Author: Ratnadip Choudhury
Publication: Tehelka
Date: June 18, 2011
URL: http://www.tehelka.com/story_main49.asp?filename=Ne180611Peace_In.asp
Introduction: As the United Liberation Front
of Asom (ULFA) prepares for peace talks with the Centre, the victims of its
terror demand a say in the process. Ratnadip Choudhury reports
For 18 Years, Bhobendra Chandra Kalita, 48,
has been lying crippled in his house at Chamatiapara of Assam's Darrang district.
Almost every night, he has nightmares of the fateful day when his world came
crashing down. On 15 August 1992, when the rest of the nation was celebrating
Independence Day, Kalita, a Congress worker, was picked up from his house
by cadres of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) fighting for the 'sovereignty'
of Assam. The militant outfit that has waged a three-decade-long bloody battle
now finds itself talking the language of peace with New Delhi. In the 18 years
that Kalita has been crippled, ULFA's armed struggle has seen numerous shifts,
but his life tells the same story of pain, grief and anger over and over again.
"They took me to their hideout and charged
me with leaking information to the army about a senior ULFA commander who
was gunned down a week ago in an encounter with the forces," narrates
Kalita. "I repeatedly said that I had nothing to do with the army. Later,
I came to know that it was a case of mistaken identity and they had targeted
me since I was an active Congress worker." Kalita is worried about the
future of his two daughters and how to get them married. His physical state
does not allow him to hold on to a job and the meagre income he gets from
odd jobs is definitely not going to be enough.
What adds to the tragedy is that Kalita had
even helped ULFA organise a meeting in Darrang once by raising funds and offering
logistical support though he was not a supporter of the movement. "ULFA
Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa chaired that meeting. I was against armed movement
but I know the reasons for which the movement started had some validity, so
I helped them,'' the father of two explains.
But ULFA struck back in a manner that left
him hating the 'call for sovereignty' forever. "I was beaten and tortured.
They pierced my fingers, poured hot water on me and tied me up," Kalita
recounts the horror. "They first injected poison into my eyes trying
to blind me for life and then cut my tongue. They cut my right hand and later
my left hand. I fainted after that." What he adds is even more sickening.
"They called my elder brother Jadab Chandra Kalita and two other people
close to him for negotiation. Before they cut my tongue they did the same
with my brother. I saw him die in front of my eyes. After I fainted, they
did the same with the other two. Of the three bodies the cops recovered with
me, one was my elder brother." Kalita recuperated but not before fighting
a long battle with death at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH).
In The early '90s a gruesome army offensive
was launched across the hills and plains of Assam to tame the growing menace
of ULFA. Operations Bajrang and Rhino forced the outfit to dismantle its bases
in the jungles of Lakhipathar and Saraipung and move to neighbouring Bhutan.
ULFA retaliated by targeting the late Hiteshwar Saikia-led Congress government
in the state. The dreaded outfit's cadres hunted Congress workers and leaders.
Kalita's family always felt ULFA took up arms for the right cause, now the
same family - like many others across Assam - wants ULFA to answer for their
crimes. "Will ULFA speak for the better cause of the victims' families?
Will they support the larger interest of the victims of their terror?"
asks Rajib Kalita, a victim from Chamatiapara.
The ire of the terror victim was something
that the Rajkhowa-led pro-talk faction of ULFA had anticipated. Before the
peace process was set rolling, ULFA's foreign secretary had told TEHELKA:
"All killings whether done by us or security forces were wrong. We need
to admit our mistake." In May, Rajkhowa led a strong 30 member delegation
of the pro-talk faction to Dhemaji in upper Assam to ask for forgiveness for
the killing of 10 children and three women in a bomb blast on 15 August 2004
in the district. They also paid obeisance at the memorial of the slain children
erected at the site of the blast and visited the victims' families. It did
not cut much ice.
Although peace talks with the Centre have
popular support, forgiveness for three decades of bloodbath is hard to come
by. Ever since the peace bugle was sounded in Assam, the Forum for Terrorist
Victim Families, an umbrella organisation of more than 6,000 affected families
has started voicing its call for justice.
"It is not possible to forgive ULFA for
what they did," says forum president Brojen Hazarika. "They killed
innocent people, crippled the economy. They don't even have the right to represent
the aspirations of the people but we are not against peace talks. What we
want is that our voice be heard and we be made a major stakeholder in the
talks." Hazarika's anger reflects what victims' families feel for an
organisation that has cost them their livelihood, and at times, their breadwinner.
For its part, the pro-talks ULFA faction is
busy adding final touches to the charter of demands to be taken up during
its talks with the Centre. Last month the Sanmilita Jatiya Abhibartan (SJA),
a group of intellectuals facilitating the talks, handed over the draft charter
of demand to the outfit. The SJA's proposal includes constitutional amendments
to give Assam a greater control over its natural resources, revenue generation
and participation in the planning process. There are concrete proposals for
ensuring a secure demographic situation, besides accelerated and balanced
development.
ULFA is also planning to demand information
about its commanders who have been missing since the offensive against the
outfit in neighbouring Bhutan in 2001. Reportedly, the charter does not mention
the victims of the ULFA's own misdeeds. "If the Centre is giving a special
package they should give something for the victims," says Kalita. "The
victim should be top priority and if ULFA is indeed ashamed of violence it
should ask for this from Delhi."
This is where things stand now. The peace-talking
ULFA must gear up to answer some uncomfortable questions.
- Ratnadip Choudhury is a Principal Correspondent
with Tehelka.
- ratnadip@tehelka.com
