The Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (

abbreviated An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...

HNLC) is a militant organization operating in

Meghalaya Meghalaya (, or , meaning "abode of clouds"; from Sanskrit , "cloud" + , "abode") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of As ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It claims to represent the Khasi- Jaintia tribal people, and its aim is to free Meghalaya from the alleged domination of outsiders (the "Dkhars") from the Indian mainland. It was

proscribed Proscription ( la, proscriptio) is, in current usage, a 'decree of condemnation to death or banishment' (''Oxford English Dictionary'') and can be used in a political context to refer to state-approved murder or banishment. The term originated ...

in India on 16 November 2000, but the ban was later lifted,Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC)
South Asia Terrorism Portal. before banning it again in 2019.

Origin

The

state was carved out of the

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

state, with an aim to address the unique needs of the major tribes in the region: the

Garos Garos is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territo ...

, the Jaintias and the Khasis. However, discontent grew among the tribals due to the alleged high-handedness of the security forces, the youth unemployment and the inability to compete with outsiders from mainland Indian businesses. This led to the rise of several insurgent groups in the state. The origins of HNLC lie in the Hynniewtrep Achik Liberation Council (HALC), the first militant organization in Meghalaya, which claimed to be a representative of the three major tribes of the state. After a split occurred in HALC over tribal differences, the Garo members formed a new outfit called Achik Matgrik Liberation Army (AMLA), while the Khasi and Jaintia members formed the Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) in 1993. The original HNLC leadership consisted of: * Julius K. Dorphang, Chairman * Cheristerfield Thangkhiew, General Secretary * M. Diengdoh, Publicity Secretary * Bobby Marwein, Commander-in-Chief Julius K. Dorphang resigned and surrendered to the Government of India on 24 July 2007, as a result of the internal differences within HNLC.

Area of operation

The HNLC primarily operates in the

Khasi Hills The Khasi Hills () is a low mountain formation on the Shillong Plateau in Meghalaya state of India. The Khasi Hills are part of the Garo-Khasi-Jaintia range and connects with the Purvanchal Range and larger Patkai Range further east. Khasi Hil ...

region, and has carried out a number of terror activities in

Shillong Shillong () is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a Indian state, state in northeastern India, which means "The Abode of Clouds". It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the list of most populous cities in ...

, the capital of Meghalaya. The top HNLC leadership is based in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

, the capital of the neighbouring country

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. Some of its camps are also located in Bangladesh, mostly in the

Chittagong Hill Tracts The Chittagong Hill Tracts ( bn, পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রাম, Parbotto Chottogram), often shortened to simply the Hill Tracts and abbreviated to CHT, are group of districts within the Chittagong Division in southeast ...

Activities

The State Government and the Meghalaya police have accused HNLC of indulging in a number of illegal activities, including killing, abduction, robbery, arms smuggling, cattle smuggling and extortion in the Jaintia Hills coal belt. It has also been accused of circulating fake currency in the state, supported by the

Inter Services Intelligence The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI; ur, , bayn khadamatiy mukhabarati) is the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing any information from around the world that is deemed relevant ...

(ISI) of Pakistan. HNLC has claimed that it has tried to help the Khasi people and to make the society better. It launched Operation Kyllang (hurricane) to publicly punish rapists by torturing them, and claims to have reduced the crime in the Khasi Hills.‘For money, Dhaka turned a blind eye to our activities’
Tehelka Magazine, Vol 7, Issue 42, Dated 23 October 2010. It also calls for the boycott of the

Indian Independence Day Independence Day is celebrated annually on 15 August as a public holiday in India commemorating the nation's independence from the United Kingdom on 15 August 1947, the day when the provisions of the Indian Independence Act, which transf ...

celebrations every year. It is opposed to the civil polls in Meghalaya, alleging that the elections would make the traditional tribal institutions powerless.

Funding and sourcing of weapons

Over the years, HNLC built ties with the other secessionist organizations operating in North-East India, including the

National Socialist Council of Nagaland The National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) is a Naga nationalist separatist group operating mainly in Northeast India, with minor activities in northwest Myanmar (Burma). The main aim of the organisation is to establish a sovereign Naga ...

-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM), the

National Democratic Front of Bodoland The National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) was an armed separatist outfit which sought to obtain a sovereign Boroland for the Bodo people. It is designated as a terrorist organisation by the Government of India. NDFB traces its origin t ...

(NDFB), the

National Liberation Front of Tripura The National Liberation Front of Tripura (abbreviated NLFT) is a Tripuri nationalist militant organisation based in Tripura, India. It has an estimated 550 to 850 members. The NLFT seeks to secede from India and establish an independent Tripu ...

(NLFT) and the

United Liberation Front of Asom The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) (Assamese: সংযুক্ত মুক্তি বাহিনী, অসম) is an armed separatist organisation operating in the Northeast Indian state of Assam. It seeks to establish an indep ...

(ULFA). NSCN provided it moral, physical and financial support in its initial days. The organization has obtained the Chinese weapons sold by the Wa tribe of

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. These weapons were brought to the black arms markets in

Bandarban Bandarban ( bn, বান্দরবান, Chakma: 𑄝𑄚𑄴𑄘𑄧𑄢𑄴𑄝𑄚𑄴) is a district in South-Eastern Bangladesh, and a part of the Chittagong Division. It is one of the three hill districts of Bangladesh and a part of ...

and

Sylhet Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট) is a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative seat of the Sylhet Division. Located on the north bank of the Surma River at the eastern tip of Bengal, Sylhet has a subtropical climate an ...

of Bangladesh via Manipur and Mizoram, after being picked along the Indo-Myanmar border. HNLC runs several businesses in Bangladesh, including a stone quarry in

Jaflong Jaflong ( bn, জাফলং) is a hill station and tourist destination in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh. It is located in Gowainghat Upazila of Sylhet District and situated at the border between Bangladesh and the Indian state of Meghal ...

and several betel nut plantations.

Decline

Several of the HNLC members have surrendered over the years. Julius K Dorphang, the former chairman of the outfit, who surrendered in 2007, claims that "HNLC is nothing now", with only 55 cadres left in Bangladesh as of 2010. He later became a politician, and successfully contested Meghalaya Legislative Assembly elections in 2013. HNLC has expressed desire to hold political dialogues with the Meghalaya Government, including in August 2010. The Shillong Khasi Jaintia Church Leaders Forum was designated as the official negotiator with HNLC.Overview: Insurgency & Peace Efforts in Meghalaya
. Centre For Development and Peace Studies (CDPS).

References