Rajkhowa in custody, but peace not in sight yet

Exactly three decades ago, when a group of young and energetic men met in the premises of Rang-Ghar, a 17th century amphitheatre in the heart of Sivasagar, and wanted to “do something” for Assam, the most brilliant idea that came to their mind was to set up a group that would fight for a “sovereign and independent” state — with the power of the gun. That was the time when a movement on the issue of illegal migrants from Bangladesh was just beginning to take off, and the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) was yet to formally announce its agitation. (Contrary to Congress claims, ULFA is not an offshoot of the AASU movement.)

Since then much water, and indeed blood, has flowed down the Brahmaputra. Over 12,000 persons have been killed in the violence perpetrated by the group in the past three decades. “Assam has gone back by several decades due to the senseless violence that the ULFA has carried out, apart from causing massive losses on the economic front,” said Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.

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But last week’s developments, leading to the trapping of its chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa in Bangladesh and his subsequent arrest, has brought to the fore several aspects, the most important being the mileage the outfit has accrued especially following Rajkhowa’s assertion that he had not surrendered and that he would stick to the original demand of sovereignty.

Rajkhowa and commander-in-chief Paresh Barua are the two top leaders who decide things in the outfit and are known to often take steps without consulting others in the so-called General Council that has not met for over a decade.

The two have together caused immense problems for the government, particularly keeping the Army busy since it was called in to carry out operations way back in November 1990. While Rajkhowa has fallen into the security dragnet for the first time since ULFA’s inception, Barua has been able to successfully elude it.

The government has several times in the past claimed to have broken the back of the ULFA, beginning with Operation Bajrang in 1990-91, and it was particularly after the Bhutan operations in December 2003 that the ULFA did budge, leading to nomination of an 11-member People’s Consultation Group (PCG) to start peace negotiations with the government in 2006. But three rounds of talks, including one with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, led nowhere, with both Rajkhowa and Barua sticking to their guns on the “sovereignty” issue.

However, a series of arrests of several central leaders in the past few years have weakened the outfit, while the authorities have been also able to reduce the rate of recruitment. The decision of three senior leaders — Mrinal Hazarika, Prabal Neog and Jiten Dutta of the 28 Battalion — to float a “pro-talk” faction of the ULFA after they were released from jail early last year has also reduced its strength. But ULFA continued to strike, causing explosions on a regular basis.

India’s pressure on the new Bangladesh regime, however, has started paying dividends, with Paresh Barua quietly leaving that country for Myanmar, while two leaders, “foreign secretary” Sasha Choudhury and “finance secretary” Chitraban Hazarika were arrested last month. The arrest of Rajkhowa and deputy C-in-C Rahu Barua this month is however the biggest success.

But Rajkhowa’s arrest and his subsequent declaration that he had not surrendered and would continue to fight for “sovereignty” has for the time being proved to be a boon for the outfit on two aspects. Rajkhowa almost became a hero when people saw him live on television screens, stating outside the court on Saturday that he had not surrendered, while Barua’s immediate reposing faith on the chairman has proved there was no split in the ULFA. But there is also speculation that Rajkhowa’s arrest has strengthened Barua’s hand, with reports that he was trying to restructure the group by contacting middle-level leaders in the armed wing both in and out of India.

The presence of over 100 youth in the court campus, who raised pro-ULFA slogans on Saturday, has also caused consternation in security circles, especially because of the fact that the court premises is a high-security zone.

But cross-sections of people across the state are asking both sides to reopen peace talks, whether the issue of sovereignty is included or not in the agenda. Images of explosions and killings have been already deeply embedded in people’s minds. And Assam wants peace.