Author: Jagdamba Mall
Publication: Organiser.org
Date: June 5, 2011
URL: http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=400&page=25
Our country's greatest security threat is
methodically expanding its spheres of influence into the traditionally unstable
regions of troubled North-East. Latest analysis reports of the South Asian
Intelligence Review published said: As per the report, CPI (Maoist) under
a strategy to rope in sub-national armed grouping in the country's periphery
is widening its campaign for a pan-Bharatiya consolidation of violent anti
- State movements. The North-East frontier constitutes a strategic space for
Left Wing Extremist (LWE) expansion. In May 2010, the Intelligence Bureau
(IB) confirmed the LWE's unfolding plans to reach out to other terrorist and
separatist groups in the country including ULFA in Assam and Hurriyat Conference
in J&K. The Maoists have started corresponding with them.
The CPI (Maoist)'s Eastern Region Bureau (ERB)
has been entrusted with the task of establishing a foothold in the North-East.
The Maoists had already inked a three-point pact with the Manipur-based armed
group - People's Liberation Army (PLA) on 21.10.2008. The pact has given the
Maoists the initial logistic support needed in the North-East and subsequent
indications suggest that this has been well exploited to secure wider alliance
and deeper presence in the region.
A China factor is visible in the growing Maoist
linkage to the insurgencies in North-East. After the elimination of senior
Maoist leader Cherikuri Rajkumar alias Azad in Jagapur forests on the Andhra
Pradesh-Maharastra border on 2.7.2010 investigations have discovered a Chinese
connection to Maoists. They (Maoists) have visited the Yunan province in South-West
China bordering Myanmar and may have received some training there as well.
The United Wa State Army (UWSA), Chinese speaking
warring ethnic group in north Myanmar, has acted as a broker for Chinese produced
arms as well as to sell weapons from their own arms factory near Panghsang
bordering China. A Jane's Intelligence Review report in 2008 detailed UWSA's
involvement in trafficking weapons to Myanmar and Bharatiya insurgent groups
- The ULFA, NSCN (IM), PLA and UNLF are harping on the need to have a good
nexus with CPI (Maoist), insurgent groups of J&K and the North-East.
The Maoist insurgents are now active in nearly
a third of country's territory and have unleashed violence in an alarming
scale in their areas of disruptive dominance. Their expansion into the country's
North-East and their potential to reorganise and revitalise the degraded and
fractious insurgencies of this region, would result in an exponential increase
in New Delhi's troubles.
On the plea of plucking 'Love Flower', Chinese
soldiers of People's Liberation Army often sneak into Bharatiya territory
in Arunachal Pradesh. There have been instances of sporadic intrusion in Bharatiya
side by Chinese Army - PLA, when they meet locals or are challenged by security
forces, they usually say they have entered Bharatiya territory to collect
wild fungus from the mountains. They call it "Love Flower" which
is a fungus, called 'Cordyceps Sinensis' and costs Rs two lakh per kg in the
international market.
China is helping Maoists for increasingly
investing their energies and experiences in consolidating their positions
in the North-East and with the decline of ULFA, they are trying to champion
the 'repressed' people's causes. After the arrest of Maoist's West Bengal
secretary Sudip Chongdar alias Kanchan and three other top leaders, the Maoists
have posted one of their politburo members in the North-East to spread their
organisational base. Another senior Maoists politburo member and second-in-command
of CPI (Maoist), Prasant Basu, is in charge of maintaining liason between
Maoists and N-E militant outfits. Maoists began their foray in N-E by a memorandum
of the understanding with PLA of Manipur a couple of years back, following
which they tied up with two more Manipur based militants - Kangleipak Communists
Party (KCP) and United National Liberation Front (UNLF). The Red rebels, who
have graduated to terrorists, have come close to some mass-based organisations
in this zone. The arrest of Kanchan and three other top Maoist leaders is
a direct fall out of the arrest of NSCN-IM's foreign Secretary Anthony Shing
in Nepal and UNLF Chairman Raj Kumar Meghan in Bihar. The manner in which
Maoists are trying to ramify in the North-East are very disturbing because
it holds the likelihood of another phase of terrorism in a region that has
long suffered from the evil and made development impossible. Though most of
the militant outfits are on a ceasefire mode, with the ULFA leadership too
evincing interest in negotiations with the government, yet the real villain
of the ULFA terror piece, its C-in-C Paresh Baruah is still a fugitive and
recalcitrant about "sovereignty of Assam". Now it is the possibility
of Baruah being left out with only a few of leaders and thus being forced
to float a new terror outfit and Maoists launching their own Assam Chapter
in tandem with other militants, that the security and Intelligence agencies
ought to look into seriously to thwart a new gory chapter. Since Assam and
of course the rest of north-east as well, has no dearth of unemployed and
unemployable youth ready to join militant outfits as a career venture, there
will be no dearth, too, of recruits for Maoists in this region. They will
only more zealously contribute to the industry of terrorism which has stakeholder
from the mainstream too, such as the unscrupulous among politicians, bureaucrats,
police officers, businessmen, NGOs, Church, Islamic terrorists and ISI, etc.
