Insurgency in Assam

Understanding and Managing Conflict Transformation in Assam

by Bibhu Prasad Routray

Published in Times of Assam, 26 July 2011

The 12 July 2011 unilateral ceasefire declaration by the ULFA’s pro-talk faction and the clarification issued by the... more The 12 July 2011 unilateral ceasefire declaration by the ULFA’s pro-talk faction and the clarification issued by the outfit on 23 July that sovereignty for Assam is not in their charter of demands, are welcome developments for the state, which has struggled to break free from the cycle of violence for many years. Although an immediate halt to violence is certainly not on the cards, the consolidation of peace would certainly depend on the direction of negotiations between New Delhi and the ULFA leaders, due to begin in August.

Enabling Idp Livelihoods in Western Assam: Nobody's Responsibility

by Uddipana Goswami

Report on Muslim IDPs in Western Assam

by Uddipana Goswami

In Refugee Watch 29. Kolkata: Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group.

Internal displacement, migration, and policy in northeastern India

by Uddipana Goswami

Nobody`s People: Muslim IDPs of Western Assam

by Uddipana Goswami

In Blisters on their Feet: Tales of Internally Displaced Persons in India’s North East. New Delhi: Sage Publications.

Armed in Northeast India: Special Powers, Act or No Act

by Uddipana Goswami

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958 (AFSPA) forms the core of the Indian Government’s relationship with the... more The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958 (AFSPA) forms the core of the Indian Government’s relationship with the Northeast region. Fifty years after its inception violence in the region is increasing rather than decreasing. While the AFSPA is central to the ways the state relates to citizens in the region and has been a major catalyst for increasing violence, this paper will not treat the AFSPA as the sole instance of the Indian state’s skewed security regime in the Northeast region, but will instead argue that the act is only a symptom of a larger malaise characterised by alienation, militarisation, and a dangerous counter-insurgency strategy. The fallout has been not merely a brutalisation of the security forces, but a legitimisation of violence. A vicious cycle has been set in motion punctuated by three main dynamics: violence giving birth to more violence, brutalisation eroding ideologies, and state-sanctioned terror engendering a disregard for peaceful alternatives. It is argued that unless the Indian state bases its approach to the region on a proper understanding of the nationalistic aspirations and indigenous and ethnic identities of the people there, this cycle cannot be stopped.