By Firstdespatch Desk Nov 15, 2022
Agartala, Nov 15 (FD) The peace loving people in the north eastern region of the country, which was badly affected by insurgency felt good and heaved a sigh of relief when Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai informed the parliament in last August that since 2014 till July 15, 2022, a total of 6,070 cadres of various insurgent groups in the Northeastern states surrendered with 1,404 arms and joined the mainstream of society.
There has been a 74 per cent reduction in insurgency incidents and an 89 per cent decline in civilian deaths in the Northeastern region in 2021 compared to 2014, Rajya Sabha was informed on August 4 last.
“The security situation in the Northeastern states has improved substantially since 2014. Compared to 2014, there has been a 74 per cent reduction in insurgency incidents, 89 per cent in civilian deaths and 60 per cent in casualties of security forces in 2021,” he said while replying to a written question.
The region having tough terrain and share international border of 5,182 kilometres, about 99 percent of its total geographical boundary with several neighbouring countries including Tibetan China, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan.
It is needless to mention that how tough it was to make the region free from insurgency as the ultras of different groups often used the soil of the foreign countries.
“Though Law & Order is a State subject, the Central Government is supplementing efforts of the State Governments for curbing the illegal and unlawful activities of insurgent groups of North Eastern States through various measures. These include deployment of Central Armed Police Forces, reimbursement of Security Related Expenditure (SRE) to the State Governments under SRE Scheme, Central assistance to the State Governments for modernization of State police forces, sanction of India Reserve Battalions, banning the Unlawful Associations operating in NE Region under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA) and declaring specific areas/States as ‘Disturbed Areas’ under The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act,1958 (AFSPA)”, the reporter said.
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) has been removed from 23 districts and partially from 1 other district of Assam, 15 Police station areas in 6 districts of Manipur and 15 Police Station areas in 7 districts of Nagaland from 1st April of 2022.
“To curb the illegal and unlawful activities by insurgent groups of northeastern states, a total of 16 insurgent organizations of NE states are declared “unlawful associations” and/or “terrorist organizations” under The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. The Central Government has deployed Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) to aid the state authorities in carrying out counter-insurgency operations and providing security to vulnerable institutions and installations. 498 companies of CAPFs are deployed for border guarding duties along the international borders of Nepal, Bhutan, China, Bangladesh, and Myanmar with NE states and 405 companies of CAPFs are deployed in the northeastern states for internal security and counter-insurgency operations. Towards this end, 61 India Reserve Battalions have been sanctioned for the NE states. These include 11 battalions each for Assam, Manipur and Tripura; 7 each for Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland; 6 for Meghalaya, 5 for Mizoram, and 3 for Sikkim,” the report reads.
The report claimed, “The security situation in the northeastern states has improved substantially since 2014. The year 2020 recorded the lowest insurgency incidents and casualties among civilians and security forces during the last two decades.
The report compiled by MHA also stated that during 2021, security forces casualties have come down by 60% and civilian deaths by 89%.
“In 2021, a total of 209 insurgency-related incidents were registered in the NE region in which 23 civilians and 8 security forces personnel lost their lives. Counter-insurgency operations led to the neutralization of 40 insurgents, arrest of 686 insurgents, and recovery of 367 weapons in the region. A total of 1,473 cadres of insurgent outfits of NE states surrendered with 471 arms and joined the mainstream of the society,” the report of MHA said. FD JK