With the Centre focussing on the ULFA peace initiative, the Bodo rebels take stock on the silver jubilee of their struggle. Ratnadip Choudhury reports
Fighting fit Bodo rebels at the raising day parade…Photo: Rana Deka
BORBORI CAMP, Baksa, Assam. It looks like the Raising Day celebrations of a paramilitary unit. Rebel commander B Sugreb, 35, dressed in combat gear, a shining 9 mm revolver tucked in his belt, stands in front of rows of cadres. The stern camp commander gives final instructions to his men in the hope that the parade and other events go off with military precision. Six years ago, before the ceasefire agreement entered into with the government, such camps were secret, part of underground activity.
The call to arms came 25 years ago, on 2-3 October 1986, at the height of the agitation for a separate Bodo state. A group of 70 Bodo youths gathered in the remote Odla Khasibari village in Udalguri district. In the dark and dense jungle, after nightlong confabulations, committed Bodo youths decided to go underground and take up arms. The outfit was named Bodo Security Force (BdSF) and was led by Ranjan Daimary alias DR Nabla, who would go on to become India’s most wanted fugitive.
On 25 November 1994, the BdSF rechristened itself the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB).
The Bodo armed struggle has seen its course change abruptly more than once, like the mighty Brahmaputra running through Assam — from statehood to sovereignty and back to statehood again. There was a vertical split on 15 December 2008, when the NDFB held its general assembly meeting at the Serfanguri camp (in Kokrajhar district) and elected Dhiren Boro alias B Sungthagra as the new president of the ‘progressive’ faction, in place of the founder Daimary, who was then holed up in Bangladesh. At that time, the firebrand leader wasn’t ready to give up the call for sovereignty. He is now awaiting release from Guwahati Central Jail for the long-awaited peace talks.
Over the years, operating out of bases in Bhutan, NDFB(P) mastered the art of hitand- run warfare and the running of a parallel administration. But the Operation All Clear launched by the Royal Bhutan Army against Northeast rebels in 2003 broke the faction’s back. In May 2005, the outfit declared a ceasefire. The governmentappointed interlocutor, former Intelligence Bureau chief PC Haldar, held several rounds of informal talks with the NDFB(P). Yet formal talks are far on the horizon.
“The bureaucratic interlocutor can only put things in place,” says the unit’s publicity secretary S Sanjarang. “Delhi should take it further. There is clear double standard. The ULFA peace talks are rolling, but they are neglecting us, although we came forward long back.” Earlier this year, ULFA had agreed to a ceasefire and formal peace talks are expected to be held later this month. For some time now, other rebel outfits of Assam have been opposing what they see as special consideration extended to ULFA and demanding parity for all organisations currently bound by the ceasefire.
Apart from lack of political will, the neglect of Bodo aspirations can be attributed to the ethnic divide. “We have been oppressed by Dispur,” says Rajen Boro, an angry farmer hailing from Kalaigaon in Assam’s Udalguri district. “People in power are mostly Assamese, they crush the tribals. Thus if once again NDFB takes up arms, there will be support from the Bodo people.” Rajen is one of those who has lost his only son to this conflict. The patience of such people, who have had kin making the ultimate sacrifice, is fast running out.
Apart from lack of political will, the neglect of Bodo aspirations can be attributed to the ethnic divide in Assam
CAMP COMMANDER Sugreb also points out the perils of prolonged uncertainty. “Life over ground without action is very different from life underground,” he says. “Our boys are trained guerilla fighters. They also understand that a peaceful solution can be achieved but this delay is increasing frustration.” Exacerbating the situation are a few cases of alleged fake encounters of Bodo rebels, despite the ceasefire. “We will achieve Bodoland, be it in peace or war,” warns hardcore cadre Derek Basumatary. “Our cadres and colleagues have given their lives for Bodoland.”
NDFB(P) has about a thousand cadres, whereas the antitalks faction has only around 100 active boys. Ranjan Daimary still maintains bases in Khagracherri in Bangladesh and Taka in Burma, according to intelligence sources. Independent observers believe that the Centre should not equate NDFB with ULFA.
“NDFB is a homogenous group,” explains Rajeev Bhattacharyya, executive editor of Seven Sisters Post. “They have only Bodos. The cadres are far more disciplined. They still enjoy support in the rural belts of the Bodo heartland. So keeping NDFB waiting would mean trouble in the future. ULFA is different; it is an amalgamation of different communities of Assamese society. But ULFA’s support among the mainstream Assamese society has eroded.”
Earlier, in an interview to TEHELKA, Ranjan Daimary had clearly stated that he is looking at a possible solution to the conflict under the framework of the Indian Constitution. The powerful All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU) has renewed its call for a separate state.
On 19 November 2010, 44 Bodo organisations came forward to form an umbrella body called the Bodo National Conference (BNC) to stop fratricidal killings and bring unity. The NDFB(P) has been spearheading democratic means like blockades, hunger strikes and demonstrations, urging the Centre and the Tarun Gogoi government to act fast on the Bodo peace process.
With these tactics, it seems the Bodos are moving towards unity. This is important as according to home ministry sources, the Centre will only start formal talks with NDFB when both factions unite. For that, Daimary will perhaps have to give up the call for Bodo sovereignty once and for all.
Close to dusk, the NDFB flag is gently brought down from the mast and NDFB(P) President Dhiren Boro alias B Sungthagra has the last word, “We declared ceasefire not because we were weak, but because we thought we should give peace a chance. We are now angry about the stepmotherly treatment meted out to us whereas ULFA is being favoured. So if the Centre does not respond soon, our boys can go back to the jungle. They still know how to fire.” Is the Union home minister listening?
Ratnadip Choudhury is a Principal Correspondent with Tehelka. ratnadip@tehelka.com
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