The blasts in Assam are a reminder that India remains under attack from more than one enemy. Even as there is a lull from the depredations of the Islamic terrorists, another group of malcontents continues to be active in the northeast. The ULFA’s involvement in the latest outrage is widely suspected if only because the modus operandi of the insurgents — the use of bombs placed in bicycles in crowded places — is characteristic of the outfit. Although it has denied the charge and even seen it as a move to sabotage the current peace initiatives, there will not be many takers for its views given its past record of prevarication. Recent reports that it is operating out of China will also overshadow its claims of innocence.
While the ULFA remains unreconciled to the idea of giving up its fatuous demand for an independent Assam, what is unfortunate is that the authorities have made no headway in eradicating this menace which had its roots in the violently chauvinistic anti-foreigner agitation of the early 1980s. Although small groups of the rebels have occasionally surrendered, many of their colleagues have not only survived beyond the pale of civilised society, but are also evidently capable of carrying out murderous attacks against innocent civilians.
The safe havens which the ULFA managed to secure, first in Bangladesh and then elsewhere, clearly offer them an escape route when the drive against them becomes more intense in India. But it is likely that these are temporary operations which are undertaken in the aftermath of an outrage like the present one. After a while, the pace slackens as the police and the intelligence agencies become preoccupied with routine investigations. The presence of other militant groups like those of the Bodos probably also diverts attention from the ULFA — the most dangerous of the lot.
Apart from failing to sustain an operation against it, the callousness of the authorities about obvious security precautions was also evident from the latest tragedy. For instance, the deaths from the blasts occurred when a crowd had gathered to help those injured by an earlier explosion. The second bomb was set off by remote control evidently to target those who would rush to the site of the first blast. If only there had been an effective campaign to warn the people about this all-too-familiar tactics of the terrorists, more deaths might have been avoided.
