Trapped in security paradigm
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: May 25 2015 -

The recent meeting convened by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Dr Jitendra Singh with senior intelligence officers and security experts seemed to have more or less tied the idea of introducing new security initiatives for the Northeast region vis-à-vis implementation of development plans and projects to a paradigm as old as the birth of the republic.

The meeting which was also attended by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Chairman of Joint Intelligence Committee RN Ravi; Director of Intelligence Bureau Dineshwar Sharma and other security experts was convened apparently inspired by the realization that developmental works undertaken by the Centre could achieve their optimum utility and progress only in the presence of compatible security environment.

Here, it is to be noted that the idea behind the meeting is “old wine in old bottle” without the requisite flavour and certainly it was not “out-of-the-box” perspective.

Though the meeting claimed to have been inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s keen interest in all the issues related to Northeast, there are problems that needs to be addressed head-on first and this is directly related to unfolding of attempts on bringing peace to a region that has been reeling under militarization for over half a century.

Most of the experts ought to know that the might of the State exhibited through the process of militarization has brought no extra dividend.

When any peace or dialogue process could be dragged on for over 15 years, the vision projected by the Centre has to be linked to the practicality of resolving multifarious conflicts in the region at the political level first.

If the Government of India continues to persist with the same old idea and gets itself trapped only in reinforcing security paradigms as old as the mountains, one can well guess the overall result.

Any moves by the Centre have been received with scepticism in the region not because of lack of critical appraisal or dented cynicism but for their weak penetrative convictions.

This is why there is the direct need to deal with the causes of endless agitations and blockades which have affected not only the economy of the region but also social harmony.

Pushing down a blueprint sans consultations with stake-holders in the region can contradict people’s desire for permanent peace in the region whether or not the Union Government decides to push its policy through Look East or Act East prisms.