Internal Security

LeT finds a new base in Manipur

The first time arrest of three Manipuri Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) members in Delhi on December 19, 2006 indicated the existence of direct linkages between Pakistan-based terrorists and the Meitei Pangal (Muslim) ultras. The incident has revealed once again the capabilities of the terrorist organisation to penetrate and established intricate networks in all corners of the country. It has also revealed a new trend wherein Manipur, with its unemployed minority Muslim youth, seems to be emerging as a fresh recruiting ground for the LeT.

Assam under siege

With the attempt at peace negotiations between the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and the Government of India stumbling, the insurgent group has once again chosen the path of violence. It has selectively targeted civilians belonging to a particular community to arm-twist the ruling authorities into conceding some of its immediate demands including talks on 'sovereignty of Assam'. Such violence once again exposes the ULFA's utter disregard for the most fundamental human right -- the right to life.

M. Amarjeet Singh
January 18, 2007
IDSA Comments

Bomb Blast in Jalpaiguri: KLO flexing its Muscles?

The recent bomb blast that ripped through two cars of the Haldibari-New Jalpaiguri passenger train on November 20, 2006 left the strategic community wondering as to who among the various insurgent outfits operating in the region was responsible for the heinous attack. Was it the communist rebels active in the province, or the militants fighting for an independent homeland of the Rajbanshis, the Kochs, or other ethnic minorities sheltering in the region, and were they acting at the behest, or in collusion with foreign intelligence agencies?

State of militancy in Manipur

India's "troubled Northeast' has become a catch-all phrase for the region, and leads to the perception that the entire region is in a state of near-anarchy. The reality is otherwise; analysis shows that patterns of violence have been showing continuous decline in the region as a whole over the past few years and, more significantly, that the current violence is now substantially concentrated in the states of Manipur and Assam.

M. Amarjeet Singh
December 09, 2006
IDSA Comments

Engaging ULFA in Assam

Efforts by the Government of India on the one hand and by non-governmental organizations on the other to bring the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) to the negotiating table have not progressed very far. The rebel group continues its subversive agenda, targeting security forces personnel, bombing crowded market places, oil and gas pipelines and various state establishments and installations.

M. Amarjeet Singh
November 23, 2006
IDSA Comments

Terror in the Assam Hills

The two hill districts of Assam, North Cachar Hills and Karbi Anglong, are fascinating because these territories together are a microcosm of the larger ethnic profile of Northeast India. The indigenous peoples inhabiting this small area have tribal affiliations with far-flung groups in the surrounding hill states. They are Karbi (most dominant numerically), Dimasa, Jeme Naga, Kuki, Hmar, Lushai, Rangkhol, Khasi, Jaintia, Bodo and Tiwa.

Namrata Goswami
November 21, 2006
IDSA Comments

External Linkages of Meitei Militants

The arrest of three United National Liberation Front (UNLF) leaders at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on October 2, 2006 necessitates an evaluation of the external linkages of Meitei militant outfits. Apart from having close connections with their sister outfits in the north-eastern states, major Meitei outfits like the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the UNLF have been attempting to revamp themselves by tying up with foreign outfits and agencies directly or indirectly.

The ISI’s Supervisory Role in Assam

Apart from aiding and abetting terrorism in Kashmir, Pakistan's intelligence agency, the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), has also been fully engaged in building terror infrastructures in the rest of India, including in the Northeast, which has long been infested with multiple insurgencies. This attempt to fish in the troubled waters of the Northeast poses a formidable challenge to India's integrity and security.

M. Amarjeet Singh
November 07, 2006
IDSA Comments

Impressions of an IDSA Seminar on the North East

On September 25 and 26, 2006, the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi, conducted a seminar on Peace and Development in the North East in Shillong, Meghalaya. This was done in collaboration with the North Eastern Council (NEC) and the North Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Shillong. The two-day seminar provided a forum for scholars, media personalities, military personnel, bureaucrats and politicians from the region to express their views and thinking on the subject at hand.

Namrata Goswami
October 10, 2006
IDSA Comments

Countering Terrorism as a Joint Venture?

The outcome of the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pervez Musharraf at Havana has evoked mixed reactions from various quarters within both India and Pakistan. It has also raised a number of questions to which there are no easy answers. The meeting, which took place on September 16 on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit, was obviously successful as it resulted in the resumption of the dialogue process, which had stalled in the aftermath of the Mumbai train blasts in July 2006.