Criminalization of Politics in Northeast India: Challenges and Recent Trends
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Date
2025-06
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National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam
Abstract
Criminalization of politics presents a severe threat to democratic integrity and
good governance in India, and its impact in Northeast India is particularly troubling due to the
region’s unique socio-political fabric. Despite the Northeast's strategic significance, cultural
diversity, and constitutional guarantees of autonomy, the region has witnessed an increasing
entrenchment of individuals with criminal backgrounds in political and administrative
institutions. This criminalization is not limited to the mere presence of criminal cases against
candidates; it is symptomatic of deeper systemic failures that allow crime and power to
reinforce each other. In states such as Manipur, Nagaland, Assam, and Tripura, electoral
processes have, at times, become vulnerable to manipulation through money power, coercion,
insurgent influence, and communal polarization. Criminal networks often operate hand in glove
with political actors, using financial and militant resources to capture votes, silence opposition,
and consolidate authority. Insurgent groups—some active, others former—continue to play a
shadow role in shaping electoral outcomes by issuing voting diktats or aligning with political
parties through informal understandings
Description
Dissertation submitted to National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam
in partial fulfilment for award of the degree of
MASTER OF LAWS/
ONE YEAR LL.M. DEGREE PROGRAMME
Submitted by
Dibyashree Thousen Barman
UID: SF0224011