The separatist group Black Widow has agreed to lay down its illegal weapons and shift to designated camps on September 15, following an ultimatum from the Union Home Ministry. SAGNIK DUTTA provides a primer on the militant group:
What is Black Widow?
It is a Naga militant group demanding that a separate state for the Dimasa tribes of Assam be carved out from the North Cachar hills district. Black Widow is the name given to the Jewel Garlossa faction of the Dima Halam Daogah, or DHD(J). The group has around 300 members.
How did it come into being?
Following the surrender of the Dimasa National Security Force (an outfit formed to safeguard the interests of the Dimasa tribe residing mostly in the North Cachar district of Assam), Dilip Nunisa and Garlossa broke away from the parent body to float the DHD in 1995 which demanded a separate Dimaraji state. The DHD(J) (Black Widow) was formed by Jewel Garlossa, the former commander-in-chief of the DHD, after the conclusion of a ceasefire agreement between the Government of India and DHD in January, 2004. The Black Widow insisted on carrying on the secessionist agenda for separate statehood, which its parent body had given up following a mutually agreeable settlement with the government.
Who funds the activities of the Black Widow?
The Justice R.K. Manisena Singh Commissions report into the misappropriation of funds in the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council showed how NREGS funds were diverted to the rebel group by state agencies. The rebel group also deducted a fixed amount from the income of government employees in the North Cachar area as tax, and contractors working on government projects were often forced to give up 40 per cent of the available funds. It also mentioned that the Autonomous State Demand Committee (ASDC) paid Rs 2 crore to the DHD(J) for helping it win the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council elections in December 2007. Public funds of the Council were at the disposal of the militants due to a nexus between the ASDC-BJP and the Black Widow. The Black Widow cadres reportedly received arms and training from NSCN (I-M) which in turn helped the NSCN(I-M) maintain considerable clout and influence in the North Cachar Hills district, a part of its Greater Nagaland project.
What has been the impact of its terrorist activities?
Black Widow brought to a halt two national projects the Lumding-Silchar broad gauge railway project and the last lap of the east-west corridor, also from Lumding to Silchar. Black Widow has also indulged in many killings, abductions, and extortions.
Has Black Widow ever tried to participate in democratic politics?
Yes. It initially attempted to gain a foothold in the politics of the Autonomous Hill Council of the North Cachar district, an entity created by the sixth schedule of the Indian Constitution. The Black Widow militants had demanded two of the three newly created constituencies in the Autonomous District Council for its representatives, from the ruling Congress party. The murder of the former chief executive member of the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council, Purnendu Langthasa, and a former executive member of the Council, Nindu Langthasa is said to be a fallout of Black Widow not being granted the number of seats it had demanded.
What are the breakaway factions of a secessionist outfit in the North-East?
Other rebel outfits are also ridden with internal differences and factionalism. The NSCN (National Socialist Council of Nagaland) was initially formed as a radical separatist movement to oppose the Shillong Accord signed by the then NNC (Naga National Council) with the Indian government. It was further split in the late 1980s into two factions namely NSCN(IM) and the NSCN (Khaplang). While the former supports the cause of a Greater Nagaland or a sovereign, socialist people s republic of Nagaland , the latter is opposed to it. Similarly, the National Liberation Front of Tripura, seeking the establishment of a separate Tripuri state, was divided into two factions headed by Biswa Mohan Debbarma and Nayanbasi Jamatiya respectively.
What is Black Widow?
It is a Naga militant group demanding that a separate state for the Dimasa tribes of Assam be carved out from the North Cachar hills district. Black Widow is the name given to the Jewel Garlossa faction of the Dima Halam Daogah, or DHD(J). The group has around 300 members.
How did it come into being?
Following the surrender of the Dimasa National Security Force (an outfit formed to safeguard the interests of the Dimasa tribe residing mostly in the North Cachar district of Assam), Dilip Nunisa and Garlossa broke away from the parent body to float the DHD in 1995 which demanded a separate Dimaraji state. The DHD(J) (Black Widow) was formed by Jewel Garlossa, the former commander-in-chief of the DHD, after the conclusion of a ceasefire agreement between the Government of India and DHD in January, 2004. The Black Widow insisted on carrying on the secessionist agenda for separate statehood, which its parent body had given up following a mutually agreeable settlement with the government.
Who funds the activities of the Black Widow?
The Justice R.K. Manisena Singh Commissions report into the misappropriation of funds in the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council showed how NREGS funds were diverted to the rebel group by state agencies. The rebel group also deducted a fixed amount from the income of government employees in the North Cachar area as tax, and contractors working on government projects were often forced to give up 40 per cent of the available funds. It also mentioned that the Autonomous State Demand Committee (ASDC) paid Rs 2 crore to the DHD(J) for helping it win the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council elections in December 2007. Public funds of the Council were at the disposal of the militants due to a nexus between the ASDC-BJP and the Black Widow. The Black Widow cadres reportedly received arms and training from NSCN (I-M) which in turn helped the NSCN(I-M) maintain considerable clout and influence in the North Cachar Hills district, a part of its Greater Nagaland project.
What has been the impact of its terrorist activities?
Black Widow brought to a halt two national projects the Lumding-Silchar broad gauge railway project and the last lap of the east-west corridor, also from Lumding to Silchar. Black Widow has also indulged in many killings, abductions, and extortions.
Has Black Widow ever tried to participate in democratic politics?
Yes. It initially attempted to gain a foothold in the politics of the Autonomous Hill Council of the North Cachar district, an entity created by the sixth schedule of the Indian Constitution. The Black Widow militants had demanded two of the three newly created constituencies in the Autonomous District Council for its representatives, from the ruling Congress party. The murder of the former chief executive member of the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council, Purnendu Langthasa, and a former executive member of the Council, Nindu Langthasa is said to be a fallout of Black Widow not being granted the number of seats it had demanded.
What are the breakaway factions of a secessionist outfit in the North-East?
Other rebel outfits are also ridden with internal differences and factionalism. The NSCN (National Socialist Council of Nagaland) was initially formed as a radical separatist movement to oppose the Shillong Accord signed by the then NNC (Naga National Council) with the Indian government. It was further split in the late 1980s into two factions namely NSCN(IM) and the NSCN (Khaplang). While the former supports the cause of a Greater Nagaland or a sovereign, socialist people s republic of Nagaland , the latter is opposed to it. Similarly, the National Liberation Front of Tripura, seeking the establishment of a separate Tripuri state, was divided into two factions headed by Biswa Mohan Debbarma and Nayanbasi Jamatiya respectively.
