Staff Reporter
Guwahati: To recap the year just ended, there have been 266 insurgency-related incidents in the Northeast in 2024, until November 30. Of this, a majority of the incidents occurred in Manipur, with 203 such incidents recorded in the year.
The statistics on such incidents were released by the North East Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs in a report titled 'Insurgency in North East'.
The security scenario in the NE had gradually improved after 2014, but a spurt in insurgency-related incidents was seen in the last two years, mainly due to the ongoing ethnic strife in Manipur. There has been a slight increase in the number of such incidents in 2023 and 2024.
According to the report, the number of insurgency-related incidents in 2014 was 824. This gradually came down to 163 in 2020, 209 in 2021, and 201 in 2022 in the NE. In the calendar year 2023, the number of such incidents was put at 243, of which Manipur alone accounted for 187 of these.
Most importantly, the number of insurgency-related incidents dropped to a low of 8 in Assam during 2023, in comparison to 246 incidents in 2014.
In 2024, until November 30, of the 266 incidents recorded in the NE, Assam had just 6 insurgency-related incidents. Moreover, from the month of January to November 2024, the number of extremists killed in Assam was 3, with 5 extremists arrested and 2 persons kidnapped, the report stated.
During the same period in Manipur, there were 203 insurgency-related incidents, largely attributed to the ethnic strife taking place in the state. The number of extremists killed in Manipur was 22, with 336 such elements arrested. On the other hand, 3 security forces and 28 civilians were killed during the period mentioned. Also, 79 persons were kidnapped in Manipur from January to November 2024.
In the NE, as a whole, 30 extremists were killed, 509 were arrested, 3 security personnel were killed, 28 civilians were killed, and 159 persons were kidnapped from January to November 30, 2024.
It was also stated in the report that 16 major banned organisations in the Northeast states existed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. Most of the groups are active in Manipur, with a total of 8 such organisations present there. Assam has 3 such organisations, Meghalaya and Tripura have 2 each, and Nagaland has 1 banned organisation.
The report also said that the terrain, the state of socio-economic development, and historical factors such as language ethnicity, tribal rivalry, migration, control over local resources, and long and porous international borders have resulted in a fragile security situation in the North Eastern States. This has resulted in violence, extortion, and diverse demands by various Indian Insurgent Groups (IIGs) that maintain safe havens or camps in neighbouring countries. The insurgent outfits indulge in violent and terror activities and intimidate people with arms in order to achieve their objectives or demands. They maintain cross-border links, procure arms, recruit and train their cadres, and indulge in unlawful activities.
It was also stated that the security situation in the North Eastern Region (NER) has improved significantly since 2014.
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