By Syed Zarir Hussain, IANS
Guwahati : The situation in the Bodo tribal heartland in India’s Assam state has turned volatile following charges of “armed activity” by men patronised by the party at the helm of the Bodo autonomous council.
The delay in starting peace talks with a frontline separatist group has also added to the unrest, community leaders said Sunday.
Bodo dominated areas in western and northern Assam are administered by the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), led by former leaders of the Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT), a rebel outfit.
The BLT signed an agreement with the central government in 2003 ending its insurgency for a separate Bodo state and settling for an autonomous politico-administrative structure called the Bodoland Territorial Council.
“The former rebel leaders are indulging in political terrorism. Young armed men move freely in towns like Kokrajhar while the police remain silent spectators,” said Rabiram Narzary, head of the rival Bodo People’s Progressive Front (BPPF).
BPPF leaders Saturday protested in Guwahati, the state capital, and submitted a memorandum to Assam Governor Ajai Singh complaining about the deteriorating law and order situation. They sought immediate deployment of troops and paramilitary forces.
Complaints about former cadres of the Bodo Liberation Tigers indulging in excesses continue to pour in from rival Bodo groups, leading to tension in Bodo areas.
The immediate provocation for the stepped-up anti-Bodo People’s Front campaign, backed by the Asom Gana Parishad, is the recent attack on the rival Bodo People’s Progressive Front youth wing president Kabirranjan Brahma. The parties have sought immediate arrest of those involved in the attack.
After the 2003 agreement that provided Rs.100-crore annual allocation to the Bodo Council, the BLT transformed itself into a political party, BPF. Its main rival is the BPPF, headed by Narzary.
Adding to the uncertain situation in the Bodo heartland is New Delhi’s delay in starting talks with the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), a major insurgent group, despite the government reaching a ceasefire agreement with the group in 2005.
Unlike the BLT that had demanded a separate Bodo state within the Indian framework, the NDFB has been insisting on an independent Bodo homeland.
“We are ready to start peace talks with the NDFB but the group is yet to furnish its list of demands as sought by the central government,” Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said.
Analysts, however, say that the lack of political space in Bodo areas to accommodate the NDFB leadership in the event of an agreement is the main reason for the delay in starting talks with the militant group.