Regional political parties in india s. Bhatnagar pradeep kumar

Disgruntled forces in Arunachal Pradesh often get provoked because of the Chinese proclivity in the internal affairs of Arunachal Pradesh and Beijing's claims for certain parts of the region. In 1982, Chinese authorities protested for the presence of folk dancers from Arunachal Pradesh in New Delhi during Asiad, and their displeasure was conveyed to the Government of India while the statehood was conferred on Arunchal Pradesh in June, 198621. Unsettled sino-Indian boundary dispute, however, remained as the main irritant for normalisation of relations

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between the two neighbours. It is difficult to believe that the Chinese would discourage those secessionist forces who intend to create political chaos in this part of the country in keeping in view of their claims to the Indian territory in the north-eastern sector.

Assam is also not free from the secessionists as some of the hard-core students within Assam Agitation have formed the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) in collaboration with the NSCN rebels. The intelligentsia felt that the NSCN headquarters in Burma provides training for the ULFA recruits and the ULFA, of course, has to pay for the training and arms to the NSCN rebels. The ULFA, however, gets shelter at the NSCN headquarters at Challam beyond Somra tracts in Burma with the sole object to co-operate and collaborate with the NSCN rebels in an operational strategy against the Indian Security Forces. Paresh Barooah, who is one of the top leaders of ULFA is said to be in the NSCN camp in Burma and was directed by the Chinese authorities to function through the NSCN rebels. The ULFA has already involved in extremist activities in Assam. The murder of Kalipad Sen, the leader of the United Minority Front (UMF) by Paresh Barooah is an indication of new beginning of terrorism in Assam.22

The extremists in Meghalaya are also inspired by the leaders of National socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) to demand autonomy from the Indian Government. The Khasiphur National Council, a chauvinistic organization exclusively of Khasi tribes has already given a call for an autonomy movement in Meghalaya. The recent agitation against the non-Khasis indicate their growing hatred and intense desire to cooperate with the other liberation fronts in the region. The "Seven-Sisters Liberation Army" comprising the seven states has once again become active to create an independent state through an armed struggle. Formation of another underground organization called "NAMMAT" consisting Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura further strengthened the hands of autonomy forces in the region.23

There has been, however, an impressive performance by the Central Government to ameliorate economic progress in this sensitive region, particularly from 1960s when the sisterly states of Nagaland were following her example of armed struggle. North-Eastern Economic Council is entrusted to deal with the economic task of the region. Meghalaya is experiencing a tremendous progress in all spheres since inception of the statehood on Janury 20,1972. At present, there are 644 small scale industries out of which 547 are in the Khasi Hills, 43 in Garo Hills and

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54 in Jaintia Hills. The Planning Commisison has recently approved Rs. 390 million for hydel project to overcome the energy crisis and providing adequate subsidies to agricultural sector in the State. The Annual Plan outlay for 1980-81 was Rs. 43.31 crores. In Manipur, the total investment during the 5th Five Year Plan on major and medium irrigation projects alone was Rs. 225 million. About 15,000 hectares of land was brought under irrigation during 1978-79. Rs. 12.68 million were allocated for the development of industries in 1977-78. A Tribal Development Plan exclusively for the development of 29 tribes and sub-tribes has been chalked out by the State Government. Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh are also receiving substantial funds from the Central Government. Already 2,500 hectares of area is brought under permanent irrigation in Mizoram. Efforts are being made by the State Government to extend these facilities to the entire region. The annual Plan outlay in 1980-81 for Nagaland State was Rs. 48 crores. There are 1,567 small and cottage industries in this tiny state of six lakh people. There are no major industries in Arunachal Pradesh because of its geographical features and high altitudes. But 34 small-scale industries are functioning under private cooperative sectors. The Annual Plan outlay for 1979-80 was Rs. 234.05 million. All the 50 tribes and its sub-tribes are given equal shares in sphere of economic development in this Union Territory. Tripura Government has set up Small Scale Industries Corporation Limited so that every local tribe has a say in the economic progress of the State. The Annual Plan outlay for 1977-78 was Rs. 220 million24. The North-Eastern Hill University is catering to the educational needs of Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur has its own university besides the Post-graduate Centre of Jawa-harlal Nehru University. Strangely enough, the autonomy demand has not ceased in spite of the Centre's generosity rather it became intransigent It would, perhaps, be relevant to suggest that a 'National Integration Conference' be convened at the Centre's initiative preferably at the Nagaland Peace Centre, Chidima, near Kohima and an invitation be extended to the leaders of both major and minor autonomy forces so that they would be brought to the negotiating table to put forward their point of view. So far, the Centre is dealing with the leaders like Phizo and Laldenga. The leaders of NSCN, PLA, PREPAK, ATPLO, etc. are yet to be heard by the Central Government The ethnic heterogeniety is so varied and complied among the tribes of North-Eastern India that neglect of one minor tribal sect may lead to an autonomy demand and the external agencies like China, U.S.A. and Bangladesh never cease to exploit the situation.

