Assam’s curse

Assam has once again witnessed a spate of bomb attacks designed to remind the authorities that a year after the Bhutan operations to bust ULFA bases on its territory, the terrorist outfit is alive and thriving. The blasts should, indeed, come as a reminder to New Delhi — a reminder of the nature of the beast it confronts in Assam’s hinterland.

The UPA government has proved far too soft in its approach to the ULFA. Its attempts to be sensitive to militant groups wishing to make peace has been read as a sign of weakness and the sooner New Delhi disabuses the ULFA of this perception, the better. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s recent offer of unconditional talks elicited the demand for a plebiscite on the issue of Assam’s “sovereignty” from the outfit. Then there was the extraordinary spectacle of noted Assamese writer, Indira Goswami, urging New Delhi to engage with the ULFA. Within hours, the group made it clear that they wanted the prime minister, no less, to invite them for talks that should include the sovereignty question. The ULFA’s self-styled commander-in-chief, Paresh Barua, even asserted that when he raised the demand for sovereignty, he was speaking for the entire people of Assam.

The fact is that the ULFA is nothing by a bunch of thugs who think nothing of killing and maiming the innocent. Even children are not exempt from their terror project as the Independence Day attack on a school proved to the world. These militants need to realise now, more than ever, that time has run out on them. Not only did Bhutan conduct a courageous and decisive military operation against them, other countries in the region, like Myanmar, could follow suit. Even Bangladesh is under immense international pressure to withdraw the hospitality that it had once extended to them. The tactic of calibrated bomb blasts has only roused fear and revulsion in the mind of the ordinary Assamese. New Delhi should not be taken in by the occasional offer of talks from the outfit. Instead, its security forces need to adopt a more pro-active strategy. As for

Indira Goswami, we would urge her to stick to what she does best: writing novels.