Which way the Seven Sisters states of India?

KAZI ABUL MONSUR##

The ‘Seven Sisters’ states of India are said to be the next door to Bangladesh. A group of separatists has declared the independence of Manipur, one of the seven eastern states of India. Maharaja Leishemba announced the formation of the expatriate government at a press conference in London. An expatriate government was announced at a press conference in London.
Manipur is in turmoil now. Students in the streets protested in the streets. Manipur State Council’s self-proclaimed Foreign and Defense Minister Narengbam Samarjeet said, “We believe that this is the right time to declare the independence of Manipur.” I call upon every sovereign government of the United Nations to recognize this government.Modi government is intolerant of minority ethnic groups in establishment of Hindutvaism. About 4500 people have been killed unjustly in last 10 years in Manipur. Detained, more than 1500.
Total number of states in India is 28. 8 of these provinces are located in the North-East region. These are Sikkim, Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Arunachal and Nagaland. Apart from Sikkim, the remaining seven provinces are collectively known as the Seven Sisters.Geographically the Seven Sisters are far away from the Indian mainland or the capital. Myanmar has a lot in common with these regions from an ethnographic and cultural point of view. There is a similarity with Bangladesh in the field.
A narrow strip of land connecting the north-eastern states of India with the rest of the country is known as the ‘Chicken’s Neck’. The seven sister states of India are repeatedly making headlines around A Chicken Neck. After the fall of the Awami League government in Bangladesh, the Seven Sister States are becoming important.Because it is feared that these states may declare their independence. In the meantime, the movement has started in Manipur. People are dying every day. Manipur does not want to stay with India. Unrest has arisen over Arunachal.It is being said that China has already occupied 60 km of Arunachal. The base has been established. In the meantime, sleep has become haram in New Delhi. Modi government is busy with calculations.
Meanwhile, the latest news is that 900 Kuki militants trained in jungle warfare and drone attacks have entered Manipur from Myanmar. Kuldeep Singh, security advisor to the state government, publicly claimed this on Saturday.He claims that such information has been received from intelligence sources. Kuldeep warned that this report should not be taken lightly.
According to sources, intelligence reports about the infiltration of these trained militants have already been sent to the Superintendents of Police of all districts of the state and have been asked to be vigilant. The source also said that the intelligence report was received by the state on Thursday.It stated that 900 Kuki militants trained in sophisticated weapons, drone bombings, missiles, rockets and jungle warfare had entered the state from neighboring Myanmar.
Basically, before the British left India, they divided the large land of India in such a way that there was conflict and conflict. 77 years ago, a British lawyer named Cyril Radcliffe was tasked with partitioning British-ruled India.To fix the borders of two independent states India and Pakistan. He was given only five weeks to partition British India on paper. Later, he drew a border between India and Pakistan, which is still causing tension in the subcontinent.’Siliguri’ is now the name of great trouble between India and Bangladesh (then East Pakistan). Here, ‘Cyril Radcliffe’ divides the Mahananda River from where it crosses Banglabandha into India on the other side of the river and Bangladesh on the other side. In the end, the situation stood with Nepal on one side of Siliguri and Bangladesh on the other.Between these two countries, a very thin narrow corridor has been formed for the geographical communication of the whole of India with North East India. If you imagine a little on the map, it seems to be a chicken neck. Which is known today as the Siliguri Chicken Neck Corridor.Basically, if any country occupies this space, these states will be separated from India. Northeast India’s connectivity with mainland India will be lost. Economic, political, business losses will come down in the states.
As a result, the importance of this corridor to India is immense. The Chicken Neck connects India with the Seven Sisters. In the future, if India has a war with China or Bangladesh, the Seven Sisters will be separated if the Chicken Neck is taken over.
India, Bhutan, Nepal are close to Bangladesh through chicken neck. Even China is close to Bangladesh through Arunachal. But India never allows Bangladesh to use this corridor. In 1998 Bangladesh-India Phulbari Agreement was executed .As a result, India has Bangladesh-Nepal goods transport and commercial access through this short corridor route. But due to mysterious reasons the agreement is not implemented. Remains on paper.

Arunachal Pradesh, one of India’s Seven Sister states, is often referred to as Bangladesh’s next door. This state, covering around 84,000 square kilometers, primarily produces crops like rice, corn, wheat, mustard, sugar, and pulses. Among fruits, pineapples, apples, oranges, and grapes are grown. Natural resources include coal, limestone, petroleum products, and stones. Assam, with an area of about 79,000 square kilometers, produces crops like corn, jute, sugarcane, and cotton. Tea, rubber, and coffee plantations are common. Natural resources include coal, limestone, petroleum, iron, and various stones. Manipur covers about 23,000 square kilometers and produces crops such as corn, oilseeds, mustard, rice, sugar, and wheat. Its natural resources include limestone and chromite. Meghalaya, covering about 23,000 square kilometers, primarily produces corn, rice, and jute, along with rubber and coffee plantations. Natural resources include coal, glass, clay, and ores. Mizoram, covering about 22,000 square kilometers, mainly grows rice and corn, alongside rubber, tea, and coffee plantations. The state has natural resources like coal, limestone, and gas. Nagaland, with an area of 17,000 square kilometers, also produces rice, corn, jute, sugarcane, bananas, pineapples, ginger, and turmeric, and is rich in limestone, coal, and other natural resources. Tripura produces rice, sugarcane, bananas, and oranges, along with various natural resources.

