Separatist Movements in the North-East: Rhetoric and Reality

Author(s): M. S. Prabhakara
Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 42, No. 9 (Mar. 3-9, 2007), pp. 728-730
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/4419298
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 ICommentary

Separatist Movements
the political realism and the political sophi-
stication of the Naga separatist leadership.
Such interface between sovereignty and ter-

in the North-East
ritoriality impinges on all the states where
these organisations are active, highlighting
some of the fundamental contradictions of
these sovereignty struggles whose common
Rhetoric and Reality adversary is the Indian state. This is espe-
cially so with the Naga sovereignty struggle
This article attempts to present the real agenda of the various which, were it to succeed in the way envis-
aged by the Naga nationalist organisations,
separatist projects that are at work in the north-east region
would have the gravest implications for
of India. Though the discussion is essentially about the working both Assam and Manipur as well as
of such projects in Assam, the general principles outlined are Arunachal Pradesh, as they presently exist
applicable, with suitable modifications, to other separatist and, potentially, to Myanmar as well.
movements in the region as well. Perhaps the oldest organisation of this
kind engaged in armed struggle in Manipur
M S PRABHAKARA political spectrum, from before Phizo tois the United National Liberation Front
whatever formation may follow the Isaac (UNLF), though similar aspirations for the
t the outset, a measure of scepti- Swu-Thuingaleng Muivah hyphenation. In restoration or winning back through armed
cism is necessary in respect of this perspective, the Nagas were never part
struggle ofManipur's lost sovereignty ("the
both the stated objective of these of "India". Yes, the Naga people were undemocratic and inequitable Merger
separatist movements - nothing less than undoubtedly defeated by the British forces Agreement of October 15, 1949") are
sovereignty and independence for the and their territory was occupied. But theybeing actively canvassed through similar
people they claim to represent - and the were never defeated by "India", which at struggles by three or four other
path they have chosen, as well as the the point when the Nagas were defeated organisations. In Tripura, too, separatist
complex strategy and tactics adopted by did not exist as a political entity. The fairagendas find a similar resonance in that
them to attain this objective, which is thing would have been for the British to very date when the kingdom merged into
"armed struggle" in all its ramifications. restore their sovereignty when relinquish-the Indian Union. One can only make
Thus, in Assam, the leading separatist ing their Indian empire in August 1947
inferences about the role and the influence,
organisation, the United Liberation Front instead of leaving them as a part of India/if any, that the "palace" and the old feudal
of Asom (ULFA), has as its objective the Assam - which they never were. As aorder has and wielded in these projects,
attainment of an independent, sovereign matter of fact, the Naga nationalists main- though there are significant differences in
Assam - 'Swadhin Asom'. tain, the Naga people "declared their in- the way in which the old order has im-
However, ULFA's objective is notdependence"
so on August 14, 1947, on the pinged on the new separatist conscious-
much the attainment of sovereigntyeve andof India's independence, and are fight-ness in Manipur and Tripura. Thus, while
independence of Assam (or Asom) asing the
for a de jure acknowledgement of thatin Manipur the old order is widely believed
fact by their powerful neighbour.
restoration of that lost sovereignty follow- to be sympathetic to the Meitei (or Meetei)
ing the annexation of the territory by the An ironic and not so unique dimensionnationalist assertion, in Tripura it is the
British in the wake of the defeat of the of the Naga nationalist struggle - fortribal nationalist assertion that has found
Burmese invasion of Assam and the signing favour with the old order.
irredentism is inherent in all such nationalist
of the Treaty of Yandabo on February 24, or sub-nationalist assertions, in the NE Similarly, those who believe in the
region and even in movements for greatersupremacy of the Khasi kingships and
1826. It is a fact of history that while in the
case of the kingdoms of Manipur, Cachar autonomy within the Indian union - is the durbars hold much the same or similar
and Jaintia, also invaded and occupied by aspiration for"integration ofNaga inhabited views. Indeed, there is a revival of interest
the Burmese, Britain adopted the policy areas into one political and administrative
in the history and the institution of deserv-
of rendition of these territories to the native
unit", which in the present circumstances edly obscure kings and kingships in the
rulers, in the case of Assam the British
can only be attained through the applica-
region, a field being trawled mainly by
simply annexed the territory and brought ittions of the provisions of the Indian Con- foreign scholars who have made a small
under direct British rule. In ULFA's read- stitution, thus militating against the veryindustry of such research. For every one
rationale ofNaga nationalist assertion. Suchsuch historian, researcher, folklorist, NGO
ing of history, this original act of injustice
was compounded when Assam became segmentation
a of the separatist agenda with and their kind, August 14-15, 1947 consti-
part of the Indian Union following the territoriality taking precedence over sov- tutes a defining moment in the history of the
transfer of power in August 1947. ereignty on which there seems to be a tacit people of the region, marking the begin-
A corresponding perspective informs acceptance ofan incremental approach, even ning of their enslavement. It also serves
the Naga nationalist struggles across the
if only as a matter of tactics, underlines both
to inspire memories that help to recall the

