Ethnic Secessionist Movements In Northeast India

Northeast India has a very unique location. Although a part of India, it is surrounded by China , Bhutan, Burma and Bangladesh, connecting with the Indian mainland only by a 21-kilometer-wide Siliguri Corridor. Therefore it is of great significance strategically. We can call it "the northeast corner of India".Northeast India is inhabited with different ethnic groups, among them mainly tribes. These tribes differ from each other in many ways: language, custom, religion and so on.Long since the foundation of the Democratic Republic of India, "the northeast corner" has turned out a place filled with ethnic conflicts and secessionist movements. People living in this area suffered a miserable life, longing for peace eagerly. In the past 50 years, the India government has done everything they could to settle the problem, but the disturbance seems has a much longer life than expected. In order to bring the conflict to an end, many means have been tried, such as deploying army to northeast India on a large scale, regrouping the villages and rearranging the states in this region. Meanwhile, India has also been making a great deal of efforts to improve its relationship with neighbouring countries to gain their supports, hoping these countries can launch a cooperative military action together with India to wipe out the rebellions. So far, more than fifty thousand people have died due to the armed secessionist movements.The armed secessionist movements in northeast India have a great influence on its neighbouring countries. It poses a threat to our nation's southwest boundary and Tibet. The ammunition and drug trade generated by the secessionist movements make the security situation worse, let alone the widely spread HIV AIDS. India's foreign policy to its neighbours has also been deeply influenced by the secessionist movements. Nowadays, the study of these secessionist movements has become a popular subject to many Indian scholars.This thesis, which came out as my graduation paper, is divided into three chapters.Chapter 1 is a description of northeast India and a narration of the history and the course of the secessionist movements. And then, I analyze the causes of the secessionist movements through eight aspects.Chapter 2 gives the ethnic secessionist movements a study through different perspectives. First, I look into its influences on the relationship between India and its neighboring countries. Then, I give a case study on Assam's ethnic conflicts and the secessionist movement of the state, pointing out that the lack of a powerful local state party is a main factor which has led to the burning of the secessionist movement in this state. Finally, I list some major measures which have been taken to remove the secessionist movements, and discussed that what India has done in the northeast has great use for reference to other countries.Chapter 3 includes two parts: firstly, a prediction of the ethnic secessionist movements;Secondly, some suggestions on the secessionist movements which occurred in my mind occasionally when I was writing the thesis. I also offer some personal viewpoints on how our country can deal with this ethnic secessionist movements. I hope that my limited research can give an introduction and an analysis to the readers on the subject and, if possible, pave a way to any further study on it.