Ethnic Communities and Conflicts in North East India: Building Up a Framework for Conflict Resolution

In the last few decades, most of the states in the north-eastern part of India have been experiencing difficult times because of the ethnic conflicts, violence, and antagonism among several of the tribes there. No other issue has assumed so serious a concern, in the minds of the intellectuals than the ongoing and seemingly intractable tragedy of ethnic conflicts leading to a high degree of extremist activities and multiplicity of extremist groups. On the one hand, the different ethnic insurgent groups, active here, claim that they are engaged in a fight for recognition, political and economic rights and even for independence sometimes.

On the other hand, others maintain that ongoing insurgent / terrorist activities have continuously challenged the writ of the state and control over its existing territory, governance structures, and the ruling political class. It has been pointed out by various analysts that ethnic unrest can be traced back to its beginnings during the period of colonial rule, in the post-independence era, when governments built the institutions of government control and consolidated power and with the more recent emphasis on greater democratic governance in the region.

As any plural society including India is characterized by some or the other form of tensions, between ethnic groups, cooperative behaviors and consensus decision making perhaps can hold the key to the much-desired stability and will prevent any difference from turning into great conflict.