Insurgency in NE

Story hook

It is 3 May 2023, late afternoon in Churachandpur, Manipur. A Kuki tribal solidarity march turns into a clash. Within 24 hours, clashes between Meitei and Kuki communities sweep Imphal Valley + Churachandpur, Senapati, Tengnoupal districts. The trigger: a Manipur HC order asking the state to recommend Scheduled Tribe status for the Meitei community (the majority in the Imphal Valley). Kukis (~16% of state, hill- dwelling) fear loss of tribal-land protections under Article 371C

• the Manipur Land Revenue + Land Reforms Act.

By December 2023: 219 dead, 60,000+ internally displaced, 6,000+ houses burned, 5,000+ weapons looted from police armouries, two ethnic-based militia networks reborn. India's worst ethnic conflict since the 2002 Gujarat riots. AFSPA re-imposed in hill districts. Manipur valley still under suspended assembly governance.

This was the latest chapter of insurgency and ethnic conflict in India's Northeast — a story stretching back to 18 August 1947, the day after independence, when A.Z. Phizo raised the Naga flag in Kohima and declared Naga independence. Since then, the Northeast has seen 30+ armed insurgent groups, 7-state border tensions, 6 decades of AFSPA, multiple ceasefire-and-talks cycles, and a slow, uneven peace trajectory.

For UPSC, NE insurgency is the second most-tested Mains GS-III internal security topic after LWE. This file maps the major insurgencies (Naga, Mizo, Manipur, Assam-ULFA), AFSPA, and the peace processes.

Why this matters for UPSC

The Northeast has 2% of India's population but 8% of land area

• 5,484 km of international border (China, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal). It is the most ethnically diverse region — 200+ tribes + 220+ languages. Insurgencies here test federal arrangements, AFSPA jurisprudence, immigration policy, ethnic reconciliation, and strategic depth vs China.

For Prelims: AFSPA 1958, Naga peace accords, Mizoram Accord 1986, Bodoland accords. For Mains: structural drivers + state responses + peace strategy.