South Asia Terrorism Portal

INDIA

Northeast: Border Wrangles
Ajit Kumar Singh
Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management

The decades-old inter-state border disputes among the Indian States of the Northeast, which had flared up most recently in October 2020, only to be pushed into the background for a short span of time, have raised their ugly head again, more violently and alarmingly.

On July 26, 2021, five Assam Police personnel, including Sub Inspector Swapan Roy, and a civilian were killed along the Assam-Mizoram inter-state boundary in Kolasib District (Mizoram)-Cachar District (Assam) region. Another, 50 policemen, including Superintendent of Police Cachar Nimbalkar Vaibhav Chandrakant, and nine civilians, were injured. On July 27, one of the injured Policeman succumbed to his injuries, taking fatalities up to six.

While it is clear that a police team from Assam visited the border between Lailapur village in Cachar District and Vairengte in Kolasib District, subsequent events become hazy, with both the States accusing each other of provocation and violence. Further, though it is a fact that Assam Police personnel were killed in firing by the Mizoram Police, Mizoram accused the Assam Police of firing the first shot. It is pertinent to recall here that, though clashes between locals and the Police have been a normal feature in the border region, it is for the first time that State Police Forces have fired at each other. 

This present incident did not happen all of a sudden. Media reports indicate that after the flare up in October 2020, skirmishes along the Assam-Mizoram inter-state border never stopped. Over 50 people have been injured and several houses and shops set on fire since then. The situation started worsening in the region since the beginning of July 2021, when both sides started accusing each other of encroachment on their respective territories. On July 10-11, three explosions (one in Assam on July 10 and two in Mizoram on July 11) were heard along the inter-state boundary in Kolasib-Cachar region. No casualty was reported in these explosions. On July 25, eight farm huts reportedly belonging to Mizo farmers were burnt down.

On July 11, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma confirmed that two or three blasts had occurred and conceded,

Sarma also affirmed that Assam would protect its constitutional boundary with Mizoram with all its might.

On the other hand, on July 12, Mizoram Home Minister Lalnunmawia Chuaungo blamed Assam for encroachment and asserted that, though the Mizoram Government did not want to be the first to strike a blow on the issue, it was ready to accept any measures to protect the territory of the State.

Despite the buildup, no genuine efforts were made by either State Government or by the Government at the Center, to reduce tensions. More deplorably, on the day of the incident (July 26), while a violent mob gathered at the site of the incident and the situation was visibly deteriorating, the two concerned Chief Ministers - Assam Chief Minister Sarma and Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga - engaged in an unfortunate duel on Twitter. To begin with Sarma tweeted,

Zoramthanga replied in a tweet,

The ‘twitter war’ continued with Sarma saying that “I have just spoken to Hon’ble Chief Minister @ZoramthangaCM ji” and “I have reiterated that Assam will maintain status quo and peace between the borders of our state”, and Zoramthanga responding, “@himantabiswa ji, as discussed, I kindly urge that Assam Police @assampolice be instructed to withdraw from Vairengte for the safety of civilians.”

Nothing was done on the ground and seven persons lost their lives, demonstrating the abject failure of the people at the helm.

Sadly, at the time of writing, there is nothing to suggest that any of the three Governments (Centre and the two States) have made any genuine efforts to resolve the issue, beyond the rhetoric of “fresh negotiation… between the two governments [Assam and Mizoram] to de-escalate the situation." At the time of writing, tension continues to prevail along the inter-State border. Mizoram claims that National Highway 306, Mizoram’s lifeline, remained closed, and no vehicle had entered the State from Assam since the July 26, 2021, clash at the border. Assam, on the other hand, asserted that the “economic blockade” staged by several non-government groups on National Highway 306 had been lifted.

Long unresolved inter-State border disputes are not limited to the confrontation between Assam and Mizoram. Indeed, Assam Chief Minister Sarma in a written reply in the State Assembly on July 12, stated that a total of 209 instances of encroachment of Assam land had taken place since 2016, when the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) came to power in the State for the first time. These encroachments were carried out by people from Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya, he added.

On the other hand, these States have long blamed Assam for encroachments.

The inter-state border disputes are mainly between Assam and six other States with which Assam shares its borders: Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura. The dispute is more complex and intense between Assam and four of these States, which were formed after independence: Arunachal Pradesh (Union Territory 1972, State 1987), Meghalaya (Autonomous State 1970, full-fledged State 1972), Mizoram (Union Territory 1972, State 1987) and Nagaland (1963).

