K. A. LIKHACHEV Candidate of Historical Sciences Saint Petersburg State University India Keywords:, Assam, Bangladesh, Bhutan, ethnic separatism, Islamic extremism, terrorism July-August 2012 India has been rocked by another communal conflict in the northeastern state of Assam. 78 people were killed in a massacre between the indigenous population-tribes speaking the Tibetan-Burmese Bodo language - and Muslim immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh, and 300 thousand "newcomers" left their homes in panic. Panic has reached the country's west coast, where Muslim migrants were beaten up in and around Mumbai. Speaking in Parliament, Indian Prime Minister M. Singh said:: "The unity and integrity of our country is at stake. Inter-communal harmony is at stake"1. The seven states of North-East India( SWI), especially the most populous of them, Assam, are a traditional hotbed of instability. The unresolved nature of various conflicts and contradictions between local ethnic groups, economic problems and the transparency of borders with neighboring states have led to the persistence of separatist sentiments and increased tension in this region of the state*. Assamese people are particularly concerned about the large influx of migrants from other states and neighboring Bangladesh. A movement against "outsiders" has emerged in the state under the slogan of protecting the local population ("sons of the earth") from the aliens. It was joined by radical separatist organizations - the United Front for the Liberation of Assam (OFOA) and the Bodo Liberation Tigers, which advocate the creation of a separate state of Bodoland. In 2005, a truce was signed between the central government and the Tigers. The Bodo tribes gained administrative autonomy in a number of districts, which significantly strengthened their position in the struggle for land against Muslim settlers. "This is not a religious conflict. This is a battle for land and power, " Maulana B. Ajmal, a Muslim member of the In ... Read more