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Initiation of this kind of dialogue may add to the already existing measures of removing poverty, economic progress etc. to infuse a sense of nationalism among the tribes of North-Eastern India.

NOTES&REFERENCES

1. See for details V. Venkata Rao, "North-East India: Problems and Prospects", The Indian Journal of Political Science, Vol. XXXVI, January-March, 1975, pp.1-12.

2. See for details Captain St. John F. Michael, The North-East Frontier of India (Delhi: Vivek Publishing House, 1973), See Christophu Von Furer, Haimendorf, The Naked Nagas Head Hunters of Assam in Peace and War (Calcutta. Thacker, Spink and Co. Ltd., 1946). and also see S. Barakataki, Tribes of Assam (New Delhi: National Book Trust, India, 1969).

3. See for details, "Conversation with Z.A. Phizo", Sunday (Calcutta: May 22, 1977), Vol. 5, No. 10, pp. 14-15.

4. See B. Rahamatulla, "Evolution of National Socialist Council of Nagaland The Renewal of Insurgency", Platform (Kohima: February 25 - March 4, 1982), Vol. 5, No. 40, pp. 3-4.

5. Vitto Angami, "Mores in Mizoram and Nagaland", Frontier (Calcutta: May 30, 1981), Vol. 13, No. 40, p. 11.

6. The Shillong Accord was signed on November 11, 1975 between a 5-member team of Naga Underground Federal Government and North- Eastem States' Governor, L.P. Singh. The Accord envisages solution of the Naga problem through "peaceful negotiation" and also acceptance by the Naga team of the Constitution of India. See B. Rahamathulla, n. 4.

7. The Times of India (New Delhi: May 27. 1982)

8. Ibid., May 28, 1982.

9. Rattan Mall, "Insurgency on the Rise in Manipur", Ibid., February 5,1987.

10. Horrible atrocities were committed by NSCN in 1968. For instance, in July, 1968, NSCN rebels ambushed an foot patrol of the Sixth Dogra regiment at Morem (Schingai border sub-division) killed one jawan and in July itself the rebels again ambushed Border Security Force foot patrol at New Heaven (Ukhrul Sub-division) and killed two personnel and one village volunteer force member. The rebels dropped some crude bombs on the patrol party and exchanged fire with the automatic weapons for fifteen minutes. On August 1, the rebels attacked the foot patrol party of the 9th Grenadier in Kosam Khullen (Tangkhul Nundung sub-division), killed one soldier and on August 17, the rebels ambushed a 13 Mehar regiment foot patrol party at Kachai (80km from Ukhrul) and killed one soldier and took away his weapon. In November, the NSCN rebels again ambushed the 6th Dogra regiment foot patrol party at Sihai (40 km from Ukhrul) and killed a soldier.

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The clashes between the Security Forces and NSCN rebels are continuing and the Armed Forces Special Power Act, which was enforced in Manipur in 1980 empowered the army to arrest the rebels and to hand over to the local police. This is however, preventing armed forces to deal firmly with the rebels. Ibid.

11. Ibid.

12. See for details, B. Rahamathulla, "North-Eastern Region in Prospective". Uramail(Dimapur), Vol. VIII, Nos. 24 and 25, February 18 and 25,1981.

13. See for details Janardan Thakur, "The Travails of Tripura", The Hindustan Times Sunday Magazine (New Delhi), January 4, 1987.

14. Hrangkhowal's closest lieutanant Chun Kalai, who was arrested by the CRPF and is serving life imprisonment, confessed in his statement that he was given money about Rs. 50,000 by the Deputy-Speaker for running the TNV operation. Ibid.

