The alarming violence and bloodshed engulfing Assam in the very first week of a New Year does not augur well for peace loving people in the region. Clearly, the back to back killings is the deadliest attack carried out by the ULFA since the year 2000, when the outfit killed at least 100 Hindi-speaking people in a series of attacks after vowing to free the State of “non-Assamese migrant workers” who they say take away their jobs. So far the ULFA has gunned down 48 people in the latest string of what appears to be gruesome attacks. Such kind of violent action on the part of the ULFA has no place in a democratic society that we live in today and should be condemned by one and all. For the immediate, both the Centre and the State governments in Assam, Bihar and West Bengal should do everything possible to quell further reprisals arising out of this dastardly ethnic killings perpetuated by the ULFA.
On its part, the ULFA must quickly realize that violence and killings will not achieve anything for its political cause but rather will only alienate itself from public support. Consequently, the recent findings of the survey carried out in nine of the state’s 27 districts by Assam Public Works (APW), a body formed by relatives of ULFA members, indicated that a majority of people were not in favour of the group’s demand for a sovereign Assam. It was hardly surprising that an overwhelming 95 per cent of people in these nine districts of Assam have therefore clearly rejected the ULFA demand for sovereignty. Although critics will argue that the survey is confined to nine districts only and therefore not representing the voice of Assam as a whole, similar survey in the rest of the State will in all probability throw up similar opinion. If anything, what should be noted as significant is the changing mindset of people who are coming to accept more and more the economic realities of globalization and interdependence.
It also goes without saying that the stalled peace process in Assam has to restart as soon as possible so as to avoid more violence, whether it is perpetuated by the ULFA or the Indian Military. It has to be remembered that the immediate trigger for the new attacks was the killing of five top ULFA leaders by Indian counter-insurgency forces in the past week and the arrest of two senior rebel leaders. Getting the peace process on track therefore remains crucial. Since peace talks collapsed between New Delhi and the ULFA last September, Assam has witnessed a series of deadly attacks that authorities have blamed on the outlawed ULFA.
With both New Delhi and ULFA having unresolved differences on how to start direct talks, civil society groups in Assam must continue to play a mediating role to work on an acceptable formula for a military ceasefire and political talks to begin. ULFA’s insistence on making sovereignty the core issue for any talks with the government needs a rethink on the part of the outfit. This is because New Delhi is unlikely to accept the issue of sovereignty as a pre-condition for future dialogue. The Government of India on its part should reciprocate positively to the demand from the ULFA for the release of five of its jailed leaders, which is a key demand of the banned outfit for starting direct negotiations. At the end, if New Delhi and ULFA can reciprocate on the above two contentious points, both sides should not be averse to the idea of beginning talks under the meaning “without any condition”. Both the concerned parties should not play a wait and watch game any more but rather take the plunge to facilitate genuine talks.
