Assam, don't hold your breath By: Sanjib Baruah/ Forbes India In spite of successful elections, it’s too early to declare that the troubled state is on the road to recovery. There are signs that the Assam elections mark the beginning of a new phase in the state’s politics. The voter turnout rate of 76.03 percent was impressive and the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) did not call for a poll boycott. While the familiar controversy over the citizenship status featured in the campaign, especially in the BJP platform, it was not a defining element as it was in 2006, or arguably, in all state elections since the beginning of the Assam Movement of 1979-85.
Is this the end of Assam’s troubles and the inauguration of the politics of good governance and development? Unfortunately, such a reading would be premature, and it would be a triumph of hope over reality. http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/features/assamdon%60t-hold-your-breath_539574.html _______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
