The Army offensive alone cannot solve the Bodo ethnic crisis
WHEN Bodoland Liberation Tigers (BLT) set off a powerful bomb blast underneath the Brahmaputra Mail on December 30 last year, killing at least 50 people, they had probably not reckoned with a full-fledged Army operation against them. For, within less than a month, the Army managed to nab eight of the 12 militants involved in the blast.
Perhaps taken aback with the swiftness of the Army action, the B LT immediately announced a ceasefire. The Army is, however, unwilling to accept the offer for truce at face value. Says Lt Gen. R.K. Sawhney, commander of the 4 Corps, heading the unified command: "The B LT militants have to surrender with their weapons. Only then will there be any meaning in the ceasefire . " In the absence of a ceasefire, the Army action against Bodo rebels, be it those belonging to the B LT or the rival Bodo Security Force (B D S F), now calling itself the Boroland Army, is continuing. Till February 13, the Army arrested 61 Bodo militants.
If the military strategy has been a moderate success, the political initiative in resolving the long-standing Bodo demand for a separate homeland, has been a disaster. In fact, the failure of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP)-led ruling combine to initiate tripartite talks on the contentious issue till now, has given a new handle to various Bodo political outfits to renew their agitation. Worse, warring Bodo factions are now showing signs of uniting again.
The All-Bodo Students Union (ABSU), at the forefront of the agitation for a separate state since the early 80s, has threatened to renew the stir, after waiting for the Prafulla Kumar Mahanta government to take some initiative. A B S U P resident Urkhao Gwra Brahma told Outlook : "We have already cooperated with the state government to the maximum extent possible. We have waited for four long months for the chief minister to move the Centre to initiate a tripartite meeting on the Bodo issue. We cannot wait any further." At an executive meeting of the organisation on February 9, the ABSU authorised Brahma to take a decision on launching a fresh phase of agitation. Brahma is determined to stick to the demand for a separate state.
A B S Us rival, the Peoples Democratic Front ( PDF), so long pressing for demarcation of the boundaries of the illfated Bodoland Autonomous Council (B A C) , envisaged under the February 1993 Bodo accord, is now changing its tune. An ally in the ruling combine, the PDF is becoming restless too. The organisation, which does not hide its close connections with the outlawed Boroland Army, was hoping that the Mahanta government would settle the boundaries of the BAC to give it a boost. But Mahanta, under various political compulsions, has been unable to do much on this front.
As a result, the PDF, apprehensive of the ABSU and its allies stealing the thunder, has also started talking in terms of demanding a separate state. The PDFs executive meeting, held in Guwahati on February 10, saw its office-bearers split on the exact course that the organisation needs to adopt. Some of the leading members felt that the state government was not interested in resolving the issue while others wanted to give the AGP government some more time.
The main problem in implementing the Bodo accord lies with the 400- odd villages located along the Indo-Bhutan border. Mostly Bodo-dominated, these villages have so far not been included within the BAC. The reasons that have been cited have more to do with security aspects than any political issues. The Union Home Ministry has apparently objected to these villages being included in the BAC since, in its perception, the militants would get a free run of the territory once that is done. This apart, the BAC, which was promised a sum of Rs 50 crore, has not received even 10 per cent of the amount even four years later.
Not surprisingly, the P D F, which was installed in the BAC by the AGP government as soon as it came to power in last May, is now finding it difficult to keep its flock together. Some P D F M L As have in fact reportedly told the ABSU that they are willing to back its demand for a separate state. A mass rally being organised by the ABSU in its stronghold of Kokrajhar this week, is likely to provide several answers to the prevailing confusion.