According to Assam Governor Ajai Singh the State has become ‘investment-friendly’ as insurgency has been marginalised. “The militants now have only nuisance value and can at the most carry out ‘hit and run’ operations. Yet the media is projecting a wrong picture by magnifying the recent extortion demand of Rs 2 crore on Hindustan Lever,” the Governor asserted. The Governor expressed this view at a Media Seminar organised by the Assam Rifles.

“They ( militants) are no longer in a capacity to launch well-organised and coordinated operations as they have lost their original organic cohesion”, he observed. Describing the present status of insurgency in Assam as the ‘last phase’ of insurgency, the former Army General said “However, we need to remove the last vestiges of insurgency from the State.” The Governor also predicted bright economic future for Assam. He observed “ This is the time we must collectively project the right image of Assam before the world.” He advocated a study to find out the actual status of insurgency today in the North-Eastern States. “The menace needs to be uprooted totally from the region”, he opined. He further said that a peculiar security environment has emerged in Tripura owing to the unabated influx of migrants from Bangladesh. According to him in Manipur, the situation is totally different which required a ‘special treatment’ while Mizoram is the ‘cleanest State’ so far as insurgency is concerned.

Regarding Nagaland, the Governor observed that a political solution to the problem in Nagaland was debatable but it was apparent that the people are longing for peace. He cautioned that the potential existed for insurgency to grow in Arunachal Pradesh because of its proximity to Nagaland and the ethnic contiguity. He further expressed that Meghalaya has become a safe haven for insurgents from other States. The Governor pointed out that the main concern of the security forces in the region was the lack of action against the ‘hide-outs’ of the militants in Bhutan and Myanmar.” He praised the Unified Command in Assam for successfully keeping the militants at bay despite the constraints. “Identify the gravity of fear and shift it to the insurgents if you want to successfully tackle insurgency”, was his advice to the security forces.

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