Re: [Assam] Historical Background of Nagaland

[Ram Sarangapani]

Bhuban da,

 

That was a very good synopsis of insurgency in India.

 

>Today, I think the parleys with the Issac-Muivah et al are nothing but an eye-wash. I am sorry to say >that in case of ULFA also it is so because the Government has become experienced in the art of >dealing with insurgents. Kashmir taught them

 

And not just that. The GOI has had experience with the likes of ULFA and countless other rag-tag groups in the NE. It looks like the GOI's game plan is simple - give them a few sops, and wait them out. Indira Gandhi did it in Telengana, and in dealing with Khalistanis.

As you indicated, being a democracy, the GOI cannot blatantly put down rebellions (like China) with brute force. That probably is the cost of democracy.

This morning I had called a friend of mine at Guwahati, and he told me that the trouble in Tinisukia was 'normal'. Every election cycle, different political parties and insurgent groups like ULFA 'mark' their territories to create chaos and mayhem. The winner is politics, the loser is the common man (expendable as always).

 

>The Government of India is having the last laugh. The mutineers are clearly divided. And their >strategy also appears to be not fool-proof.  In other words they are confused and confounded.

 

That is absolutely true. Just look at the results of the much hyped 2nd round of talks. All the PCG came back with (euphorically) is that the GOI has 'promised' confidence-building measures.

 

These CBMs will last the GOI and the PCG some more breathing space. In the next round of talks (next month), hopefully the PCG can make some headway.

If the talks fail for some reason, the PCG and the GOI will keep blaming each other till the cows come home.

In such a scenario, the GOI wins, the PCG will find some face-saving exit, the ULFA will continue as usual, there may a new government in Assam, which will promise the moon, and B'deshis will still be coming in large numbers and sadly, Assam (and India as a country) for that matter will be the losers.

 

--Ram

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 2/11/06, [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

Dear Baruah Saheb

 

You've asked my views about the Naga problem. I do have them coupled with the fact that my political forecasts had always been proved wrong in the long run. I console myself with the fact that political solutions are seldom predictable. An example of this is the grant of separate Statehood to the hill districts of former Assam. The Indian press as well as the economists   and other statesmen who stated these States were not viable because of lack of revenue etc were against the idea. But it appears without any known consultation with the public including the Assam State Legislature and the Parliament itself,   the then Prime Minister of India suddenly announced, it was a coup the grace, that the Khasi Hills, the Garo Hills and the Lushai Hill districts would form the new State of Meghalaya. The rest is history.

 

I come to the point.

 

Sovereignty for the Nagas is a dead issue. It died the day late Mr A Z Phizo fled the country. When I told Phizo that Government of India no longer took him seriously, he tried to prove to me that he was not a spent force as it appeared.

 

Today, I think the parleys with the Issac-Muivah et al are nothing but an eye-wash. I am sorry to say that in case of ULFA also it is so because the Government has become experienced in the art of dealing with insurgents. Kashmir taught them. Unfortunately for the Government of India which is not a dictatorship, the show has to go on because of a great many people who have enjoyed or are enjoying or hope to enjoy power for all the time. It is why they are afraid   of  applying the laws of the country to maintain law and order which the Indian Army is capable of doing. A mere suggestion of it by the outgoing Governor of Assam, an ex-army officer, earned him public censure.

 

The Government of India is having the last laugh. The mutineers are clearly divided. And their strategy also appears to be not fool-proof.   In other words they are confused and confounded. For example, the rebels demand for all Naga-inhabited areas to be included in Nagalim. I say where are the dimachas? Can't they not evict  the   encroachers?

 

Bhuban

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