The border between India and Bangladesh spans approximately 4,096 kilometers, of which 1,880 kilometers are shared with the northeastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram. Despite the vast border, relations between Bangladesh and these states have not developed as expected. According to the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce, out of the 33 border crossings or land ports between these states and Bangladesh, 17 are active, while 16 remain inactive. Of the 11 land ports along the Meghalaya border, 8 are active, including Dawki-Tamabil, Bholaganj-Satkhira, Borsora-Cherapunji, and others. Along the Tripura border, 5 of the 8 land ports are active, such as Agartala-Akhaura and Srimantpur-Bibibazar. Out of the 13 land ports along the Assam border, 4 are active, including Karimganj-Jakiganj and Sutarkandi-Sheola. The land port at Demagiri, along the Mizoram border, remains inactive. Recently, efforts have been made to reopen several closed land ports between Bangladesh and India. Agreements have been signed between the two governments to fully operationalize the Akhaura-Agartala rail link and the Sabroom-Ramgarh and Demagiri-Thegamukh land ports.

However, new issues have emerged. During the tenure of the Awami League government, relations between India and the northeastern states of the Seven Sisters were relatively smooth. Now, the situation has changed due to various political shifts. Bangladesh’s interim government, led by Dr. Muhammad Yunus, has expressed surprise at remarks made by India’s defense minister regarding a potential conflict involving Bangladesh. In response, Yunus stated that if India intends to destabilize Bangladesh, peace in India would also be at risk. It is true that the Seven Sister states, if they desire development, would need Bangladesh more than India, as Bangladesh, during Sheikh Hasina’s government, opened up key trade routes to the outside world, including access to Chittagong and Mongla ports. Whether these routes will remain active is now in question.

Just two days before taking office, Dr. Muhammad Yunus gave an interview to India’s NDTV, where he warned that any instability in Bangladesh would have repercussions not just for Bangladesh but also for Myanmar, the Seven Sisters, and West Bengal. He had made similar warnings in interviews with Indian media in the days leading up to the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government, frequently referring to the northeastern states as the “Seven Sisters.”

The BBC reported that Zoramthanga, former Chief Minister of Mizoram and leader of the Mizo National Front, stated in an interview two years ago that without Bangladesh’s support, the Mizo nationalist movement would never have succeeded, and Mizoram may never have emerged as a separate state. The MNF rebels had found refuge in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) since the late 1960s, and this continued for nearly two decades. The MNF’s legendary leader, Laldenga, lived in Dhaka under the protection of the East Pakistan government, while their training camps were located in the Sajek Valley and nearby areas of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Young Zoramthanga was Laldenga’s trusted aide and shadow companion. Until the signing of the Mizo Peace Accord in 1987, which paved the way for Mizoram’s statehood, Zoramthanga and many of his comrades spent most of their time in Bangladesh. The same is true for many leaders of Assam’s separatist group ULFA, such as Paresh Barua, Anup Chetia, and Arabinda Rajkhowa, who spent much of their armed struggle on Bangladeshi soil. Tripura’s armed separatist groups, NLFT and Tripura National Volunteers, also found refuge in Bangladesh and operated from there.

During the BNP’s rule (1991-96 and 2001-06), the Bangladesh government never acknowledged the presence of these groups on its soil, which led to tensions in Dhaka-Delhi relations. However, in Sheikh Hasina’s second term in 2009, there was a dramatic shift. Hasina’s government adopted a ‘zero tolerance’ policy against terrorism and began handing over separatist leaders to India, closing down their training camps in Bangladesh.

Though ULFA leader Paresh Barua had already left Bangladesh by then, other leaders like Anup Chetia and Arabinda Rajkhowa had returned to India and begun peace talks with the government. Using Chittagong port for transport was much easier for northeastern India than Myanmar’s Sittwe port, making Bangladesh’s role crucial in the overall development and prosperity of the Seven Sisters, particularly over the past decade and a half.

Now, the situation has changed. The Modi government recognizes that the days of mistreating Bangladesh are over. The interim government has also emphasized that future relations with India will be based on “fairness and equality.” How India behaves in the coming days will determine the trajectory of its relations with Bangladesh.##