At the core of the Assam-Arunachal border dispute is the 1951 boundary delineation notification. Arunachal refuses to accept it as the basis of boundary delineation, arguing that the 3,648 square kilometers of the plain areas of North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA), as Arunachal was known in 1951, were transferred to the then undivided Darrang and Lakhimpur Districts of Assam at the recommendations of the Bordoloi Committee, without the consent of its people. The border dispute between Assam-Meghalaya arises out of Meghalaya's refusal to accept the Assam Reorganisation (Meghalaya) Act of 1969. There are at present 12 points of dispute along this border covering an area of 2,765.14 square kilometers.

The boundary between Assam and Mizoram is defined in the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act of 1971, which in turn is based on Notification No. 2106, AP dated  March 9, 1933. However, at the root of the Assam-Mizoram border dispute is  a notification of 1875 that differentiated the Lushai Hills (Mizoram) from the plains of Cachar, and the 1933 notification, that demarcates a boundary between the Lushai Hills and Manipur. Mizoram believes the boundary should be demarcated on the basis of the 1875 notification, which is derived from the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act, 1873, and not as per 1933 notification which the Assam Government accepts. According to Mizoram, in the 1933 demarcation, the Mizo society was not consulted. Indeed, the most recent flare up at the Assam-Mizoram inter-state boundary was over a small piece of land in a forested area. According to reports Mizoram police was constructing an 8×8 feet post atop a hillock in Vairengte for its personnel to “secure their area.” The Assam Police claimed the post was being built in the Inner Line Forest reserve area, which was ‘illegal’. Mizoram claims all of its  posts fall in Vairengte; while Assam insists they come under Rengti Basti, an inner-land forest reserve area within its boundaries. The Mizoram Government accused the Assam officials of encroaching into an area called Aitlang Hnar (the source of river Aitlang), around five kilometers from Vairengte in Mizoram, and destroying plantation crops. Assam, on the other hand,  alleged that Mizo residents had encroached upon 6.5 kilometers of land inside the Assamese territory and planted banana and betel nut saplings, besides constructing makeshift settlements.

Though the dispute between Assam and Nagaland started soon after the latter attained statehood in 1963, it is important to note that even before 1947, when India became independent, the Naga National Council had demanded the return of the territories which formed part of the Naga Hills District. Indeed, the restoration of the “Naga areas” was raised and placed on record in the 16-Point Agreement signed between the Government of India (GoI) and the Naga People’s Convention in 1960. GoI did not honor this agreement and the State of Nagaland Act, 1962 was enacted, defining its borders based on the 1925 notification. Since then, Nagaland has not accepted the boundary delineation and demanded that Nagaland should comprise the erstwhile Naga Hills and all Naga-dominated areas in North Cachar and Nowgong (Nagaon) Districts, both in Assam, which were part of Naga territory in 1866. Nagaland demands 12,488 square kilometers  of Assamese territory, mostly coverered by 10 Reserve Forests.

Most recently, Nagaland protested after the Assam Police allegedly tried to set up a camp close to Vikuto village under Tzurangkong range in the Mokokchung District of Nagaland on June 29, 2021. The area is near Mariani in Assam's Jorhat District. The tension had started to build but, before it could worsen, better sense prevailed, and Assam Chief Minister Sarma tweeted on July 31,

However, the agreement seems fragile. Indeed, on July 30, Nagaland’s Deputy Chief Minister Yanthungo Patton had claimed that, in past settlements between the two Northeastern States, both Police forces had agreed to withdraw from the border areas, but Assam failed to comply and had, in fact, increased Police presence, while Nagaland withdrew its forces. "We will not make the mistake again," he said, showing long-standing distrust. 

Meanwhile, on July 26, Meghalaya accused the Assam police of trying to remove electricity poles inside Longkhuli village in Ri Bhoi District (Meghalaya) along its border with Assam. Interestingly, just three days earlier, on July 23, Sarma had met the Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma to discuss the border dispute between these two states. During the Assam-Mizoram border flare up in October 2020, Meghalaya had also demanded the resolution of its border issue with Assam.

There are other inter-State border disputes in the region, including those between Mizoram and Tripura, one of which had flared up in August 2020 and had worsened in October that year.

The reality is that the prolonged inter-State border disputes in the region have not been genuinely addressed by any of the Governments, past and present, for reasons best known to them. These Governments have failed appallingly to understand the intrinsic nature of the inter-State border issues in the region, or to make a serious attempt, in good faith, to address these.

