Terror Sans Frontiers Book

situation unfolding in Indiaa s North East. While ethnic insurgency in North East India, its "little wars", have been around ever since Indiaa s independence, there is now the menacing new phenomenon of Islamist terrorism developing in the region.

The state of Assam in North East India not only has a sizeable Muslim population, but also a long and porous border with Bangladesh, factors which help Islamist insurgency. Indeed, a majority of the population of four geo-strategically positioned districts of Assam is now Muslim a reportedly a consequence of the illegal migration from Bangladesh. Recent reports have also indicated that the ISI and the DGFI are encouraging the illegal influx with an eye to carving out a Brihot Bangladesh (Greater Bangladesh) in the region. The Islamist militant movements in the region find an organized parish in this illegal migrant population whose ideology and socio-religious commitment continue to be informed by experiences from across Indiaa s borders. The problem has grown in magnitude as a result of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) jettisoning its original ideals. This most prominent ethnic separatist movement in Assam has now become a willing hostage of the ISI and the events and factors which are in play in Bangladesh and in the neighborhood.