15. n. 7, February 5, 1987.

16. Ibid.

17. It is generally presumed that the TNV laid strategy to intimidate and terrorise the non-tribals in a bid to force them to leave their homes and make the Autonomous District Council areas an exclusive preserve for the tribals and also aims at forcing the Central Government to start a dialogue with the TNV on the MNF model by indulging in acts of violence, murder and plunder. Ibid., December 13, 1986.

18. The State Government, however, after dithering for a long time has now come forward with the announcement of rewards of Rs. 1 lakh each for the captive, dead or alive of the TNV chief, Bijoy Hrangkhowal and the TNV's self-styled "General" Kartic, Kohai and of rewards ranging from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 1,00,000 for the capture of 20 other top TNV leaders.

Observers feel that CPM leaders attempted in a clandestine move to bring about the surrender of a section of the TNV with two or three leaders and enlist them to the party as they had done in the case of ATPLO under the leadership of late Benanda Jamatia. Jamatia was with Bijoy but later broke away from him to form the ATPLO and it was he who first declared the "independent" Tripura government of the tribals. Jamatia was ultimately killed in the hill region of Amarpur. His assassins are yet to be traced out Ibid., May 15, 1987, and January 25, 1987.

19. Ibid., July 7, 1986

20. Ibid.

21. Ibid., February 26, 1987.

22. Ibid., January 7, 1987.

23. See for details, B. Rahamathulla, "Ethnic Heterogeniety and Insurgency in the Tribes of North-East India. Predicament for Nationalism" in S.A.H. Haqqi (edited). Democracy, Pluralism and Nation-Building (New Delhi: N.B.O. Publishers, 1984), pp. 325-335.

24. See for details. The Times of India Directory and Year book, 1980-81 under heading, "State and Union Territories".

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GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF A REGIONAL POLITICAL PARTY :THE ASOM GANA PARISHAD

Anuradha Dutta

I

In academic discussions the term 'political culture' has become an accepted part of our vocabulary. It is obviously a variant of civic culture1used to describe a set of orientations in a given situation which may extend a period of time beyond the immediate present. The components of 'political culture' would include the orientation of men's thinking, their priorities, their ideals and ideology (the latter being a. predisposition, a long-term orientation of thought), and their conventional wisdom about normative aspects of life. Ideas change, so also opinions, and a political society finds out means based basically on its own resources to maintain and consolidate its viability. Viability usually results from consensus on basic things and in such a situation, ideological values get converted into interests, with groups competing, although not engaging in actual conflict, among themselves. It is seen that different clusters in a population add diversity to the political culture without destroying the social fabric. Considered in this light, it might be a useful study to make on the dominant status of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) in Assam and the various minority groups. Here, of course, our theme of study is the AGP which was voted to power through the Eighth General Election to the Assam Legislative Assembly held on 16 December 1985. The AGP moved into the election battle exactly two months and two days after its formation and achieved within a few months of its birth sigular victory thereby possibly breaking all previous records in this regard including the spectacular record of NTR's Telugu Desam'.

A decided product of the six-year old Assam Movement over the foreign

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nationals' issue, AGP's birth was not fortuitous, neither it is a freak of politics in Assam. In order to appreciate in full measure the origins of the AGP, it will be necessary to make some reference to the background circumstances which paved the path for the emergence of the most popular regional political party in the nature of a mass organisation in Assam. While the Assam Movement is regarded as the most popular movement in its recorded history, it is interesting to note that the first popular movements in the province manifested themselves in the post 1857 period under the aegis of the traditional Raijmel (assembly of people) providing the leadership. The Raijmels proved to be the mother organisation of later movements and Associations. These mels functioned as effective organs of popular power in Assam before the birth of a conscious national movement. As for the Assam Movement, its most distinguishing feature had been that it functioned outside the framework of the existing party political system. Led by the All Assam Student's Union (AASU) and its creation, the All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad (AAGSP), the Assam Movement reached its full meridian splendour with the signing of the Assam Accord on 15 August 1985 between the Government of India and the leadership of the Movement as represented by AASU and AAGSP. In the wake of the signing of the Assam Accord and the approaching 1985 elections, there grew the AGP precisely because the traditional all-India parties remained outside the pale of mass political support One could almost find an echo of the old Raijmel in the new AGO when it claimed in its Election Manifesto that the ' ASOM GANA PARISHAD means the people of Assam and the 'people of Assam' means the ASOM GANA PARISHAD which meant that the AGP is the political party of the people of Assam. All this points to the need for some relevant discussion on the Assam Movement, its course and consequence, the Assam Accord, Post-Accord developments leading to the dissolution of the Assembly regarded widely as an illegal one as it then was and, new elections bringing the AGP to power.

