The Terrorism and Internal Security Cluster of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyes (IDSA) organised a debate on the “Counter Insurgency Operations in North East India: Operations without a policy” on March 21, 2011. The debate was chaired by Mr. Kishalaya Bhattacharjee, Senior Fellow, IDSA. The debate had informed panelists: Dr. Arvind Gupta, Lal Bahadur Shastri Chair, IDSA and Additional Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, Mr. Raghu Raman, CEO, National Intelligence Grid, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, Brig. (Retd.) Rahul K. Bhonsle, Security Consultant, and Brig. (Retd.) Rumel Dahiya, Advisor Net Assessment, IDSA.

Before the debate was initiated, a documentary film “Manipur: A Satyagraha, a Decade” was screened. The debate was initiated by Mr. Kishalaya Bhattacharjee with a question: whether India needs a policy or an operational method.

In response, Brig. Bhonsle said that there cannot be one single policy applicable for the whole of North East India because in North East India the issue of identity plays a major role. Hence, it would not be wise to apply a standard policy in the whole of North East. He recommended having policy independent in nature for the specific states and specific issues. On the question of operational method, he laid stress on empowering the security forces fighting on the ground in terms of taking decisions on how to fight insurgency. He also said that the state should go for a military solution and once the same is achieved then the state can go for a political solution.

Dr. Arvind Gupta emphasized on the constant need for a policy with dynamism. He also stressed on understanding the root causes of the insurgencies of North East Region and designing policy strategies accordingly. Dr. Gupta also suggested changes in policy whenever it is required. Criticizing the implementation part of various policies in the North East, he said that divergence of various issues in North East makes policy making difficult. Converging development and security issues and winning the minds and hearts of the people will help formulating policies, he said.

In response to a second question on what are the success stories of the counter-insurgency policies of the government and the reemergence of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), Brig. Dahiya argued that the continuity of the insurgency movements depends on the leadership of the insurgent group and socio-economic back ground of the people of that place. Brig. Dahiya laid stress on a military solution for insurgency movements in order to weaken the militants.

Mr. Raghu Raman emphasized the end game of insurgency. He said that the policy should be designed to find out what could be the weakness of an insurgent outfit.

The debate also discussed various issues relating to different strategies of military solution, what would be a correct political solution, etc. The house, finally, came to the following policy recommendations to deal with insurgent groups.

• Policies to be made keeping in mind the specificities of a particular insurgent outfit. There should not be a standard policy for the whole of North East.
• Policies made for dealing with the insurgent groups should win the hearts and minds of the people of North East.
• Military solution is a must before going for any political solution.
• Policy to deal with the insurgency should not be diverted to other issues.
• Policy should be based on the understanding of the root cause of insurgencies.
• Security forces fighting at the ground level should be given the independence for taking decisions to curb the insurgency.

Report prepared by Dr. Anshuman Behera, Research Assistant, IDSA