In a world that has woken up to the perils of George Soros, not many editorials will be written about BJP winning state elections in 87% Christian Nagaland. It does not fit into the global narrative of an India ruled by a Hindu dictator where democracy has ceased to exist. Rahul Gandhi said so this week in London, two days after losing three state elections in the North East.
‘Indian democracy has ceased to exist, why is the west not doing something’, he thundered. Do what? Sanction India? Invade her? That spiel will get plenty of press. That is the narrative the west wants to hear. As frustrating as that is to a person like me who likes to believe he is a free citizen of a free India, this article is not about that.
This is about another aspect of the North East that doesn’t get enough attention. Perception of the North East has changed across India in the last 9 years. People now know it is part of our national identity. Today, nationally we know leaders from these states who are immensely popular either due to their politics, such as Assam CM Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, or social media star and BJP Nagaland president Temjen Imna Along.
It is not uncommon to see travel reels from the NE pop up on your screen or overhear young people at the coffee machine planning a trip. Separatist violence has fallen sharply too. Union home minister Amit Shah informed in December 2022 that in the last eight years, rebellious incidents in the region have come down by 70 per cent. Attacks on security personnel have also been reduced by 60 per cent while civil casualties have come down to 89 per cent.
The improvement is so solid, that the government has voluntarily withdrawn the much-questioned AFSPA (Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act) from 60% of Assam, seven districts of Nagaland, and 15 police stations in six districts of Manipur, Tripura and Meghalaya. At the same time, the perception in the NE about the rest of India has also improved. More and more people from NE are moving to mainland cities for work.
Connectivity has improved with Indian Railways making steady inroads. More airports have got operationalised and explosion in internet usage has brought us all closer together. All this reflects on the ground and in the law and order statistics.
What is interesting to note, is all this has happened as Congress and Communists have lost power in the North East. In 2013 -14, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Assam, Manipur and Mizoram had Congress governments. Tripura was under Communist rule. Today these “liberal” parties don’t rule any of the 7 states and the area is better integrated with rest of India than ever before. Is this a happy coincidence?
Different leader, different politics – PM Narendra Modi has visited NE more than 50 times during his tenure. According to some estimates, that is more than all other prime ministers put together. Add to that 400-plus visits by other union ministers. The push to reduce physical distance has been matched with talk to reduce the distance of the minds. NE has 25 Lok Sabha seats. It is not critical for BJP’s success. The people know this. They know the government is not putting focus on them just for votes. That has led to a reduction in distrust towards Delhi.
While “liberal” parties ruled NE for decades, the states were taken for granted, even ignored. Nehru’s absolutely shocking decision to leave NE at the mercy of a foreign born Christian missionary Verrier Elvin was one of the biggest reasons for deliberate alienation and Christianisation of NE. Even current Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio had left Congress as he accused them of deliberately blocking a Naga peace accord.
This is not an exception, right from Punjab, Tamil Nadu to Kashmir, Congress has a history of playing dangerous separatist politics for short-term electoral gains, with the nation paying a huge price for those misadventures. It is one thing to name your rally “Bharat Jodo”, but actually uniting a nation takes hard work and common sense. In NE, BJP invoked local freedom fighters and gave a local flavour to Indian Nationalism. On the other hand, Rahul Gandhi is telling our former imperial masters how India is not a nation but a Union of States. It is not a happy coincidence. It is politics with a difference.
Are we out of the woods yet? The cautious answer is NO. North East India is indeed a very diverse and complex landscape and fault lines run deep and in all dimensions. A new indigenous peoples front called “The Tipra Motha” has already emerged in Tripura as the largest opposition. Globally there is no shortage of patrons for such projects today.
As always, the demands transcend existing state boundaries and new trouble can be created by invisible hands. While things are much better today, it is not time to relax. Indian state will have to consolidate on the progress made in the last nine years. Good news is, Bharat Jodo party is not in power in North Eastern states.
