HVK Archives: Anarchy in Assam
Anarchy in Assam - The Hindustan Times
Editorial
()
January 16, 1998
Title: Anarchy in Assam
Author: Editorial
Publication: The Hindustan Times
Date: January 16, 1998
ULFA and Bodo extremists appear to be vying with each other in
grabbing newspaper headlines through sheer terror and banditry.
This week the two have struck ferociously. While suspected ULFA
militants gunned down a senior Army officer in Guwahati on
Wednesday and earlier made an attempt on the life of the IGP,
Assam Police, Bodo ultras massacred at least 17 people in Kamrup
district who were celebrating Bihu in their village. That Assam
is slipping back into anarchy is evident from periodic criminal
attacks on Government and security officials as also innocent
citizens. If Bodo ultras have exploded bombs in trains, ULFA
militants have targeted oil pipelines. The objective is the same:
to create terror in the minds of people and a sense of
helplessness. That ULFA, Bodo and other extremist groups should
continue to operate with impunity is a measure of the State
Government's inept handling of the situation. It would be wrong
to describe the recent attempt on the life of the police chief as
an act of desperation on the part of ULFA militants to stay in
the reckoning. The militant outfit may not be as strong as it
once was, but the fact remains that it is still capable of
hitting where it hurts the most. Even though Hiteswar Saikia may
have sought to solve the problem of ULFA militancy on the cheap
by creating a division in their ranks, his Government did succeed
in largely isolating the militants. However, the ULFA has raised
its head since the advent of the AGP Government.
The Bodo extremists have proved a hard nut to crack. They have
refused to be coopted by the State and have spurned all efforts
to bring them to the negotiating table. It is rather sad that at
a time when Nagaland is enjoying relative peace thanks to the
peace initiatives, Assam should witness the recrudescence of
violence. Bodo militants have spared no one, whether Santhal
settlers or Nepali or Bengali migrant labourers. Moderate Bodo
leaders too have become targets of their depredations. The State
Government still seems to work in fits and starts. The presence
of the Army too has failed to deter Bodo ultras from indulging in
mindless violence. They often cross over to neighbouring Bhutan
when the going gets tough. As things stand, there seems little
hope of solving the problem of extremist violence. In the weeks
to come, violence may even escalate. The Centre can ill-afford
to remain indifferent to Assam's drift towards anarchy.
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