728 Economic and Political Weekly March 3, 2007

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past glories of a people once sovereign and that animates such ideas and ideologies. negotiations. It is true that the Naga
independent; and an equally inspiring guide On this question of "why", much work, nationalist rhetoric, across other differ-
in the struggle to restore that lost glory. of a kind, has been done on the causes - ences, asserts that the Naga nationalist
To sum up, about 30 organisations the more modish expression is "factors" forces have fought India for over 50 years
described variously as separatist or mili- -underlying such alienation and discontent. and have not been defeated; and can carry
tant or terrorist or insurgent, are active in The usual suspects are well known: on the battle for another 50 years, or even
Assam and other states in north-east India. economic backwardness and disparities, over several generations, till "final victory
The South Asia Terrorism Portal [http:l/ neglect by the centre which practises will be ours". However, in this kind of
www.satp.org/satporgtp/site.htm] actually "internal colonialism", exploitation by calculation, a structured entity like the
identifies over a 100 "terrorist/insurgent "outsiders" who range all the way from Indian state, even with all its internal in-
groups" in the region. those representing pan Indian capital to coherence and contradictions, is rather more
Most of these are however little more daily wage labourers providing essential advantageously placed than small, or even
than names and signboards with poorly goods and services, facts of history and much larger, separatist outfits.
written constitutions, manifestos andgeography, etc. Figures of central alloca- But this does not mean the abandon-
charters of demand, engaged principallytions, even given the anomalies of "un- ment, or even any substantial dilution of
in extortion and racketeering. Many of spent money" discussed in a recent article the separatist agenda. For, behind what
these are very nearly moribund. Others, in this journal ('Why Do the States Not seems as an utterly unrealistic rhetoric -
rather more active with a little more sub- Spend?' EPW, December 2-8, 2006), that is, attainment of sovereignty through
stance to them and with a demonstrated however tell a different tale about the armed struggle - is a more calculated
capacity for violence, having a "greater assessment of what the separatists see as
"centre's neglect" of the region. Over and
autonomy" agenda that falls short ofabove all, there is the telling evidence certain
of realities of the Indian state and its
sovereignty assertion, are sporadically the increasingly larger enclaves of urbanfunctioning, which, in their reading (one
engaged in violent activities alternating
wealth splurging not very different from is not in a position to say if this reading
with some kind of negotiations with the similar enclaves in other Indian cities. is accurate), are bound to favour the sepa-
state/central governments. Rather, a more interesting question aboutratists in the long run and enable them to
However, about a dozen of the 30 oddsuch separatist projects is: How? That is, gain their objective. In other words, while
"active" organisations, while engaged like
how these separatist movements hope andundoubtedly weak tactically vis-a-vis the
the rest of the signboard organisations in
expect to realise their objective, given themight and material resources of the Indian
realities of the situation. In other words,state, the separatists see themselves as
extortion, are also engaged in "armed pro-
paganda"thatovertheyearshasevolved intohow seriously do these organisationsstrategically much stronger.
