Back To Turmoil

Consider this. Apart from the blast on the train, which killed at least 50 people, Bodo militants blew up a vital road bridge on National Highway 31, 12 hours before detonating the bomb underneath the train, in their efforts to snap links with the rest of the country. In less than 48 hours, another railway bridge, this one on a metre-gauge track leading to the interiors of Arunachal Pradesh, was damaged in another blast. The rail link on the north bank of the Brahmaputra is crucial from the army's point of view since it connects the bases which guard the border with China.

The blast on the Brahmaputra Mail was so powerful that one of the reserved bogies split into two and one portion twisted 360 degrees to land again on the damaged tracks. Over 200 ft of the track was twisted out of shape and the small bridge on which it occurred was damaged substantially. The main impact of the blast was taken by the reserved coach S-1, but another reserved bogie and a general compartment were also damaged. The militants had chosen the spot with care and precision. According to a police officer at the site of the blast: "The spot can be approached only by foot from either side and therefore it was very difficult to reach it immediately." The timing of the explosion—7.15 pm—was also crucial since it was pitch dark and therefore easy for the militants to escape under cover of darkness.

The IED was the handiwork of an expert. According to an army officer, the militants had stuffed the IED with gelatin sticks and used over six dozen pencil batteries to detonate the bomb, planted on the track, from a distance of 100 metres. The sound of the blast was so powerful that it was heard in Kokrajhar town, a good 7 km away from Sesapani, the site of the explosion. The inaccessibility of the site and absence of any authentic information in the first couple of hours, added to the confusion which led to the initial reports of over 300 deaths. By the time rescue teams reached the spot, it was well past midnight.

Describing the scene in the immediate aftermath of the blast, Jagannath Rai, a pantry car waiter said: "I was serving dinner in S-2 when I heard two explosions one after the other. The whole compartment was filled with smoke and fire. The people were shrieking, the lights went off even as the bogie rolled down as if in slow motion." Rai escaped with a minor head injury but others were not so lucky. According to his estimate, at least 100 people must have died instantly although only 33 bodies were recovered. At least 60 others are undergoing treatment in various hospitals. The railways staffers worked hard to restore the link within 48 hours. Trains have resumed running on the track but as a precautionary measure, the Northeast Frontier Railway has decided not to run trains at night through Bodo-dominated areas. In the late '80s, a similar practice was resorted to. The road link, however, remains fragile since only light vehicles are allowed over the makeshift subway. In a way, the BLT militants have brought the Bodo issue right back into focus.

Assam Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, who visited the site on new year's eve, adopted a two-pronged approach. On the one hand, he appealed to the militants to shun violence and on the other, convinced an all-party meeting to endorse full-fledged army operations against the militants. He told Outlook: "We will continue to make efforts for a political settlement but at the same time, we have asked for the army's help in launching a full-scale operation against all militant groups in the state."

Mahanta's plans may be well-intentioned but the approach is flawed. He has been talking to the People's Democratic Front (PDF), a Bodo political party aligned to the ruling Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), but has chosen to ignore groups like the All-Bodo Students' Union (ABSU) and the Bodoland State Movement Council (BSMC). These two groups may be politically down at the moment but they cannot be ignored if the Bodo issue has to be settled (see box). Says ABSU President Urkhao Gwra Brahma: "The government must take all groups into confidence. But the real initiative must come from the Centre since it was Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda's announcement during his visit to the North-east ruling out a separate Bodo-land which has created fresh turmoil in the area."

Mahanta has another problem at hand. The Union Home Ministry is not too willing to order the army out again into Bodo areas. Union Home Secretary K. Padma-nabhaiah, who visited Guwahati on January 2, is understood to have told the state government that it has "sufficient forces" to tackle the Bodo militants.

The army, with a three-brigade strength, was operational in the Bodo-dominated areas between May and August last year, in order to curb ethnic riots. The troops operating there were later redeployed to tackle the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) militants. The state government may ultimately be bailed out by the Defence Ministry. At a meeting in Calcutta on January 2, Defence Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav reviewed the situation in the Northeast with the army chief and his field commanders overseeing troops in the region. It was decided at the meeting to launch a full-scale operation in at least four states: Assam, Nagaland, Tripura and Manipur.

With Bodo rebels determined to disturb the fragile peace in Assam as part of their strategy to renew the statehood demand, Mahanta is headed for fresh trouble.