Since the industry of terrorism operates in the name of "insurgency"
or "revolution" to "liberate" the different "repressed"
people from the colonial group of New Delhi, there will also be no dearth
of self-styled human rights groups to act as frontal wings of the new Maoists
movement. The security intelligence grid must, then, remain alert. The region
cannot be allowed to bleed further.
The nexus between the ULFA and the Maoists
has come to the fore with the arrest of three Assamese youths including on
ex-ULFA cadre by security officials during a recent encounter in the jungles
of Odisha on 12.2.2010. Out of all the three Maoists one of them was identified
as Aditya Bora an ex-ULFA cadre. The nexus has been exposed at a time when
the ULFA central committee under the leadership of its Chairman Arbindo Rajkhowa
is holding peace talks with the Centre even as the anti-talk faction led by
Commander-in-Chief Paresh Baruah has launched a massive recruitment drive
in Upper Assam. It is an established fact that the militant groups in N-E
have strong links with other outfits both operating within and outside the
country with whose help they procure weapons, route their funds and train
their cadres.
The situation in Assam is fraught with ominous
portents. It is apprehended that guns and black money could have an undesirable
impact on the polls. The growing politician-criminal nexus lays credence to
the popular belief that guns could indeed play a role in the election. The
availability of illegal arms is bound to be huge given the long history of
insurgency in the North-East. The regions strategic location sharing several
international borders is also helping the illegal arms trade to flourish.
In the past couple of years alone, over a
thousand cases have been registered under the arms act in Assam alone testifying
to the gravity of the situation.
Active militants groups apart, absence of
strict implementation of ceasefire ground rules with NSCN-IM, NSCN-K, ULFA,
DHD(D), DHD(J), NDFB, BLT and others engaged in peace talks is also worsening
the situation. Militants staying at designated camps and many of these who
have surrendered are involved in the illegal arms trade.
The authorities need to be very strict with
these elements in ensuring that they desist from such activities. Once a militant
joins the mainstream, he must be made to respect the law of land. The slack
enforcement of relevant rules concerning ceasefires or surrendered ultras
has to be done away with immediately. Then, the licensing process for fire-arms
needs to be made strict to prevent undeserving persons from possessing arms.
The existing mechanism for monitoring the status of legal arms has been far
from effective with many licensed arms holders often found to be misusing
their position and indulging in outright criminal activities.
Not contented with all these anti-Bharat activities
and flouting international rules China has stated that people of Arunachal
Pradesh can visit China anywhere, anytime with any visa as their own country
since Arunachal Pradesh is also the part of China. It may be recalled that
China opposed the last Assembly election and registered its protest to Delhi
and international community.
China is also developing rail links in the
border regions in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) including the proposed extension
of the Qinghai Tibet Railway line up to Nyinchi. The road, telecommunication
and electric supply are being extended to bordering areas. Water supply, educational
institutions, health and hygiene care and agriculture are being developed
so that new villages can come up along with the existing area. The water current
of Brahmaputra is planned to be diverted by constructing a dam on it.
A few days backs Chinese air force and Pakistani air force had a joint war
exercise which was first in the history.
This side, the lethargy and complacence of
Delhi is all-time high. Even impotents are some time seen showing their anger.
But today's Delhi leaders are all time cool, passive, dormant and vigourless.
This inaction of Central Government is threatening the sovereignty of the
country in the North-East.