"armed struggle" against the Indian state,
believe that they can attain sovereignty, Quite simply, in the separatist reading
with a view to attaining or (in their perspec-considering that the adversary in their
- this despite other evidence like India's
struggles is the Indian state that, despiteeconomic growth - the Indian state is much
tive) securing the restoration of sovereignty
that has been lost as part of the process ofits many infirmities and internal contradic-too riven with internal contradictions and
the transfer of power by Britain and the
tions, is no pushover, and is certainly not
has indeed lost the will and the tenacity to
ripe for disintegration?
subsequent consolidation of the Indian state. defend itself. For guerrillas and insurgents,
One may also note, if only as a matter even of the kind that operate in this region,
of curiosity, that most of these organisations
Persistence of Insurgency who as a rule are contemptuous of might
even when they are plainly revivalist also in quantitative terms - so many branches
claim to be on the "left". Thus, ULFA The leadership of these organisations,of defence forces, so many hundred thou-
claims that its ideology is "scientific clever if not sophisticated, know full wellsands of troops, so many armaments, rockets
socialism", while both the factions of the that in the largerIndian context their "armedand nuclear weapons and so on - such
NSCN are guided by "national socialism", struggles" have had very little impact ondemonstrative might appears as inherently
a formulation that is incorporated into their Indian polity - except to enable the Indian
clumsy. In this perception, to quote from
very nomenclature, as well as by the state to further strengthen and refine itsa different context, "they make one think
slogan, Nagaland for Christ. However, instrumentalities of coercion. Nearly halfwistfully of dark nights and trip wires".
even the most superficial acquaintance with a century of "armed struggle" has not really Only this explains the persistence of
the literature of these structures or the mostadvanced Naga aspirations for sovereignty. terrorism/rebellion/militancy/insurgency/
casual conversation with their activists and One may well ask whether six or sevenin the region. Incidentally, the ambivalence
ideologues would show that they have at years of talks of every variety; direct andand the confusion that characterise the
best a very innocent understanding of the indirect, through emissaries and interlocu-reading of and approach to separatist
term, "scientific socialism", or for that tors and face to face meetings with rep-movements by the Indian state and the
matter, "national socialism". resentatives of the government of IndiaIndian establishment-the latterterm intended
Such aspirations and theoretical formu- including three or four prime ministers, into include important non-government
lations may appear to belong to the cloud Delhi and in foreign lands, has advancedplayers outside formal political structures
cuckoo land, though those who make them these sovereignty aspirations either. like the so-called civil society, including
are desperately serious. It is easy to deplore The only gain, a major gain, made in the media, perhaps the most important
and condemn the deeds and tactics of the these long years of talks is the legitimacyplayer, is that all these terms are used to
separatist forces; however this in itself is that the de facto government of Nagalim describe the separatist movements and their
of little help to understand the "why" of has acquired, though the existence of such personnel. This is so even in the case of
such separatism, that unique mindset a government owes little to the protractedthe public broadcaster, whose reports

