ConflictBarometer_2016

ASIA AND OCEANIA
sion of various parts of Meghalaya state and the government
continued. Militant groups associated with the Garo ethnicity,
such as Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA), Achik
National Volunteer Council (ANVC), Liberation of Achik Elite
Force (LAEF), newly formed Achik Revolutionary Army (ARA),
and Achik Songna Anpachakgipa Kotok (ASAK), Achik National
Liberation Army (ANLA) aimed for an independent Garo state,
whereas the Khasi-associated militant group Hynniewtrep
National Liberation Council (HNLC) pursued a sovereign state
in the Khasi-Jaintia Hills. In the course of the year, violent
encounters between security forces and militants of GNLA,
ANLA, ASAK and LAEF left 15 militants dead. Eleven people,
among them two policemen, were injured in three IED blasts
detonated by GNLA in East and South Garo Hills over the year.
On January 25, GNLA stated that it joined the 2015-formed
United National Liberation Front of Western South East Asia
alliance, operating in Northeast India and Myanmar.
On January 9, alleged GNLA militants detonated an IED in
William Nagar, East Garo Hills district, injuring nine people. In
the course of the first two months, GNLA, ANLA and ASAK militants
encountered security forces in six separate incidents,
leaving six dead and at least five injured. On February 5,
GNLA militants launched an IED attack in Baghmara, South
Garo Hill district, wounding two policemen. Following the attacks,
Meghalaya's police Special Weapons and Tactics team,
assisted by Border Security Forces and Central Reserve Police
Forces, launched ''Operation Hill Storm III'' on February
25. The operation was prolonged on April 19 for another
six months due to the discovery of four GNLA camps as well
as several arms and explosive materials. Violence continued
with shootouts, raids of camps, and militant attacks until the
end of the year. For instance, on November 25, police killed
a top GNLA cadre in Songmagre village, East Garo Hills.
As in previous years, militant outfits financed their activities
with extortions and abductions. On June 24, five HNLC cadres
were arrested after abducting and killing a civilian. Throughout
the year, around 165 militants surrendered to the police,
most of them were GNLA but also ANLA, and ASAK members.
Apart from the operations of security forces, militants faced
increasing pressure by the enactment of the national demonetization
policy from November 8 onwards. After the United
Achik Liberation Army had signed a peace agreement with the
government in December 2015, the group held its disbanding
ceremony with around 68 members on June 9. Members of
disbanded ANVC factions continued to voice their discontent
with the document of settlement and demanded the release
of the promised financial packages to their members, for instance
on June 10. lge
INDIA (HINDUS – MUSLIMS)
bers of Hindu and Muslim communities occurred. For example,
on January 3, Hindu and Muslim protesters clashed in
the district of Malda, West Bengal state, when the Muslim organization
Anjuman Ahle Sunnatul Jamat organized protests
against the leader of the Hindu Mahasabha group in Uttar
Pradesh for allegedly blasphemous remarks against the Muslim
prophet Mohammed. The protesters set a local police
station on fire, injuring two people. On January 20, Hindu
protesters assaulted two Muslim police officers in Latur, Maharashtra
state, who had prevented the hoisting of a Hindu
saffron flag the day before. On June 22, a dispute over a
graveyard in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh state escalated when a
group of Hindus attacked the burial procession of a Muslim
woman. They killed one Muslim and several people were injured.
Members of the local Muslim community reacted with
a violent protest. On August 5, clashes erupted between
Hindu and Muslim groups in Saran District, Bihar state over a
video which was considered offensive to Hindu deities. Subsequently,
authorities temporarily shut down the Internet and
deployed more than 2000 security personnel in the area. Intercommunal
tensions rose following the introduction of a
ban on beef in several Indian states last year, on grounds of
cows being considered holy in Hindu religion. Multiple incidents
of lynching and vigilantism in connection to the ban
were reported. For example, on March 18, a group of Hindus
hanged two Muslim cattle traders in the district of Latehar,
Jharkhand state. The police arrested five suspects, including a
person associated with a local cow protection vigilante group.
Protests erupted in the area demanding the protection of minority
rights.
In November, the introduction of a uniform civil code was proposed.
It would replace the current code which allows the
application of various customary and religious rules. Muslim
groups opposed the proposal fearing the imposition of Hindu
law and the limitation of their freedom of worship. Protests
took place in various locations, for example on November 4
in Malappuram, Kerala.
abo
INDIA (INTER-ETHNIC RIVALRY / ASSAM)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 1979
Conflict parties: Bangladeshi immigrants vs. Assamese,
Indigenous groups, AASU,
PVM vs. MTF vs. Adivasi vs. Dimasa,
Karbi vs. Bodo vs. ULFA-I vs. Hindispeaking
population
Conflict items:
subnational predominance
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 1947
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
Hindus vs. Muslims
subnational predominance
The violent crisis regarding subnational predominance between
Indian Hindus and Muslims continued. Overall, 12 people
died and approx. 150 were injured.
Throughout the year, several violent clashes between mem-
The violent crisis over subnational predominance concerning
political and socio-cultural issues in Assam state between
various ethnic groups continued. While the conflict focused
on the issues of Bangladeshi migration and alleged domination
by perceived outsiders, it was further fuelled by rivalries
over the state's recognition of ethnicities as Scheduled Tribes
(ST) who were granted governmental reservations. Violent
attacks of the separatist militant organization United Liberation
Front of Assam Independent faction (ULFA-I) against the
Hindi-speaking population continued.
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