II

The issue of foreign nationals was not a bolt from the blue. It is as old as the Constitution of the Indian Republic. A distinction has to be made between migration under the law and illegal immigration. Sometimes legal migration also causes problems as it did during the period of alien rule itself. Incidentally, migration of various people into Assam began after the establishment of British Raj and the main currents were

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as under : (i) immigration to the Assam tea gardens; (ii) immigration of Eastern Bengal colonists; and, (iii) immigration of Nepalis, Immigration of tea garden labourers was of a temporary nature. Initially, they came on a short-term basis and even when they settled down permanently, they did not cause any hindrance to the language or culture of Assam. They were more amenable to assimilation and at times the number of this kind of immigrants dropped.2 Nepali migration was also slower by far.

But what began causing concern even during British regime was the silent invasion from Eastern Bengal. As early as 1931, C.S. Mullan, Superintendent, Census Operations, Assam, wrote: 'Probably the most important event in the province during the last twenty-five years - an event, moreover, which seems likely to alter permanently the whole future of Assam and to destroy more surely than did the Burmese invaders of 1820 the whole structure of Assamese culture and civilization — has been the invasion of a vast horde of land-hungry Bengali immigrants, mostly Muslims, from the districts of Eastern Bengal and in particular from Mymensingh ... 'Where there is waste land thither flock the Mymen-singhias'3. By 1921, the total number of East Bengali settlers including children born after their arrival in the province was at least 300,000. It rose to over half a milllion by 1931. What was the shape of things to come? Mullan wrote that in view of the existence of large areas of waste land in Assam, the North Lakhimpur subdivision, Kamrup, and the Mangaldoi sub-division would be the targets of the immigrants, it being noted that most of the waste lands of Goalpara and Nowgong had been already brought under their sway. As for the future, Mullan wrote: 'It is sad but by no means improbably that in another thirty years Sib-sagar district will be the only part of Assam in which an Assamese will find himself at home4.

The problem of immigrants from East Bengal took a serious turn during the period of the Second World War when the Muslim League dominated Saadullah Ministry was in office. The Ministry's encouragement to Muslim immigration from Eastern Bengal objectively contributed to the expulsion of the local tribal people and 'their lands were passing into the hands of the outsiders...5. A From 1939 to 1946 the number of Muslim immigrants increased considerably and this encouraged M.A. Jinnah to claim the whole of Assam for Pakistan. Lord Wavell in his capacity as Viceroy recorded as follows in his journal about the antics of the Saadullah Ministry around 1943 to increase the number of Muslim Ministers to increase this immigration into the uncultivated Government lands

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under the slogan of grow more food' campaign: 'The chief political problem is the desire of the Moslem Ministers to increase this immigration into the uncultivated Government lands under the slogan of 'Grow more food'; but what they are really after is 'grow more Moslems'6. What saved Assam for India at the time of Partition was the leadership of Gopinath Bordoloi, backed by legislative majority and the people at large, combined with Mahatma Gandhi's blessings. Gopinath Bardoloi was Premier of Assam when Congress formed a Ministry on 11 February 1946 and thus Assam was saved from being included in East Pakistan via Group C in terms of the Statement of the British Cabinet Delegation and the Viceroy dated 16 May 1946.7

When freedom came through Partition in 1947, East Bengal of undivided India's Bengal became East Pakistan and there emerged Bangladesh in 1971. Before independence of the country, immigrants came from parts of India and they did become citizens of the country with the enforcement of the republican Constitution. There could be no quarrel about them in any quarter. But Bangladesh being a foreign country, its citizens in any part of India cannot but be regarded as any other than foreign nationals. It is the massive presence of these people, in the main, which created the foreigners' issue giving rise to the Assam Movement. In this connection it is interesting to remember certain remarks of Jaw-aharlal Nehru having regard to the immigration issue even under conditions of foreign rule. In his letter to the Assam Provincial Committee (APCC) from his camp at Jorhat on 1 November 1937, Nehru stated inter alia that the Assamese feared that instead of assimilitating immigrants with them, the immigrants might assimilitate them as the number of immigrants were more! If that happened Assamese would lose their culture and individuality8.

