A method in the madness

IT IS COLD comfort for officials in New Delhi or Guwahati to brush aside the recent spurt in violence in Assam and the repeated attacks on or massacres of non-Assamese settlers as an act of frustration by the ULFA. Granting that many of the hardliners in the ULFA may be on the run and instructions to carry out these dastardly killings of innocents may be coming from across the border, it does not speak well of the district and State administration to let the desperate militants strike at will. Since October, about 60 people - mostly Biharis, Bengalis and Marwaris - have been gunned down in their homes, in tea estates or even in public places. The culprits have fled in cars and two-wheelers after carrying out their planned operations. The Unified Command, comprising the army, the police and the civil administration, has announced a further tightening of security and intensified combing operations. The so-called immigrants into Assam - the migrant workers and the Marwari and Muslim traders - are living in fear, not knowing when the militants will strike again. Till now, there have been no arrests of those involved in the massacres. However desperate the action might be, there appears to be a method in the madness - a form of ethnic cleansing, targeting non-Assamese people, wherever they be, mostly in the lower Assam districts.

Successive Governments in Assam have failed to come up with solutions to the problems of the people and except for some public sector undertakings, including refineries, there has been no major industrial development in the State that could generate more jobs. People have largely depended on agriculture and the demand for land and for Government jobs has only increased with the years. Even the AGP regime, which was born after the Assam accord and brought a young generation of rebels into the administration, has proved to be no different from the earlier Governments, adding to the woes of the people. The regional parties and the bourgeoisie have tended to use militant groups such as the ULFA to kindle ethnic and regional identity, so much so that some of these militants have over-grown their shoes and chosen to challenge India's sovereignty over Assam. Some of the moves of the Governor, Lt. Gen. (retd) Sinha, have inspired confidence. Hundreds of ULFA militants have surrendered in recent months, but others have opted to cross over to some neighbouring countries and function from there. Their indiscriminate attacks on minorities have resulted in the total loss of support from the people, whom they claimed to speak for. Now, even that stage is over.

The Centre appears to be keen on solving the problem in Assam and has initiated several measures to speed up the tempo of development and simultaneously bolster security. But it needs a strong and effective Government in the State to implement some of the socio-economic development schemes to remove regional imbalances and strengthen transport and communications. The AGP Government of Mr. P.K. Mahanta has failed to live up to the expectations of the people. The Chief Minister has held an all- party meeting this week to review the developments and discuss the follow up measures. It is heartening to know that most of the political parties which attended the meeting have expressed complete support to the initiatives of the State and the Centre to end the impasse as well as militancy. Unfortunately, intentions alone cannot ensure success. The Central and State Governments must step up development activities on the one hand and strengthen security in not just lower Assam but all areas where the non-Assamese live. It is equally important for New Delhi to continue to impress on Bangladesh and Bhutan to track down the militants operating from there and pull the fuse. There is need for concerted action on Assam.

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