Institute has been inaugurated at Diphu and the academic session has commenced. The development of tourist lodge at Bagori entry point has been successfully completed. The construction of Cancer Care Centre at Diphu is underway. These were some of the key demands made by the insurgent groups in the past.
There was a time not so long ago when the news cycle for northeast used to be full of talks about infiltration, terror and corruption. With the resolve of the Modi government, the tide has now turned. Now, you hear about development, connectivity and infrastructure. Complex issues of the region are now being systematically resolved. The government has a vision of terrorism-free and developed northeast. Creating an atmosphere of trust and finding amicable solutions via mutual consultations is a big win for this government.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.)
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