An Assistant Director of Census Operations (Technical) Assam, 1971, had this to say about the demographic composition of Assam's population: 'Taking the whole population of 3.29 million (339,680) of Assam in 1901 as 'indigenous' and applying the all India rate of increase of 129.67% from 1901 to 1971, her population in 1971 would be 7.56 million (7,555,329) instead of 14.63 million (14,625,152)9. It was estimated that by 1981,10 Assam's population at the rate of growth recorded in 1971 (34.95% as against the national average of 24.80%) would be 19,743,955; calculated at the national average growth rate, it should not be more than 14.6 million. This shows that, demographically speaking, Assam had an excess population of about five million in 1981. According to an estimate, at least 85% of this excess population could be foreign

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nationals, if one allowed for even an abnormal rate of 15% for the excess increase of population due to influx of Indian citizens from other States.11

An early Act, THE IMMIGRANTS (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, had this to say on the disturbing situation: 'During the last few months a serious situation had arisen from the immigration of a very large number of East Bengal residents into Assam. Such large migration is disturbing the economy of the province, besides giving rise to serious law and order problems. The Bill seeks to confer necessary powers on the Central Government to deal with the situation'12. But precious little was done to mitigate the effects of the unabated influx of foreign nationals. An official document of the Government of India acknowledged in 1963: 'Long before the cry of partition was heard in united India, the slow but steady encroachment of Assam and Tripura by immigrants from areas now in East Pakistan was already in progress. Partition came, and new international frontier were written across India ... Partition did not assuage the land hunger in east Pakistan. The new international boundary was not physically marked on the ground, was largely unguarded and virtually unpatrolled'13.

The people of Assam became genuinely concerned over the continued influx of foreign nationals into the State thereby jeopardising their socio-economic life, national identity and distinctive Assamese identity posing, moreover, a grave menance to the security and integrity of India. After the Sixth Lok Sabha elections, the Chief Election Commissioner himself admitted at conference of Electoral Officers (24-26 September 1978, Otacamund) that the influx of a very large number of persons from the neighbouring countries had created an 'alarming situation' in one case, i.e. Assam, that influx had become a regular feature, and that 'on the basis of increase of 34.98 per cent between the two censuses (i.e., of 1961 and 1971), the increase that is likely to be recorded in the 1991 census would be more than 100 per cent over that of the 1961 census. In other words, a stage would be reached when the State may have to reckon with the foreign nationals who may, in all probability constitute a sizeable percentage, if not the majority of the population in the state'14.

Infiltrators infiltrated into the voters' lists as well. The Chief Election Commissioner stated in 1978 that 'another disturbing factor in this regard is the demand made by the political parties for the inclusion in the electoral roles of the names of such migrants who are not Indian citizens, without even questioning and properly determining their citizenship status'.15 Ear her to this, the 1963 document of the Government of

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India had acknowledged the enlistment of foreigners in the electoral rolls: 'The fact is that the enlishment of foreigners in the voters' lists has at times taken place at the instance of politically interested persons or parties. Political parties have been known to take dubious steps to inflate the number of their supporters at the election time, and some undoubtedly used the illegal settlers from Pakistan towards this end . . . The mere fact that a persons name is, rightly or wrongly, inscribed on the voters' list does not prove or confer Indian nationality or citizenship. This legal position has been confirmed by decisions of the Supreme Court of India.16

A newspaper report at the beginning of 1979 showed: 'An offshoot of this population explosion has been a sudden change in the composition of the district's (Goalpara's) electorate. The immigrants are in absolute majority in seven of the nineteen Assembly constituencies in the district. In five more constituencies they are numerous enough to be crucial for an electoral victory. There is almost a similar transformation in the smaller border district like Cachar, which returns 15 legislators to the 126-member State Assembly!17. According to a UNI survey, the increase in the Assam electoral rolls in 1979 over the 1977 figures was 18.15%, the highest being in Tripura, 21.92%.18