Economic and Political Weekly March 3, 2007 729

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 notice nationally) for a plebiscite on the objective, the attainment of Swadhin Asom,
switch from terrorist to militant seamlessly,
often in the same report. issue of Manipur' s independence, proposed as a realisable objective.
The fact is that the defeat of the Indian initially by the UNLF and since then Indeed, it is arguable if even ULFA really
state by the "armed struggles" being waged taken up enthusiastically by several "civil believes that such an objective is attainable
by the various separatist groups is not society" organisations followed closely, through armed struggle, unless the kind of
envisaged even by the most belligerent of indeed almost conterminously, in the wake extraordinary circumstances that prevailed
these groups. And yet, they press on, of the referendum in Montenegro. Among in the instances cited above can be replicated
unrelenting in their desire to secure their those who addressed such a plebiscite in this country. This is not on the cards.
lost sovereignty. According to received meeting in Imphal on June 6 last year was Moreover, the sole superpowerforthe present
wisdom, a nation state, even a very weak the so-called titular king of Manipur, apart would be loath to see India disintegrate in
nation state, does not break up except under from several other dignitaries like a formal the present circumstances, unlike when the
two conditions: defeat in war and occu- Lok Sabha member, a former human rights Soviet Union and Yugoslavia broke up.
pation by a foreign enemy. There are commissioner, president of the Manipur However, the persistence in the face of
numerous instances of extremely fragile Working Journalist's Union, leaders of "proven facts to the contrary" is not in the
nation states continuing to remain united some political parties and several women least irrational. Rather, such persistence
despite serious dislocations of the coordi- leaders - always a potent force in Manipur. can be understood if one realises that ULFA
nates of territory and nationhood, and evenULFA too has sometimes challenged the and, even more so, its ideologues within
prolonged civil war. To take an instance union government to offer the option of a Asom, spread out in metropolitan centres
close to home, but for Indian intervention, "free plebiscite" on Assam's sovereignty in the rest of India and abroad. This most
it is arguable whether the seeminglyand independence to the people of the state influential lobby of non-resident Asomiya
unviable state of Pakistan would have and was quiterincensed when an organis- who are not necessarily part of the
disintegrated, despite the intense internal
ation apparently supported by the govern- organisation (a complex dynamic that will
contradictions exacerbated further byment the organised its own "plebiscite" and take too long to explain), and an even more
lack of statesmanship of its leaders in made
both the not unsurprising discovery that amorphous "civil society" network en-
West and East Pakistan. India is simplythe
toopeople of the state rejected the idea of
trenched for the most part in the developed
big and too powerful a country toSwadhin
be Asom. countries of the west, are of the view that
defeated in war, or allow for foreign such conventional notions about the du-
An old song had this refrain: 'Tell Me
What
occupation, the two historically acknow- You Want and I'1 Tell You What Yourability, indeed the very viability of the
ledged and demonstrated requirements,Get'. nation state, even of a nation state strong
for It would be tempting to see in these
a nation state to disintegrate. Such disin-
words a neat summary of the opacity thatand internally coherent and fair and just
tegration is a necessary preconditioncharacterises
for the stated stands of these in its governance, which is hardly the case
any of the sovereignty struggles inseparatist
the with India, are no more valid in the brave
organisations - and the govern-
north-east region to succeed, since ment
the of India. However, an organisation new world of globalised and wired - or
like ULFA has never minced its words in
defeat of India by any of the insurgent "wireless" - 21st century. Thus, notions
a what it wants. The only problem of nation state, national sovereignty,
saying
groups, or all of them acting unitedly,
most inconceivable scenario, in armedis that it is impossible to accept this stated citizenship rights derived from a country's
confrontation is simply not on the cards.

ustpublished
And yet, the leaderships of these organi-
sations persist in their "armed struggles".
On the other hand, there is also the
example of the Soviet Union, as strong and A Prattler's Tale: Bengal, Marxism, Governance
centralised a state as one can imagine, Ashok Mitra
collapsing without foreign intervention, Translated from the Bengali by Sipra Bhattacharya
defeat in war and occupation by enemy
forces. While the subsequent disintegration Offering a thought-provoking, incisive analysis of Bengal
of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was and India, Ashok Mitra s memoirs, translatedfor the first
time into English from the Bengali original, Apila-Chapila
considerably assisted by foreign interven-
Feb 2007 480pp
ISBN 81-85605-80-0
(Ananda, 2003), bring contemporary India alive.
tion, even in this case developments inter-
Rs 595 / 40UK pounds
nal to the country were in the final analysis
the decisive factor that contributed to the
B+W photographs 'Dr Mitra'l career is packed with "former" designations, chairman
of the Agricultural Prices Commission and Chief Economic Adviser
destruction of the Federal Republic. to Government of India when Mrs Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister
The modest and continuing gains being ... finance minister to Jyoti Basu after the Left Front triumph in
Contact
made by the Catalonian autonomy move- Bengal in 1977, and his memoirs are a treasure house of incident,
SAMYA
ment in Spain and the rather more dramatic 16 Southern Avenueperception, analysis, and sheer good fun, replete with the kind of
developments in Montenegro which in Kolkata 700 026 story that is a highlight of the epicurean adda, or gossip, sessions that
May last year narrowly voted in a national phone 0332466 0812 were and are a preferred privilege of the Kolkata Bengali elite. This
0336519 5737
referendum for secession and indepen- book will be exploited by the intelligent historian and should be
email
dence from Serbia hold promises for the enjoyed by anyone remotely interested in public affairs.'
stree@cal2.vsnl.net.in
- M. J. Akbar, Asian Age
separatist movements in the region. UK:
It is interesting that the recent campaign
Gazelle, White Cross Mills,
in Manipur (as always receiving very little

730 Economic and Political Weekly March 3, 2007

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