Author: Tapash Ganguly
Publication: The Week
Date: January 25, 2004
URL: http://www.the-week.com/24jan25/events3.htm#2
Introduction: Militant leaders live
like kings on tax and ransom
The disgust was plainly written
on his face. "Our leaders were living in big cities, lolling in luxuries,
while we, the cadre, were sacrificing our lives for the cause," said 'Sergeant
Major' Surajit Deb Barma, 33, who left the All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF),
disillusioned with the lifestyle of the leaders. He laid down his gun before
the Assam Rifles last April.
Surajit, son of a tribal farmer,
joined the militant group in 1997. In the next six years, he was involved
in several killings and kidnappings.
But soon he realised that he was
being taken for a ride. Another surrendered extremist, Sanjit Deb Barma,
said: "Life was monotonous for us. But top leaders like Ranjit Deb Barma
and Chitta Deb Barma were having a ball."
The surrendered rebels said that
Ranjit was living in royal style in Dhaka and owned two Toyota cars. "He
is a regular visitor to five-star hotels," said Bipul Deb Barma, a former
militant. "Some Tiger Force activists work as orderlies in his residence."
Chitta, his second-in-command, also leads a comfortable life in Chittagong.
He owns two Japanese cars and is also a regular at five-star hotels.
How do these leaders live in style?
Where does the money come from? For that one has to look at how militancy
has become a profitable trade in the northeast. A senior intelligence officer
told The Week that the extremist outfits of Tripura (the ATTF, the National
Liberation Force of Tripura, and the NLFT-Nayan Bashi faction) wrenched
Rs 6 crore from the people in the last three years. "So long as these outfits
maintain their reign of terror in the countryside, they will never be short
of money," said a senior bureaucrat.
Kidnapping is the biggest money-spinner.
Between 1999 and 2003 the extremist outfits kidnapped 1,377 people. Several
were killed even though the ransom was paid.
"In all, 864 were released after
hefty ransom was paid," said a police officer. Till date, 380 kidnapped
persons remain untraced.
Most wage-earning people outside
Agartala have to pay subscriptions. "The militant groups have their zones
of influence," said the officer. "One outfit does not usually poach on
the other's territory. The militants distribute leaflets detailing levies
to be paid. They also issue receipts."
The Tiger Force charges a flat
rate on a yearly basis. Top government servants have to pay Rs 3,500, while
class-four employees are charged Rs 1,000. Contractors have to turn in
12 per cent of annual turnover and rich farmers have to pay Rs 1,500. The
rates charged by the NLFT vary between 5 and 20 per cent of the total annual
income or turnover. The NLFT(NB)'s tax chart is more detailed with separate
rates for orange orchards, pineapple orchards, rubber estates, etc.
The funds are usually dispatched
to the hideouts of the leaders in Bangladesh. A major chunk is used to
secure weapons. But not all of it. "A large amount of money is siphoned
off by our leaders," said Ramendra Deb Barma, 29, a former 'tax collector'.
Said Salil Deb Barma, who used to collect taxes from tea gardens, "We were
always the target of the security forces. A small slip could result in
death."
The women cadre are treated like
dirt. Subarna Deb Barma, 23, and Sabita Deb Barma, 24, former Tiger Force
activists, surrendered to the police in 2003 after facing severe hardship
and exploitation. "We had to work from early morning," said one of them.
"All the girls had to satisfy the lust of the camp commanders. That was
why we surrendered."
"Insurgency is a paying proposition,"
said the senior bureaucrat. "Any person with a pistol can earn lakhs of
rupees."
In 1979, when the seeds of insurgency
were being sown in Tripura, seven educated young men assembled at Rang
Ghar in Sib Sagar in Assam to form the United Liberation Front of Asom.
Aurobinda Rajkhowa was elected chairman of the new outfit. The insurgent
movement in Assam was born.
Ulfa came to the limelight in 1986
when Asom Gana Parishad came to power. Between 1986 and 1991, Ulfa killed
1,233 persons-910 civilians and 323 security personnel-and kidnapped 687
persons of whom only 312 could purchase their release. There is no trace
of the others.
"In the last 17 years Ulfa must
have raised about Rs 200 crore by levying taxes in the countryside and
through ransom money," a member of the Tarun Gogoi cabinet said.
As in the case of Tripura, a sizeable
part of this money was spent on weapons. "A significant part has been invested
in hotels and real estate in Bangladesh, Assam, Kolkata and Delhi," said
an intelligence officer. Rajkhowa and another senior leader, Paresh Barua,
are now in Dhaka. "They live in well-secured bungalows," said the officer.
The general disillusionment with
militants and their leaders has brought cheer to the government.
"We will be able to tackle militancy
if we can simultaneously attack two major problems of the state-economic
backwardness and unemployment," said Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. "Right
now we are engaged in solving these problems. If we succeed, Ulfa will
certainly become a thing of the past."
That wouldn't hurt the leaders if
you go by past experience. Some top Ulfa leaders who surrendered early
on are now doing well. Sunil Nath, former publicity secretary of Ulfa,
is now part owner of a newspaper. Another former Ulfa leader, Jugal Kishore
Mahant, is a successful businessman. Sallen Dutta Konwar, once a leader
of the armed wing, is doing roaring business in coal. Munim Nobis, formerly
of the armed wing, is also a successful businessman.
"We always wonder from where the
surrendered Ulfa leaders got the money to invest in business," mused a
journalist of Guwahati. "If a young man turns extremist, he can easily
earn lakhs of rupees at gun point. Later he can surrender to the police
and rejoin the mainstream." Obviously it is the season of Che Guevaras
turning into Henry Fords.