Significantly, the latest firing incident (July 26) happened just a day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited the region (July 24-25), and met with the Chief Ministers of all the eight Northeast States. In the meeting he had requested the Chief Ministers “to resolve the border disputes of the States expeditiously in a cordial atmosphere by mutual consultation.” Vote-bank politics, which make State leaders fearful of losing support of one group or the other, has played a crucial role in the unfortunate persistence of these disputes.

It is, consequently, highly unlikely that these border issues are going to be resolved any time in the near future. The fragile peace established in the entire region after decades of armed conflict, therefore, remains under constant threat, as the possibility of these disputes being exploited by weakened and dormant terrorist groups of the region is very real. The challenges for the Security Forces on the ground are, therefore, likely to grow further.

MALDIVES

Struggling with Terror
Giriraj Bhattacharjee
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management

On July 29, 2021, Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem announced that the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) has accepted the case of an additional suspect, Ali Haisham, forwarded by the Police in the May 6, 2021, attack case. Earlier, Police had forwarded the names of Adhuham Ahmed Rasheed, Mujaz Ahmed, Thahmeen Ahmed and Ahmed Fathih and cases against them had been accepted.

Ali Haisham was arrested on June 11; Mujaz Ahmed and Thahmeen Ahmed, both on May 8; Adhuham Ahmed Rasheed, on May 9 and Ahmed Fathih, on May 19. Adhuham is believed to be the man who detonated the explosive. Thahumeen is the owner of the motorcycle used in the blast.

Another five suspects are under investigation – Is’haq, Fahumy Ali, Mohamed Nazim, Abdulla Ali Manik and Mohamed Thasleem.

On May 6, 2021, Mohamed Nasheed, Maldives Speaker of Parliament and former President, was grievously injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast outside his home in the national capital, Male. Three of his body guards and two bystanders – a local and a British national – also received minor injuries in the explosion. The Police have since launched nationwide operations to arrest the culprits.

Meanwhile, on July 24, 2021, the trio of the Maldives Police Commissioner Mohamed Hameed, Assistant Commissioner Mohamed Riyaz, and Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem. addressed a press conference and provided details of the investigation into the May 6 attack. Mohamed Riyaz revealed that the arrestees shared beliefs endorsed by the Islamic State (IS, also Daesh). Nonetheless, to date, Daesh’s direct role in these cases has not been established. He also added that the ‘terrorist cell’ involved in the attack had declared Mohamed Nasheed a kafir (infidel).

On July 6, 2021, the Chairman of the Committee of People’s Majilis on National Security (also known as the 241 Committee), Hassan Afeef, submitted the Report of the Committee to Parliament. The Report was passed by the Parliament on July 7 and subsequently presented to President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on July 12. The Report mentions, among other things, that Defense Minister Mariya Ahmed Didi had acted against established protocol and failed to share information received by her with authorities. The  Report also states that the Member of Parliament from Hulhudhoo constituency, Ilyas Labeeb, who on May 14, 2021, had stated that he had informed Ahmed Didi of an impending attack on Mohamed Nasheed, also failed in his duty to inform the Police.  Indeed, according to a July 12 report, Ahmed Didi and Labeeb are being investigated for failing to report the information they received about the assassination attempt on Parliament Speaker Nasheed, to the Police.

This Report which was passed with a total of 45 submitted recommendations, included:

The 13-member Committee to look into Speaker Nasheed's security breach was constituted on May 17. 

After the May 6 attack the Government has already initiated some legislative measures.

On June 21, Parliament passed two Bills – the First Amendment to the Parliament’s Privileges and Powers Act and the Sixth Amendment to the Judges Act – to arrange for official residences for the Speaker of the Parliament Mohamed Nasheed and the Chief Justice Ahmed Muthasim Adnan to strengthen their security. After the May 6 attack, a Bill was presented to the Parliamentary Committee on National Security on June 14, calling for amendments to be brought to the law in order to arrange for residences for the Speaker of the Parliament and the Chief Justice of Maldives. Later, on June 30, the President ratified the two Bills. The amended Bills state that the residences must be such that sufficient security measures can be implemented if needed.

Further, in a renewed emphasis to stop hate crimes, a Bill was introduced on May 31, 2021, by the Member of Parliament for Thulhaadhoo Constituency, Ms. Hisaan Hussain, of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). As per the Bill, the list of hate crimes includes accusing a person of having violated Islam, being against the religion of Islam publicly, and using the Islamic faith to foster hatred against a specific person. In addition to this, accusing, labelling, or taking part in describing a Muslim as a non-Muslim or "kafir" are also listed as hate crimes. The Bill was accepted with 38 votes in favor and 17 against, on June 16. However, it was sent to the Judiciary Committee for further ‘research’ on the same day, ostensibly, because the Solih Government was cowed down by the extremists who oppose the Bill.

