The last week alone has demonstrated everything that is wrong in the northeast of India. Question marks over unresolved conflicts linger on while internal security lapses including the threat from illegal migrants are writ large on the face of the region. Take the following incidents that happened in the span of a few days. A major border stand-off almost taking a bloody turn if it had not been for sensible elements on both side of the Assam-Nagaland border. Add to this has been the voices of despair from the local populace against illegal migrants from Bangladesh, which is now becoming a major security issue at least on the part of the indigenous people. The State governments in the region look on helplessly and incapacitated. This eventful week was rounded up by the bloody smear of ethnic cleansing raising its ugly head in Assam. Sad but true, Delhi is too far off in the horizon to lend a succor.
Whether it is the problem of the illegal Bangladeshis, inter-state border tensions or the unresolved conflict with mainland India, the northeast has emerged as an area of grave concern. From the point of view of security, the emerging terror network in the eastern sector is alarming. On top of this, the region has become a major trade route for illegal arms and explosives as also drug and human trafficking. The use of the northeast as a safe corridor for inimical forces is therefore posing a major security challenge not only for the country but more so for the people in the region. The recent border skirmishes between Nagaland and Assam is also being attributed to the handiwork of ‘external forces’, from across the country.
In this regard, it is disappointing to note that cooperation has not been forthcoming between the governments of the region. While there is great excitement being generated over prospects of the Look East policy ready to takeoff, a common security approach also demands greater attention of policy makers in the region. Unless something is done to improve border security, there is every possibility that the region will plunge further into an array of problems and disturbances. The geography of the region is such that infiltration into a particular State poses a danger to the other States in the region as well. This only necessitates greater cooperation between the States of the region. New Delhi on its part must demonstrate the maturity it has gained from sixty years of its independence. It cannot remain a mute spectator to the injustice of history and politics. And as the world’s largest democracy, India should take the requisite steps to make right the wrongs. Besides, it should take more serious responsibility to confront the growing crisis in the northeast region before the situation goes out of control.
