Goa Guv urges insurgents to shed illusions

Shillong, May 15 (UNI) Goa Governor S C Jamir today urged the feuding insurgent groups to shed their illusions and rethink of their cause in the light of contemporary national and international economic and political reality.

''Continued violence, internecine warfare and senseless violence as a pursuance of stated demands for sovereignty or separate homeland is not only unrealistic, but also unachievable,'' Mr Jamir said, while delivering his keynote address at the inaugural function of a round table conference on ''Sixty years of Northeast: Revisiting the experience'' at Sri Aurobindo Institute of Indian Culture here.

The veteran Naga leader, who has been attempted on his life, said no Indian leader, irrespective of party affiliation or ideological pursuits, can ever compromise on the ideals and values enshrined in the Indian constitution.

'' This unassailable political imperative needs to be ingrained and understood by all the insurgent groups and their collective leadership,'' he said.

Stating that the present political reality of the northeast is one of 'disarray, discord, disunity and directionless,' Mr Jamir said the most basic and crucial problem currently facing the northeast is the actual loss of ideology and lack of conceptual clarity in these various movements festering in the region.

Suggesting a review and rethinking towards the insurgency problem in the region, the Goa Governor said a uniquely special political dispensation can be hammered out to protect, defend and strengthen the uniqueness and characteristic political, social and cultural identity of the northeast.

''This special framework could be worked out within the ambit of the Indian constitution,'' Mr Jamir observed.

''The entire northeastern region must be treated as a common market and appropriate policy initiatives and economic measures need to be taken to improve physical infrastructure and connectivity, which would attract investment, create jobs and economic opportunities in the region,'' the longest-serving Chief Minister of Nagaland said.

Noted social anthropologist Prof B K Roy Barman said the problems of the region could not be resolved without addressing the residual anomalies of political history of the region.

''There have been lapses on the part of the Indian Union in ignoring these mistakes, as it tried to integrate erstwhile autonomous political entities in Manipur, Tripura and Meghalaya,'' Prof Roy admitted.

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