On December 8, 2018, an Army trooper identified as Lance Naik Sukhchain Singh was killed and another three, identified as Jashbir Singh, Lance Naik Hardip Singh and Naik Subedar Yashbindar Singh, were wounded in an encounter with cadres of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) near Yanu village in Longding District.
On December 6, 2018, a ‘captain’ of NSCN-IM (name not available) was killed in an encounter with the Army near Longkai village in Longding District. Security Forces (SFs) recovered two AK-56 rifles and a large quantity of ammunition from the encounter site.
Separately, on November 18, 2018, three militants of NSCN-Unification (NSCN-U) were killed in separate encounters near Borduria and Laptang village in Tirap District. Two of the three dead were identified as Joiwang Mongchan and Ponngam Kamhua aka Vicky, while the identity of the third was not specified.
According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), Arunachal Pradesh recorded 14 fatalities in eight incidents (one civilian, two SF personnel and 11 militants) in 2018, as against six fatalities (all militants) in six separate incidents through 2017.The State recorded nine fatalities (seven militants and two SF personnel) in four separate incidents in 2016.
First civilian fatality was recorded in the State since 2015, when a civilian identified as Ali was killed in crossfire between NSCN-IM and NSCN-U cadres at Demoli in Tirap District. The last civilian fatality before 2018 was recorded on February 6, 2015, at Monmao in Changlang District, when two civilian porters were killed in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast.
In 2018, incidents of insurgency-related fatalities were recorded in four of the State’s 25 Districts, with Longding recording three incidents, Tirap two and Changlang and Namsai one each. Insurgency related fatalities in 2017 were recorded only in two Districts –Longding (five incidents) and Tirap (one incident).
Longding, Changlang and Tirap, the Districts which have been most affected by insurgent violence, share borders with Myanmar, where militants have set up their bases and hideouts. The State of Arunachal Pradesh, shares a 520-kilometre-long international border with Myanmar. The border areas have witnessed significant insurgent violence. Between January 1, 2000, and January 27, 2019, these three Districts have accounted for 103 fatalities: Tirap 69(three civilians, eight SF personnel and 58 militants); Changlang, 20 (three civilians, three SF personnel and 14 militants); and Longding 14 (one SF trooper and 13 militants).
In view of these developments, the Government of India (GoI) extended the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in the three Districts (Tirap, Changlang and Longding), as well as in eight Police Station areas bordering Assam, by six months from October 3, 2018.
Moreover, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, in its latest report which was released on July 21, 2018, stated that Arunachal Pradesh had recorded a rise in the number of insurgency-related incidents, unlike other north-eastern States:
Arunachal Pradesh borders Myanmar, a country where insurgent camps and infrastructure are located. The groups operating in neighbouring States such as Nagaland and Assam use Arunachal Pradesh as a transit route to and from their safe havens in Myanmar. Although the insurgent groups have not engaged in high profile violence in Arunachal, they use the State as a logistical base and for extortion and recruitment, resulting in a spill-over effect in Arunachal Pradesh.
This spill-over of militancy has also led to a rising number of abductions for ransom. In the latest such incident, reported on November 10, 2018, suspected United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) militants abducted a storekeeper, Debabrata Deb,at the Sati Tea Estate in Namsai District. His whereabouts thereafter are currently unknown. According to Arunachal Pradesh Police records, 70 incidents of abduction for ransom were recorded just between January and June 2018. In 2017, between January and November, according to available Police records, 106 incidents of abduction were recorded in the State (a majority of such incidents go unreported, as victim families seek a ‘private’ settlement with abductors).
SFs have been fairly effective in countering militancy in the State. According to partial data collected by SATP, in addition to the 11 fatalities recorded through 2018, at least 70 militants have been arrested in the State in 39 incidents, including 22 National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K), 14 NSCN-Reformation (NSCN-R), 11 NSCN-IM, nine National Democratic Front of Bodoland-Saraigwra (NDFB-S), four militants each from NSCN-U, ULFA-I and Eastern Naga National Government Group (ENNG); and one Tai Singpho Security Force (TSSF) militant. The group affiliation of one militant remains unspecified.
A potential flash point in Arunachal Pradesh is the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) 2019, which was passed in the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) on January 8, 2019, provoking protests across the Northeast. The region-wide shutdown called by the Northeast Students Organisation (NESO) on January 8 was supported by the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU), a State level students’ organisation. AAPSU President Hawa Bagang had stated on January 7, “If the Bill is passed, we will be left with no option but to take up arms to protect our indigenous population.”
The CAB issue is compounded by the presence of Chakma and Hajong refugees who officially number to more than 54,000. They have settled in the State since the 1960’s, after they were displaced from Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in erstwhile East Pakistan (present day Bangladesh). In September 2017, the GoI’s attempt to implement the Supreme Court’s order to grant citizenship to Chakmas and Hajongs, had provoked violence after AAPSU called for a day long strike.
On June 19, 2018, AAPSU further reiterated its hostility towards Chakmas and Hajongs when it stated that AAPSU and the indigenous people of the State would never accept the citizenship rights of the Chakmas and Hajongs. AAPSU General Secretary Tobom Dai, asserted that Chakmas and Hajongs “should not demand same rights as indigenous people from the State.”
On December 30, 2018, AAPSU had demanded creation of a separate department for strict vigilance and monitoring of refugee affairs, and sought cancellation of the Arunachal Pradesh Scheduled Tribe (APST) certificates, jobs, etc., obtained by non-locals. Moreover, they also demanded the creation of a separate department in the Government for monitoring refugee affairs.
The Government has sought to expedite infrastructure development in this strategically sensitive and isolated state. In 2017, the 9.15 kilometre long Bhupen Hazarika Bridge was inaugurated, connecting Arunachal Pradesh with Assam. On December 25, 2018, the 4.94 kilometre long Bogibeel Bridge was inaugurated, connecting Dibrugarh and Dhemaji Districts of Assam, which border western Arunachal Pradesh, facilitating easier transport. Moreover, on December 21, 2018 Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation for 11 two-lane roads, three at Roing in the Lower Dibang Valley District (96.47 kilometres in length, and costing INR 21.146 billion) and eight at Ziro in Lower Subansiri District (472 kilometres in length and costing INR 55.84 billion).
Although Arunachal Pradesh has not faced any significant or noteworthy indigenous insurgency, the State continues to face persisting threats from the spill-over of the other insurgencies in the Northeast and the militant sanctuaries in neighbouring Myanmar. The CAB has inflamed the political situation across the region, and Arunachal cannot remain unaffected if disorders rise again in what has long been an unstable territory. The security challenges can only be compounded further, as efforts to fast-forward long-neglected developmental projects intensify.