Towards a peaceful, stable Northeast 

News: Recently, the Chief Ministers of Assam and Meghalaya signed an agreement to resolve the five-decade-old border dispute.

Simultaneously, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) decided to reduce the disturbed areas in Assam, Nagaland and Manipur after decades declared under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA).  

What is the strategic plan for the North-East? 

It includes (a) ending all disputes; (b) ushering in economic progress and taking the region’s contribution to GDP back to its pre-Independence levels; and (c) maintaining and preserving the region’s languages, dialects, dance, music, food, and culture and make it attractive for the whole country.  

The Union government wants to make the northeastern region the main pillar of the Act East policy.  

What are the recent developments in the N-E Region? 

An agreement has been signed between Assam and Meghalaya. However, progress is being made in the other disputes. The state’s border disputes dialogues are continuing at a steady pace with Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram. For example, Assam and Nagaland agreed to settle their dispute out of court.  

The regular engagements are being undertaken to maintain peace and work out a permanent solution. 

The MHA has been undertaking informal talks with various stakeholders for the removal of AFSPA.  

The government has reached peace agreements with a number of insurgent groups.

– For example, the NLFT Tripura Agreement 2019, the Bru Agreement 2020, the Bodo Peace Accord 2020 and the Karbi Anglong Agreement 2021. The militants have surrendered and declared cessation of violence. In 2021, militancy incidents had reduced by 74% compared to 2014 and deaths of security personnel and civilians have also come down by 60% and 84% respectively, during this period. 

The AFSPA was completely removed from Tripura in 2015 and Meghalaya in 2018. In 2022, The disturbed areas tag was removed from various parts of Assam, Manipur and Nagaland. This has led to removal of AFSPA. 

What is the importance of these measures?  

The developments are significant for restoring normalcy in the north-eastern region. It will also enable perception changes towards the rest of India. 

Political stability is very crucial for optimal economic development and capacity enhancement in the region. 

Source: The post is based on an article “Towards a peaceful, stable Northeast” published in the India Express on 20th April 2022.