GUWAHATI: As those displaced by the December 23 carnage in Assam continue to languish in relief camps, several theories are being bandied around, as to the motives behind the five, coordinated strikes. There is a growing suspicion that the ultras carried out the attacks at the behest of some political party. What fuels this idea is the upcoming elections to Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) in April.
Last month's terror strike was the third major attack on the Adivasis since 1996 in the restive Bodoland Territorial Areas District (BTAD), which have been held to ransom by extremists over the last two decades. The latest massacre of Adivasis happened after a gap of 18 years, but, in 2012 and 2014, Bengali-speaking Muslims were the targets of two xenophobic attacks, which left over 150 dead and rendered several lakh people homeless. The violence in 2012 broke out following the killings of four former rebels by miscreants, which soon snowballed into a full-fledged ethnic riot between the Bodos and Bengali-speaking Muslims. Over 100 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in the outrage.
In all the major civilian attacks in BTAD, militants have been involved, directly or indirectly. The government failed to bring them to justice, despite the assurances. The ruling Congress Government in the state has said the December 23 attacks were perpetrated by the Sangbijit faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB). However, the Bodo and Adivasi organisations also suspect the involvement of some political parties. Their doubts stem from the fact that non-Bodos have been invariably targeted in BTAD before and after any elections in recent years. A series of attacks, weeks after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, had claimed the lives of 46 Muslims.
Another theory doing the rounds is that the Ultras were provoked by the establishment. Just days prior to the carnage, the police had allegedly trivialised the NDFB faction. It is now being presumed that by unleashing terror and violence, the rebels wanted to show that they were a force to reckon with. Some security agencies believe that the Adivasis were targeted this time, as they lived close to Assam's borders with Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh where the rebels operate from. By not going into the interiors of the state, the rebels ensured that they could safely return to their hideouts, after carrying out attacks of such magnitude.
But what few would, perhaps, contest is that the Bodos are increasingly terrified of losing their political clout in the BTAD, where the non-Bodo communities constitute over 70 per cent of the population. The consolidation of the non-Bodo communities against the Bodos had ensured the victory of a non-Bodo, former ULFA leader, Heera Sarania in the Kokrajhar seat that covers large areas of BTAD, in the last Lok Sabha polls.
The Bodos, who are the largest plains tribe in the North-East, know that they need greater representation and a stronger voice in Parliament to be able to achieve a separate Bodoland state. Their lone representative in Parliament is Rajya Sabha member Biswajit Daimary. The BTC is currently ruled by the Bodoland People's Front (BPF), which was formed with former rebels in 2003. The party has 11 members in the state Assembly.
The non-Bodo communities allege that they are being treated as second-class citizens in BTAD, which was formed with four Assam districts. The conflict between the Bodos and the non-Bodos first came to the fore ahead of the creation of the BTC. It intensified after nearly 600 villages, with alleged zero per cent Bodo population, were included in the BTC.
Alleged assaults, intimidation, extortions, abductions and killings by rebels made 22 influential non-Bodo organisations join hands and back Sarania in the 2014 LS polls. The BPF and the Bodoland People's Progressive Front (BPPF) hold sway in the BTAD, where the Congress and the BJP are now trying to secure a foothold.
The NIA is probing four cases pertaining to the December 23 carnage. It will be the task of the agency to find out if there was any political motive behind the killings. But what the people desperately want is action against the perpetrators. Those who survived the attacks have pleaded before NIA Director-General Sharad Kumar to hand out exemplary punishment to the militants. The people in Assam also want the perpetrators to be brought to justice. The silver lining of this tragedy has been that all stake-holders now seek an end to violence. Everyone is on the same page.
Massacre in Dec
The five, coordinated attacks on the Adivasis on December 23, in Kokrajhar and Sonitpur districts were carried out by Sangbijit faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland, the state government has said.
70 Adivasis, including 18 children and 23 women, were killed in the violence. Eight Bodos were killed in reprisal attacks. Three Adivasis, who were among a group of protestors in Sonitpur, were killed in police firing. The violence displaced over three lakh people -- Adivasis and Bodos. Over one lakh people are still lodged in relief camps. The Adivasi groups say the administration is badgering them to return home.
The Centre has engaged over 10,000 Army and paramilitary troopers to neutralise the assailants. Over the last fortnight, two of them have been killed, while nine were apprehended.
