The North-East

The North-East has eight states (the 'seven sisters' and Sikkim), with about 4 per cent of India's population. It is joined to the rest of India by a narrow 22 km strip of land (the Siliguri corridor). Partition cut its old links through East Bengal and left it landlocked and isolated. Its politics has raised three kinds of demand:

1. Autonomy: at independence, most of the region was in one big state, Assam. Many tribal groups opposed having the Assamese language imposed on them. So new states were carved out of Assam: Nagaland (1963), Meghalaya (1972), and Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh (1987). Groups such as the Bodos, Karbis and Dimasas got autonomous councils within Assam.

2. Secession:

• Mizoram: after a famine in 1959 that the government handled badly, the Mizo National Front (MNF) under Laldenga began an armed struggle in 1966. After twenty years, the 1986 accord made Mizoram a full state, and Laldenga became Chief Minister. Today Mizoram is one of the most peaceful states.
• Nagaland: the Naga National Council under A.Z. Phizo declared independence in 1951. Talks have gone on for decades, but the Naga problem is still not finally resolved.

3. Movements against 'outsiders': in Assam, the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) led the Assam movement (1979–85) against illegal migrants, mainly from Bangladesh, who they feared would change the state's identity. It ended with the 1985 Assam Accord, and the AASU's leaders formed the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), which won power.

Sikkim was a protectorate of India with its own king. In 1975, after a popular movement and a referendum, it joined India and became the 22nd state.

Different demands got different answers: new states, councils, accords and talks.