Development, not bullet

Assam Governor Lt. Gen. (Retd.) S. K. Sinha was not exaggerating when he recently observed that the law and order situation of the State had vastly improved in the last couple of years. As a matter of fact, during the last two years, the number of subversive activities in Assam has really gone down. What is more important that hundreds of misguided youth during the same period have joined the national mainstream by surrendering before the authorities. The version that the surrendered underground cadres presented, mainly before the scribes, clearly indicate that the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) is now a directionless organisation without any ideological focus. The organisation first started its movement with the aim of driving out the foreigners from the Assamese soil. But, over the years, its leaders became captive in the hands of Pakistani intelligence agency ISI, the sole aim of which was to shatter the peace and progress of the North-East, so that its sinister designs in Jammu and Kashmir could be successful. It’s no wonder that the youth who really wanted to free Assam from illegal infiltrators felt suffocated under these circumstances. For all of them were aware that the ISI was working overtime to create as many as Islamic militant groups possible along the Indo-Bangla border. To achieve this goal, the ISI imparted arms training to Muslim youths, indulged in whisper campaigning against the sons of the soil, and more dangerously, did not even hesitate to misuse the madrassas to poison the minds of thousands of Muslim children. They wanted to know from their leaders whether ULFA supports the activities of the ISI or not. But did not get any reply. As a matter of fact top ULFA leaders these days are not in a position to say anything against the ISI, as they are enjoying luxurious lives outside the country courtesy the ISI. The common ULFA cadres are also unhappy over the fact that while they have been despatched to various parts of Assam to fight against the security forces, their leaders are watching them to die sitting at a safer place.All these have disillusioned even the die-hard ULFA cadres. The ULFA cadres have now realised that their leaders are not interested in solving the problems of Assam. Rather, they like to follow the diktats of the ISI as it ensures a luxurious live for them. The ISI-ULFA combine tried to throttle the voice of dissent by killing some of their colleagues who already joined or intended to join the mainstream. But those desperate acts were not sufficient to hide the truth.The present state of the ULFA, where ideological conflicts have weakened the organisation considerably, is good news to all the peace-loving people. But, we should realise that that we have not won the battle against the ULFA. Still, there is a long way to go before the government can neutralise the threat posed by the ULFA. It is yet to redress the grievances of the common Assamese people. In the early 90s, the ULFA was popular among the masses as it used to speak against lack of development in Assam, against corrupt government officials, who used to swallow the funds meant for developments. If the government is willing to defeat the ULFA, it must ensure speedy economic development of Assam as well as the whole North-East. As the Assam Governor once remarked that developments not bullets should be used as the main weapon against the ultras. One hopes that the government will not lose its focus and ensure development in the region.