While the Government and India is holding protracted talks with Naga Groups for the past two and a half decades with an accord elusive, there are a number of low hanging fruits of conflict resolution which have been harvested in the past couple of years. The latest one being an agreement with the Adivasi groups in Assam.
Agreement with Adivasi Groups in Assam
Union Minister of Home Affairs & Minister of Cooperation, Sh. Amit Shah presided over the signing of historic agreement between Government of India, Government of Assam and representatives of eight Adivasi Groups in New Delhi on Sep 15 [2022].
The agreement was signed to end decades old crisis of Adivasis and tea garden workers in Assam. Groups that signed the agreement included BCF, ACMA, AANLA, APA, STF, AANLA (FG), BCF (BT) and ACMA (FG) as per a Ministry of Home Affairs Press Release.
Shri Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chief Minister, Assam and Shri Rameswar Teli, MoS, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Shri Pallab Lochan Das, Member of Parliament (LS), Shri Kamakhya Prasad Tasa, MP (RS), Shri Sanjoy Kishan, Minister, Govt. of Assam, representatives of eight Adivasi Groups along with senior officers from Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the Govt. of Assam were present on the occasion.
Shri Shah said that 1182 cadres of tribal groups of Assam have joined the mainstream by laying down arms. Shri Amit Shah said that the Ministry of Home Affairs has taken steps to develop the northeast by promoting and developing the rich culture of the region, settling all disputes, establishing peace and accelerating development in the Northeast to make it peaceful and prosperous.
Other Agreements Reached
The Union Home Minister said that in the last three years, the Government of India, the Government of Assam and other governments of the North East have entered into several agreements among themselves and with various extremist groups.
NLFT agreement in 2019, BRU-REANG and Bodo accord in 2020, Karbi Anglong agreement in 2021 and Assam-Meghalaya Inter-State Boundary Agreement in 2022, which resolved around 65 per cent of border disputes between the two states.
Other Conflict Resolution Challenges
Communities which seek sub state status are easy to pacify such as the Bodos, Dimasa and Karbi in Assam by accommodating them through the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India.
Those espousing ethnic nationalism even if not necessarily separatism are however difficult to pacify the typical example being of the NSCN IM. The Government of India and the NSCN IM have been holding talks since 1997 and two and a half decades later a breakthrough is elusive.
This despite a much talked about Framework Agreement with the NSCN IM in August 2015 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi which has remained still born.
Demand of the NSCN IM for a separate flag and a constitution is the main hurdle at present.
This implies a special status – the BJP the present ruling party in the centre is averse to such a demand especially after repealing provisions of the same for Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019.
Another demand of the NSCN IM is to integrate the Naga communities spread across the North East as a single state entity, which is politically hard to achieve due to resistance from other states.
One arrangement that has been proposed is of a Pan Naga Hoho a social linkage to integrate people with status quo on governance.
Fragmentation of regional and tribal identity in the Nagas is another challenge.
However, a solution accepted by the NSCN IM is expected to be fungible for others.
In Manipur, Meitei groups are seeking ethnic separatism based on inequities of interpretation of the partition of India and their identity. No talks are ongoing with these groups at present.
Meanwhile simultaneous negotiations are ongoing with multiple groups in Assam, Meghalaya and Manipur mainly the Kuki which seem almost interminable
Apart from the Naga groups however others who are in talks with the government have been disarmed and ceased hostilities – a lesson that was learnt from the Naga cease fire agreement.