The Insurgency in Meghalaya is a frozen armed conflict between India and a number of separatist rebel groups which was taking place in the state of Meghalaya. The Insurgency in Meghalaya is part of the wider Insurgency in Northeast India, and was fueled by demands of the Khasi, Synteng and Garo people for a separate state.
Background
The state of Meghalaya was separated from the state of Assam in 1971, in order to satisfy the Khasi, Jaintia and Garo for a separate state. The decision was initially praised as an example of successful national integration into the wider Indian state.
This, however, failed to prevent the rise of national consciousness among the local tribal populations. This later led to a direct confrontation between Indian nationalism and the newly created Garo and Khasi nationalisms. A parallel rise of nationalism in the other members of the Seven Sister States further complicated the situation, resulting in occasional clashes between fellow rebel groups.
The state wealth distribution system further fueled the rising separatist movements, as funding is practiced through per capita transfers, which largely benefits the leading ethnic group.
The first militant outfit to emerge in the region was the Hynniewtrep Achik Liberation Council (HALC), it was formed in 1992, aiming to protect the interests of Meghalaya's indigenous population from the rise of non-tribal ("Dkhar") immigration.
A conflict of interest soon led to a split of HALC into the Garo dominated Achik Matgrik Liberation Army (AMLA), and the joint Systeng-Khasi alliance of Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC). However AMLA passed into obscurity, while Achik National Volunteers Council (ANVC) took its place. The Garo – Khasi drift persisted as HNLC had set up the goal of turning Meghalaya into an exclusively Khasi region, ANVC on the other hand sought out the creation of an independent state in the Garo Hills. A small group of Jaintia region who is being claimed a separate state in the name of historical kingdom of "Jaintia Rajya".
A number of non Meghalayan separatist groups have also operated in the region, including the United Liberation Front of Assam and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland among others.
After Mass surrender and disbandment of ULFA and NDFB, insurgency in Meghalaya has been finished for good. Most major Garo militants have also either been killed or have surrendered.
Chronology
2000-2010
10 August 2001, Five policemen were killed and two others wounded after an ambush by Achik National Volunteer Council (ANVC) militants near Songsak. 13 August 2002, A joint ambush against a truck carrying civilians by members of the Achik National Volunteer Council (ANVC), United Liberation Front of Assam and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB). The attack left 12 civilians killed and other 20 wounded, near Raksamgiri village, happening this attack one day before the Indian annual celebration of Indian Independence Day. On 9 September 2002, ANVC militants kill 6 policemen, after laying an ambush in the vicinity of Chokpot. On 26 September 2003, Indian troops kill 8 ANVC militants in two separate encounters, in the West Garo Hills district. On 23 July 2004, ANVC signed an extended ceasefire agreement with the Indian government, while maintaining low level activity. A power vacuum created by the ceasefire lead to the creation of several rebel groups, including RIUF, UANF, HULA, HNSRA. On 24 July 2007, HNLC chairman Julius Dorphang surrendered to the authorities after abandoning the faction's camp in the Maulvi Bazar district of Bangladesh, four other rebels accompanied Dorphang in his decision. On 12 October 2008, policemen shot and killed top PLF-M commander Pollendro Marak, in the aftermath of an encounter in the area of the Boganol village, East Garo Hills.
