Dialogue at gunpoint

Some things have remained unchanged in Assam, notwithstanding the talks about talks between the Centre and the Ulfa, and even in spite of the beginning of deliberations between New Delhi and the Ulfa-appointed People8217;s Consultative Group PCG in October last. Through it all, the ghastly Ulfa-perpetrated violence has not stilled. The occasional lull has inevitably been broken by explosions across the state, targeting gas and oil pipelines and power plants, apart from the gun battles. Then, the Ulfa8217;s 8216;core8217; demand has remained the same 8212; 8216;sovereignty8217;. Given these two constants, what is happening between the militant group and New Delhi is meaningless at best, and born of dangerously shortsighted politics in fact.

With Assam bracing for assembly polls this year, rhetoric of 8216;direct talks8217;, 8216;permanent solution8217;, 8216;ceasefire8217;, and 8216;safe passage8217; once again fills the air. The incumbent Congress government is straining to notch up some visible achievement in a state with no demonstrable progress in terms of development. Forward movement with the Ulfa would certainly come in handy at this point. But past experience with the Ulfa itself and with such savagely militant outfits elsewhere surely demands that a reality check be imposed on the Gogoi government8217;s vaulting desperation. This is a group that has not just held on to its guns and grenades and its insistence on a solution outside the framework of the Indian Constitution, but also one that has used the process of negotiations as an opportunity to regroup in its strongholds, build up its arsenal, spread into newer areas. A Centre that recently had the embarrassment of watching its dialogue with the Naxalites in Andhra Pradesh blow up in its face because of the latter8217;s brazen brandishing of arms on the dialogue table and off it, cannot seriously be willing to be taken for the same ride all over again.

At his recent press conference, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reiterated that the Centre8217;s doors are open to all groups so long as they renounce violence. So why persist with this dangerous charade with the Ulfa?