The Life of Schmitt 289

Though GNLA is yet to come for talks, but the outfit’s strength has been reduced. Meghalaya Police is upbeat with its sustained operation – Hillstorm 3, which has yielded results and is hopeful that they would be able to contain insurgency. In the backdrop of a resurgent peace era, which is prevailing in Garo Hills with stray incidents of violence.



Some security officials still say the insurgency has not been uprooted in Tripura completely and even in 2021 security forces were attacked. The anti-insurgency- specialised Assam Rifles run by the Central government dwelt on the strategy for swift area domination and also psychological operations and welfare works in tribal hubs. The Tripura model of counter-insurgency operations included involvement of local police officials, giving a key role to the specialised Tripura Rifles and good coordination with Assam Rifles paramilitary forces. The Governor said that outfits are hampering the implementation of the developmental works. After being frustrated, Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh asked the insurgents either to become contractors or armed rebels. He said that the insurgents are extorting illegal taxes from the contractors and other sections of the people thereby impeding the progress of the developmental works.
In May national Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi said FGM/C should be a criminal offense. UNHCR and refugee advocacy groups estimated that between 25,000 and 28,000 of the approximately 100,000 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees living in Tamil Nadu were “hill country” Tamils. While Sri Lankan law allows “hill country” refugees to present affidavits to secure Sri Lankan citizenship, UNHCR believed that until the Sri Lankan government processes the paperwork, such refugees were at risk of becoming stateless. In July media watchdog The Hoot reported internet shutdowns had risen from eight in the first half of 2016 to 23 in the first half of the year.

Apart from Myanmar, Bangladesh has been used by north-east insurgent groups as a hide-out, especially in Chittagong hills. However, after the takeover of the Sheikh Hasina Government, it is on the decline and many members of such groups have been arrested and handed over to India. Mizoram and Tripura have shown remarkable success in controlling insurgency and now they are largely peaceful for quite a long time. Government has signed ceasefire and Suspension of Operations with most of the insurgent groups in the region. The British government did not disturb their socio-political structure and followed a deliberate policy of excluding the outsiders. During the British era, they constituted an overwhelming majority of the population in most of the areas they inhabited.
In some cases violent strikes resulted from companies withholding medical care required by law. Other reports indicated workers had difficulty accessing clean water, with open sewage flowing through company housing areas. In August, Minister of State for Home Affairs Ahir informed parliament’s lower house there were approximately 62,000 registered Kashmiri migrant families in the country. The Jammu and Kashmir state government reported threats to Kashmiri Pandits in the Kashmir Valley during the year.

Of the 443 km-long border between Meghalaya and Bangladesh, 350 km is fenced; though patrolling and surveillance is sporadic and inadequate. Representatives of certain international human rights NGOs sometimes faced difficulties obtaining visas and reported that occasional official harassment and restrictions limited their public distribution of materials. In April 2016 the UN special rapporteur on freedom of assembly and association published a legal analysis asserting that the FCRA did not conform to international law, principles, and standards.