Meanwhile, the attack and following developments have adversely affected politics in the country. On July 17, 2021, Mohmad Nasheed wrote an open letter and shared it on his Facebook and Twitter accounts. The letter reads, inter alia,

It is pertinent to recall here that Dr. Afrasheem (killed in 2012), Ahmed Rilwan (in 2014) and Yameen Rasheed (in 2017), are believed to have been murdered by local extremist groups allied to Al-Qaeda, according to the Presidential Commission on Investigation of Murders and Enforced Disappearances (DDCom).

Earlier, on July 12, 2021, Nasheed had sent a WhatsApp message to his colleagues in which he tentatively proposed an alliance with rival Abdullah Yameen. Speaker Nasheed said, “It does not matter to me if some MDP members are unhappy with this – but if former President Yameen and Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) support moderate religious views, I will ask for their help." Significantly, it is believed that the political instability of 2012, resulting in protests and the ouster of the then President Nasheed, had facilitated the growth of extremism.

Meanwhile, highlighting prosecution failure as a major hindrance in Maldives’ fight with extremism/terrorism, and referring to the May 6, attack, Nasheed appealed to the judiciary on June 26, arguing, “I believe the local judges must receive a big message. They must not allow for them [terror suspects] to be remanded for 10 or 15 days and then released to the streets… I imagine a very dark picture. That is, the beginning of suicide attacks among us.”

There have been numerous cases in the recent past where terrorism suspects have been arrested, released, re-arrested and released again. On June 30, 2021, in one such case, the Supreme Court revoked the order for the detention of one of the suspects, Mafthooh Saeed, arrested in the Police crackdown on extremism in Addu City in May 2021. Saeed was arrested from Addu on May 15 on suspicion of involvement in a separatist movement to spread extremism, incitement to terrorism, possession and storage of items needed to prepare improvised explosive devices, and conspiracy to harm civilians and property.

The stated vision of the country to remain a moderate, progressive, tolerant, and peaceful Muslim country is coming under increased stress in the absence of a consensus on the crucial issues of hate speech, radicalization and terrorism, which are obstructing efforts to seriously tackle militancy/terrorism. Efforts are also needed to facilitate sharing of intelligence between various security agencies and to implement the 241-committee report in order to cement responses to terrorism. 

Afghanistan

Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission reports 80 per cent increase in civilian casualties: The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) in a report released on August 1 said that 1,677 civilians were killed and 3,644 more were wounded in the first six months of this year, showing an 80 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2020. AIHRC says that 1,594 security incidents occurred during this period. In the first six months of 2020, 1,213 civilians were killed and 1,744 more were wounded. Tolo News, August 1, 2021.

Taliban conduct 22,000 attacks against ANDSF in four months, says a report by State Ministry in Peace Affairs: Afghanistan's State Ministry in Peace Affairs on July 29 published its four-month report on civilian casualty which states that the Taliban have conducted 22,000 attacks against Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF). As per the report, a total number of 5,587 civilian people were killed and wounded as a result of 93 suicide attacks, 650 rocket shells, 1675 mine explosions, and 844 assassinations by the Taliban. The Khaama Press, July 30, 2021.

Afghanistan Government faces 'existential crisis', says latest SIGAR report:The US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconciliation (SIGAR) in a new report released on July 30 said that Afghanistan Government faces an "existential crisis" after a continuing rise in Taliban attacks that began well ahead of the withdrawal of US and coalition troops from the country. The SIGAR latest report said the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) have retaken some Districts and the Afghan government still controls all 34 provincial capitals, including Kabul, but from public reporting, the ANDSF appeared surprised and unready and is now on its back foot. Tolo News, July 31, 2021.

Massive influx of transnational terrorist networks gives the war new regional and international dimensions, says President Ashraf Ghani: President Ashraf Ghani, addressing the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board meeting, said that the influx of foreign militants give Aghan conflict a regional and international dimension. "A massive influx of transnational terrorist networks, particularly Jaish-i-Muhammed and Lashkar-i-Tayaba and influx of Daesh, is giving the war new regional and international dimensions," the president said, adding, "planting of carpet mining, car bombs, suicide bombing, summary executions, revenge killings, forced marriages constitute a recurrent pattern of violations of human rights". Bakhtar News Agency, July 26, 2021.