The Mizoram way

Half-a-century ago, a devastating famine that the then-Assam administration was unable to handle had sparked the bloody 30-year separatist Mizo insurgency, which has had the unparalleled record of inviting an air force bombing on Aizawl. Mizoram’s handling of its affairs since the Mizo Accord of 1986 marks how far the state has come and why it is one of India’s most conspicuous success stories. Now, on the occasion of the silver jubilee of the Mizo Accord, Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla, a former insurgent who had later joined the mainstream, emphasised a “peaceful environment and good governance” for progress. Hailed by the CM as the “most successful” accord in the country, the Mizo Accord offers lessons for tackling insurgencies across the country.

There are cracks even in the most sanguinary of militancies through which the light of democratic reconciliation and peace comes in. Waging a long armed insurrection against the state, spanning decades and involving the murder of civilians, has inherent faultlines which in the long run exhaust and disillusion the militants. The democratic state must lie in wait for such moments and catch them on the wing. India saw that happen in Punjab and Kashmir, and has recently witnessed Assam fit in a similar groove with most of the senior Ulfa leadership. Some day, the same should be the story of the Maoist insurgency. However, such moments do not come without a pro-active, multi-prong engagement from the state.

Nevertheless, a successful turn of events as in Mizoram is easier said than done. While keeping our finger on the pulse of an insurgency and being patient, it is important not to cast elements like the Maoists in a dangerously soft light. India’s history of dealing with insurgencies shows how right the combination of a calibrated armed response and political initiatives (such as developmental packages) is. Diplomatic channels of communication — reaching out to the more moderate among insurgents — along with force, are key to disarming and mainstreaming militants. The Mizo Accord indeed has been without precedent and emulation, literally ending a long and violent phase at the stroke of a pen. Imitable or not, it remains the benchmark.