Terror revisits Assam

Terror days are back again. After the customary violence in the run up of the Independence Day, Assam experienced a phase of clam for few months. During this time, there were efforts to review and revive the peace process. Government of India even announced cessation of hostilities in good spirit. It is another thing that ULFA is believed to have regrouped during that phase for keeping up its nefarious designs. Nothing came out of the parleys between representatives of the Government of India and the People’s Consultative Group (PCG) coordinators, basically due to the rigid stance of the ULFA. That the peace process has hit a wall became clear when the PCG formally pulled out of the whole thing.

The resolve and the belief of the security forces that it is useless to talk to an outfit like ULFA who have a hopeless mandate and are guided by foreign agencies, who are out to destroy the integration of the country and the only way to deal with them is militarily, became more strong and established. Operations against ULFA were again resumed and it started claiming results, the latest being the execution of hardcore members of ULFA’s 28 battalion, Charon Majhi and Anup Dihinga. This dealt a body blow to the ULFA as Majhi and Dihinga used to look after the upper Assam operations of the outfit. The twin blasts in Guwahati killing 15 people and leaving more injured was in direct retaliation to their execution. But even a few days before the horrible date of 11/5, ULFA has stru8ck in the State capital killing a young boy and injuring two others. At that time, the target was the Chhat Puja celebrations being performed at the banks of river Brahmaputra by the Hindi speaking people (residing in Assam drawn from states like Bihar and UP and who lately have faced the burnt of ULFA’s terror games.

The 11/5 attack has sent a shock running through Assam, the North-East as also the whole of the country. Parallel of this genocide cane be drawn with the equally horrible blast in Dihang, a little more than two years ago killing innocent schoolchildren participating in the Independence Day celebrations. The people of Assam are terrified and aghast of this insane killing of innocent people by an organization that ha simply lost its reason, understanding and more importantly public support. Post Bhutan operations, ULFA has become a depleted force and the numbers are dwindling with more and more cadres getting arrested or killed. But the proscribed outfit has shifted gear quickly. It sent a select batch (understood to be 18 in number) to Pakistan to get trained in improvised explosive device (IEDs) and programmed timer device and learn how to carry violence and subversive activities by using small number of cadres.

These cadres on returning back gave a completely new dimension to the terror tactics of ULFA…. lately all the blasts and subversive activities executed by ULFA have been on this mould. Picking up the soft targets is easy and at the same time can have maximum impact as this flow of innocent blood and loss of civilian life put huge pressure on the administration and the Government to draw back or reduce the military operation. But it seems ULFA has not been able to achieve this by triggering 11/5. The Unified Command is now more resolute that operation against ULFA will be stepped up rather than toning it down. This means the cornered outfit will also keep up its blood dance…… and indeed it is happening in the immediate follow-up to 11/5. Ordinary citizens are horrified at this prospect. The next visit to the vegetable market can well mean the last trip of life. That is the kind of fear and misapprehensions in the mind of the people.

Apart from this terror strategy ULFA is now also contributing on psychological operations. It formed the PCG to involve the civil society and carry forward its agenda without coming to the forefront. An extension of this line was the formation of people’s committee of peace committee in Assam. But recently even this committee is hit by loss of support form some of its own constituents. Till some time back, human rights organizations like Manab Adhikar Sangram Samiti (MASS) which is known to be close to ULFA, were crying hoarse to hold a referendum that according to them will make it clear that the demand of sovereignty of ULFA is the demand of overwhelming majority of Assam. But an unofficial referendum conducted by Assam Public Works (APW) through out the State gives a completely different picture. Except a very thin percentage, even less than five per cent, the whole of Assam is against ULFA and for that matter its sovereignty clause. The APW is an NGO working for the betterment of the people of Assam and it is perhaps the only body to raise an outcry against ULFA and its misdeeds. It has the support of even a number of family members of the ULFA, called ULFA Pariyal Committee, which also does not support the wrong path taken by Paresh Barua & company.

Sitting in Bangladesh, most ULFA cadres had a comfortable life while the lower rank cadres are made to bite the dust and languish in the name of resolution. It is now an open secret now that the likes of Paresh Barua have huge business interests in Bangladesh. ULFA receives support from Director General of Field Intelligence (DGFI – the intelligence org. of Bangladesh) as also a section of the army. But following huge international pressure, Bangladesh is understood to have put some kind of pressure on the North-Eastern militants camping in its soil, albeit reluctantly. The ULFA has been instrumental in drawing a unity between Tripura outfits like ATF and NLFT inside Bangladesh. Previously NSCN (IM) was the main arms provider for these outfits but lately this has stopped. Now the role has been taken up by ULFA.

The ULFA has forged great links with international arms syndicates and getting arms through them in Bangladesh for itself and other friendly outfits. ULFA is also understood to have reached an agreement with other North-Eastern outfits inside Bangladesh that they will keep the Garo Hills (Meghalaya) option if the need to take flight from Bangladesh comes. There is an open plan to make Assam and parts of North-East a part of Greater Bangla. The jehadi activists from across the border are increasing and becoming stronger by the day. It has come up that the Jamaat – ul – Mujahidin of Bangladeshis coordinating jehadi groups active in the region whose aim is to weaken the integrity of our country apart from the single minded radical islamaisation. ULFA not only has knowledge of this but is also a party to the sinister designs. Such puppets they have become in the hands of ISI.

|  Headlines  |  Editorial   | Cover story  |
|  Travel Column   |   News Briefs  |
| OT Main Page | Nena  Home Page  |