Though COVID-19 gripped most of the time of 2021, like the previous year, several major developments took place in the Northeast states.
Ranging from political storms to the killing of civilians, the Northeasterners have witnessed many in the year 2021.
Here is a list of the major incidents:
Killing of civilians in Nagaland
As many as 14 civilians lost their lives in Nagaland in the first week of December. First, six civilians near Oting village in Mon district were gunned down by the Indian Army which later they claim was a case of ‘mistaken identity’.
Later, eight more civilians and one security personnel died in subsequent violence.
This incident created uproar across the country and the demand to repeal the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) was renewed.
Himanta Biswa Sarma becomes chief minister of Assam
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continued to win for the second consecutive time in Assam in 2021. But the point of discussion was who will be at the helm after the elections. After much speculations and calculations, influential Himanta Biswa Sarma assumed the office of the chief minister in May 2021.
Undoubtedly, Himanta Biswa Sarma was the most-talked-after politician in the Northeast region and one of the most discussed leaders at the national level during the period.
Sarma also played a crucial role in spreading BJP’s wings all across the region.
Assam-Mizoram border clash
At least six Assam Police personnel were killed after the old boundary dispute between Assam and Mizoram exploded in violent clashes at a contested border point in July, 2021.
This was one of the rare incidents when police personnel got killed in a border dispute within the country.
The violence spotlights the long-standing inter-state boundary issues in the Northeast, particularly between Assam and the states that were carved out of it.
Three Olympic medals to the NE for the first time
Players from Northeast states have fared pretty well at the Tokyo Olympics. In 2021, at least three medals – one silver won by weightlifter Mirabai Chanu (Manipur) and two bronze by boxer Lovlina Borgohain (Assam) and hockey player Nilakanta Sharma (Manipur) came to the Northeast states.
Prior to this only Mary Kom had won an Olympic medal.
Fall of Congress and rise of Trinamool Congress
If it was a former president of All India Mahila Congress Sushmita Dev who shunned the grand old party in August 2021, former Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma almost nailed it. They joined Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress.
Sangma, along with his fellow 11 Congress MLAs in Meghalaya, stepped down from Congress and joined Mamata Banerjee’s party.
