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The recent terror attack by the United Liberation of Assam (ULFA) that
was mainly hinted at the poor and defenceless migrant workers, once
again created an unpleasant atmosphere in the state. The chief targets
are mainly the daily wage-earners, who are originally from Bihar and
eastern Uttar Pradesh. The Assam Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi as well
as the Centre have called upon the ULFA to return to the negotiating
table. But the ULFA has thumbed its nose at the Centre, thereby
blaming the government for ending the dialogue process and “provoking
the boys”. ULFA Vice-President, Pradip Gogoi is enquiring the
Government as to, “Why has New Delhi stopped the talk process?” This
form of violence once again reminds us of the December 1993, in which
the insurgent group killed nearly hundred Biharis and scared away
several thousand who never returned.
This again raises various questions into the minds of the ordinary
citizens. Could any insurgent sponsored violence be ended by sending
message to the insurgents that, they are “cold-blooded and shameless”,
as the Government has announced recently? Is there still a large
constituency in Assam who are seeking for piece? There are imminent
surveys which say that, there are surge of anti-ULFA sentiments in
Assam as the people’s support has already dwindled. Today, most of the
prominent groups in the state, like the Assam Sahitya Sabha (ASS),
which is the state’s highest literary body, are resisting to ULFA’s
demands. It says that, it does not in any way support the militants’
demand of sovereignty and also accused the outfit of defaming and
bringing disgrace to the people of Assam. Kanak Sen, the President of
ASS said that, “The ULFA has not only brought disgrace to the people
of Assam, but has also defamed the Assamese people in front of the
people of the rest of India”.
Most of the Biharis that the ULFA has killed, has been residing in the
region, since ages. Some of their forefathers have come to reside
during the days of the British. Many of them rear cattle and transport
milk to towns; many of them are vegetable and fruit vendors. They do
not have any Z+ Security and mainly belong to the labour class. As
many other insurgent groups, the ULFA has adopted methods to kill only
the weak at will. What is the utility of such a strategy that is so
brutal? The ULFA has also over the years, has adopted means to deepen
the divides that prevails along the ethnic and sectarian lines. They
are adopting a new strategy to simply fire in order to kill; whereas
earlier they used to trigger grenade blasts. They are trying to prove
that, they have evolved out even stronger after the failure of the
peace process and are adopting a hit back method with a tougher
counter-measure.
Another serious problem in the region is that, the political party is
believed to encourage this group whenever Assam gets into the
elections. Instances in the past have revealed that parties like the
Assam Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Congress have accused each other of
using the ULFA, to come to power. It is also believed that, the ULFA
and the political parties have a ‘symbiotic relationship’. To a great
extent it is believed that, ULFA determines as to which party or a
combination will come to power. Besides the political set up, they
also decide upon the economic set-up. For instance: in 1996, when the
Hiteshwar Saikia (the then Chief Minister of Assam) government went on
a tough phase on the rebels, the ULFA almost openly appealed for the
ouster of the party.
As of now, ULFA has become a part of the global terror network, is
believed on many occasions, to be headed by the Islamic forces. In a
recent decision taken by the Centre, wherein it has announced to seek
additional help from both Bangladesh and Myanmar in order to contain
the ULFA. The Centre has a strong faith upon the deployment of the
Indian Army, in order to bring piece in any conflict prone area. But
will it bring a real solution to the prevailing problems of the
region?
It is soaring time that, the ULFA should give up arms and instead
adopt the democratic means and be a part of the democratic process of
the country. Only then it can find solutions for various problems of
the state. There is no alternative to it and in this case lessons can
be learnt from the role the Maoists’ are playing in Nepal. The Centre
should also prepare themselves for such an initiative. It is also the
accurate time that the insurgents should start talking about an
overall development of the state, rather then talking of sovereignty
and inhumanly killing innocent civilians. If serious decisions are not
taken at the adequate time, then their present demands will only serve
the interest of those forces that are inimical to the interest of the
country. The northeast, which is rich in natural resources and is at
the bottom of India’s economic stack, because of poor governance and
an unending spiral of confrontation will remain so. Above everything
else, Dehi and Dispur should firstly talk on similar lines!
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