In a bid to spruce up intelligence network and achieve synergy in sharing intelligence inputs, particularly in the wake of the recent serial blasts in Tripura and Assam, the Centre has decided to set up an Intelligence Coordination Group for the north-eastern region. The objective behind such a move is aimed to communicate better in the sharing of vital information among the eight north-eastern States. While such a proposal came up for detailed discussion at a high-level meeting presided over by National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan, the point that must be noted here is the failure to address the issue for many years now despite knowing about the problem and its ramification. The failure to act at the right time has meant that New Delhi ends up in a fire fighting mode.
At least it did not come as surprise for this newspaper when it forewarned about the emerging concern for the northeast—the ease with which terror groups and anti-social elements were able to find a haven for their activities. It has also become a major trade route for illegal arms and explosives and the northeast continues to be used as a safe corridor for inimical forces and therefore posing a major security challenge not only for the country but more so for the States in the region. Such concerns had been raised several times in these columns. Even the Chief Minister of Nagaland Neiphiu Rio during an earlier conference on Internal Security held at New Delhi in September 2006, had raised concerns over the influx of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Obviously the security bosses in Delhi for whatever reasons could not take note of such prior cautioning.
Hopefully, though late in the day, the Centre will now give more attention to the infiltration of illegal immigrants into the Northeastern region. But to tackle the security related problems in the region, New Delhi must also step in to help resolve the border disputes in the region. Of concern for Nagaland and Assam is intelligence reports pointing to certain ‘third party’, comprising mostly illegal migrants, which is keeping the dispute hot among the people of both the States. This is a serious matter and hopefully both the Government of Nagaland and Assam will look into this aspect while attempting to address the border problem. The Ao Students Conference (AKM) had even alerted the State Director General of Police on the threat posed by illegal migrants. Now that New Delhi has at least woken up to the problem at hand, the next step will be to act on the information based on an objective security assessment and not with an eye on vote bank politics. This holds true not only for the Centre but the States in the region will also have to step up its security apparatus in tune with the challenge posed by the modern terror networks.
