With insurgency having significantly gone down in the northeast as seen by recent revocation of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in several parts of the region, the Army has been able to pull out most of its troops from Counter Insurgency (CI) duties to refocus on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) amid the stand-off with China in Eastern Ladakh in the last two years. Assam Rifles is now responsible for all CI duties.
There is only one Army Brigade in the entire Eastern sector now tasked with CI duties with its mandate spread across four districts of Assam bordering Arunachal. “Insurgency has waned and the counter to it has also changed. It is a whole-of-the-nation approach now. Now the battle is for the mind-space,” said Brig. K.S. Gill, commanding the 73 Brigade. Recruitment still happens but has come down in last two years, he stated.
Elaborating, he said while space for United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) is shrinking, residual potential still remains and “it’s a threat in being” as threat of use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), kidnapping and extortion loom large.
