Ripe for talks?

The controversial 'arrest' of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa and Deputy Commander-in-Chief Raju Baruah in early December caused a localised storm that nonetheless quickly died down. Whether Bangladeshi authorities picked up the two leaders and handed them over to Indian authorities, or whether they surrendered in India itself remains shrouded in mystery. But what is certain is that apprehending such prominent leaders represents a turning point in Assam's separatist politics. Past attempts at peace have consistently fizzled out, leading the insurgency to rage for more than three decades. Indeed, much water has flowed down the mighty Brahmaputra since the ULFA was founded on 7 April 1979 at the historic Rang Ghar in upper Assam, an amphitheatre dating back to the Ahoms, the pre-British monarchs who ruled for some six centuries.

In the early 1990s, after successive operations by the Indian Army attempted to root out the outlawed group, the ULFA began to shift its bases to Bhutan. By 2003, there were about 30 camps inside Bhutan, housing around 3500 militants. In December of that year, however, the Royal Bhutan Army launched Operation All Clear against ULFA as well as cadres with the Kamatapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) and National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) holed up in the country. During this action, around 650 militants were either killed or captured. Subsequently, many senior ULFA leaders fled to Bangladesh, again operating from across the border, until Dhaka began a serious crackdown late last year. This has now led to the arrest of eight prominent leaders, including Rajkhowa and Baruah.