Namrata Goswami

Myanmar and India have followed separate political paths only to find it converging in recent times. Myanmar’s other neighbour China has had a much larger footprint in the country. India has to calibrate its engagement with Myanmar to not just effectively implement its Look East policy but also manage the contiguous border regions of Northeast India given the ground realities.

• Published: March 18, 2014
• Issue Brief

India’s security strategy for the economic corridors and connectivity will have to entail water tight anti-drugs control measures and mechanisms to snuff out the possibilities of surges in narcotics trafficking that may result from better connectivity and established networks of peoples across the region.

• Published: February 10, 2014
• IDSA Comments

The recent violence indicates that armed groups have not disarmed and that state forces are simply unable to keep “extortion” networks in check. While the cease-fire agreement signed in 1997 has been the harbinger of the subsequent peace talks, blatant violations of the agreement by the outfit render the framework of the talks weak and question its effectiveness and legitimacy.

• Published: January 09, 2014
• IDSA Comments

China’s border intrusions have been bolstered by a steady and committed expansion of its military hardware and infrastructure in Tibet and neighbouring provinces. The improvement of surface transportation near the LAC has resulted in larger military presence and augmented rapid deployment capacities of the PLA and the PLAAF.

• Published: December 17, 2013
• Issue Brief

It is well established that the armed ethnic groups in Myanmar act as the interlocking chain for the illegal weapons flow from Yunnan in China via Myanmar to the Northeast India. Reports indicate that the most effective illegal weapons trader in Myanmar is the armed ethnic group, the United Wa State Army (UWSA).

• Published: November 07, 2013
• IDSA Comments

Gestures for peace talks in Manipur by the government indicate a willingness to engage in dialogue with armed groups, which in itself is a step towards reconciliation. Equally important is to ensure that these gestures are seen as a genuine desire to engage with the real issues.

• Published: September 23, 2013
• IDSA Comments

A non-territorial resolution for the Naga armed ethnic conflict will offer a way forward to resolving many other ethnic conflicts such as those involving the Kukis, Meiteis, Bodos, Dimasas, Hmars, and Karbis.

• Published: November 08, 2012
• IDSA Comments

The recent violence in the Bodo areas indicates the risks associated with the formation of exclusive ethnic homelands based on the demands of the majority population (belonging to an ethnic group) inhabiting a particular geographical area. Formation of such exclusive ethnic homelands may prove to be both an assault on the pluralistic ethos of our country and a nightmare for minority groups living in that terrain.

• Published: September 12, 2012
• IDSA Comments

The need of the hour is to activate a clean and transparent record keeping of land by the state so that violence based on the fear of outsiders forcibly taking away the most precious commodity, land, can be effectively averted.

• Published: August 09, 2012
• IDSA Comments

The ongoing violence between the Bodos and the minority Muslim community is a result of increasing tensions over issues of land grab and illegal migration

• Published: July 25, 2012
• IDSA Comments