The Assam Tribune
Guwahati, Wednesday, November 17, 2004
EDITORIAL
ULFA, AASU and Army
— Col (Retd) Manoranjan GoswamiIt may sound little incongruous that I am taking of ULFA, AASU and Army together, when there is no commonality in them. There is no common agenda among the three, but somewhere across the canvas of present situation in Assam, all three have definite roles to play with a common objective, that is, to bring peace and stop Assam from bleeding further.
The ULFA believes that sovereignty of the State of Assam with total power for self-determination is the answer to bring the misery and misfortune of Assam and the Assamese to end. For ULFA, the foreigners issue is not a problem of long term consequence Delhi’s colonial rule, as they say, must go. The ULFA also believe that violence is a part of armed struggle or revolution and it is a necessary tool.For All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), the breeding ground of all problems of Assam is the foreigners issue, specifically lakh of immigrants from Bangladesh. The AASU also recognises that Assam has remained neglected and exploited and the Assam accord clauses, jointly agreed with central government way back in 1985, if implemented, is the answar for long lost identity and development of Assam to a great extent. The AASU, inspite of all isolated incidents of violence that took place as the time of Assam agitation, has a non-violent approach, and no doubt, they are non violent. We must say that the AASU is the only student organisation of the country, which could lead a movement bringing it almost the status of our freedom movement with mass support form all sections. May be, on retrospection, we find that the AASU could not meet the aspirations of the people mostly because of the failure of their foster child AGP, but still, it is the voice of the younger generation of the ! State and by and large; it still is.
Now coming to the Army, the Indian Army has two distinct characteristics. First it is the ultimate symbol of Indian nationalism and second it is truly apolitical. The Army faces the brunt of criticism for, alleged excesses here and there, but I can say that the Army’s positive role is mostly ignored or remains unappreciated. The Indian Army has a definite role in bringing back the desired peace in the State. The Army’s role should be understood Batter. I am not taking any brief for the Army but I can say with some authority that the Army does not relish their job maintaining internal security or taking up arms against its own people. The Army’s solemn and sacred job is to protest the border of the country, whose sanctity and honour remain in their hand. The Army comes for fighting the insurgents only when the government wants them to as a last resort. The day the State or Central government asks the Army to go back to barrack they would gladly go, but certainly th! ey would not retreat under any threat. The Army, more than any branch of security force, can help in bringing peace if it gets the support and cooperation from the people. The Army always needs people’s support even when fighting a war.Now, coming to the ULFA among tears and agonies, there is, unfortunately, of course, one positive aspect of the Dhemaji blast and that is, for the first time the ULFA has been openly criticised and their heinous crime has been condemned by one and all, particularly by the AASU. We also find that in a Jatiya Mahasabha, held recently in Guwahati, people, cutting across politics and vocation, have recognised one aspect that violence will never bring any solution to any demand or problem projected by any quarter, be it political or economical. The ULFA, weather we admit it or not, gathered some goodwill and sympathy from the people at the initial stage because they spoke against corruption in very strong term. And there was participation from a good section of brilliant boys in the organisation also. But gradually, when extortion, kidnapping and killing became the order of the day, people got disillusioned. People, passively started asking why Manabendra Sarma was killed, why! Sanjay Ghosh was killed. But public outcry has taken a different form after Dhemaji and I must say that both AASU and media played a positive role. We hope this protest continues and at least, get the ULFA and the government on the discussion table. Even among enemies, discussion does take place and many a time it has been proved that discussion across is far fruitful, than the powers of the gun. But certain limitations are there and one should draw the road map for discussion well ahead and should be well planned before it meets irreparable collapse. The first point is can there by any discussion on sovereignty of the country. Assam is a proud part of India and no one in Assam, except probably the ULFA, talks about an independent Assam. With or without history behind, Assam does not want to be a sovereign State ceding from India. This is not negotiable and this cannot bean agenda point for discussion. Expect this, everything under the sun can be discussed and I am sure, di! alogues would bring positive results both for the State and the people. This second aspect with regards to dialogue is whether or not we confine the discussion with the ULFA only or we call other insurgent groups, big or small, also, to the discussion table for achieving a comprehensive solution and to avoid bickering afterwards. Some thoughts should go into this before any fruitful dialogue takes place.
From 1947 till date, there are developmental works, however small it may be, where the Centre’s contribution is there. It would be a fallacy to say that the Centre has done nothing, but certainly could do much more. The North East, as a region has remained isolated not from geographical angle only, but from the attitude of the government in Delhi. This is true, but it is also true that a major share of Centre’s money does not reach the people because of corruption in between and also a part is siphoned off through extortion now. Corruption through the politicians, administrators and middlemen has almost reached the status of parallel economy. We must stop this, because otherwise, nothing would work. The AASU can help and can send a warning signal that corruption must stop.The ULFA cannot take the people of Assam for granted and they should also understand that they do not have the mandate of the people to decide what Assam needs or Assam wants. But, social revolution can never be ignored either. There is a group of young boys and girls who want to say something, supposedly for the cause of Assam, as perceived by them. They should be heard within limitations as pointed out. The AASU must bring back that faith what it achieved at one time and hold the torch for the path of peace to shine. The Army must send the signal of strength and goodwill together, and reassure the people for whose safety and honour they stand on or off the border.
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